49 U.S.C. § 20104 — Emergency authority

Page 556 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 20104 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘Secretary concerned’’. ‘‘(d) REVIEW OF DATA.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a program to periodically review bridge inspection and maintenance data from railroad carrier bridge inspec- tors and Federal Railroad Administration bridge ex- perts. ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF BRIDGE CONDITION.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State or political subdivision of a State may file a request with the Secretary for a public version of a bridge inspection report gen- erated under subsection (b)(5) for a bridge located in such State or political subdivision’s jurisdiction. ‘‘(B) PUBLIC VERSION OF REPORT.—If the Secretary determines that the request is reasonable, the Sec- retary shall require a railroad to submit a public version of the most recent bridge inspection report, such as a summary form, for a bridge subject to a request under subparagraph (A). The public version of a bridge inspection report shall include the date of last inspection, length of bridge, location of bridge, type of bridge, type of structure, feature crossed by bridge, and railroad contact informa- tion, along with a general statement on the condi- tion of the bridge. ‘‘(C) PROVISION OF REPORT.—The Secretary shall provide to a State or political subdivision of a State a public version of a bridge inspection report submitted under subparagraph (B). ‘‘(D) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, upon the reasonable request of State or political subdivi- sion of a State, shall provide technical assistance to such State or political subdivision of a State to facilitate the understanding of a bridge inspection report.’’ [For definitions of ‘‘Secretary’’, ‘‘railroad’’, and ‘‘railroad carrier’’, as used in section 417 of Pub. L. 110–432, set out above, see section 2(a) of Pub. L. 110–432, set out as a note under section 20102 of this title.] § 20104. Emergency authority (a) ORDERING RESTRICTIONS AND PROHIBI- TIONS.—(1) If, through testing, inspection, inves- tigation, or research carried out under this chapter, the Secretary of Transportation decides that an unsafe condition or practice, or a com- bination of unsafe conditions and practices, causes an emergency situation involving a haz- ard of death, personal injury, or significant harm to the environment, the Secretary imme- diately may order restrictions and prohibitions, without regard to section 20103(e) of this title, that may be necessary to abate the situation. (2) The order shall describe the condition or practice, or a combination of conditions and practices, that causes the emergency situation and prescribe standards and procedures for ob- taining relief from the order. This paragraph does not affect the Secretary’s discretion under this section to maintain the order in effect for as long as the emergency situation exists. (b) REVIEW OF ORDERS.—After issuing an order under this section, the Secretary shall provide an opportunity for review of the order under sec- tion 554 of title 5. If a petition for review is filed and the review is not completed by the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date the order was issued, the order stops being effective at the end of that period unless the Secretary decides in writing that the emergency situation still exists. (c) CIVIL ACTIONS TO COMPEL ISSUANCE OF OR- DERS.—An employee of a railroad carrier en- gaged in interstate or foreign commerce who may be exposed to imminent physical injury during that employment because of the Sec- retary’s failure, without any reasonable basis, to issue an order under subsection (a) of this sec- tion, or the employee’s authorized representa- tive, may bring a civil action against the Sec- retary in a district court of the United States to compel the Secretary to issue an order. The ac- tion must be brought in the judicial district in which the emergency situation is alleged to exist, in which that employing carrier has its principal executive office, or for the District of Columbia. The Secretary’s failure to issue an order under subsection (a) of this section may be reviewed only under section 706 of title 5. (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 864; Pub. L. 110–432, div. A, title III, § 304, Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4879.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 20104(a) ...... 45:432(a), (d). Oct. 16, 1970, Pub. L. 91–458, § 203, 84 Stat. 972; restated Oct. 10, 1980, Pub. L. 96–423, § 3, 94 Stat. 1811. 20104(b) ...... 45:432(b), (c). 20104(c) ...... 45:432(e). In subsection (a)(1), the words ‘‘or both’’ are omitted as surplus. The words ‘‘immediately may order restric- tions and prohibitions . . . that may be necessary to abate the situation’’ are substituted for ‘‘may imme- diately issue an order . . . imposing such restrictions or prohibitions as may be necessary to bring about the abatement of such emergency situation’’ to eliminate unnecessary words. In subsection (a)(2), the words ‘‘or a combination of conditions and practices’’ are added for consistency with paragraph (1). The words ‘‘(as determined by the Secretary)’’ are omitted as surplus. The last sentence is substituted for 45:432(d) (last sentence) for clarity. In subsection (b), the words ‘‘the Secretary’’ are added for clarity. In subsection (c), the words ‘‘issue an order’’ are sub- stituted for ‘‘seek relief’’ for consistency in this sec- tion. The words ‘‘The action must be brought in the ju- dicial district’’ are substituted for ‘‘for the judicial dis- trict’’ for consistency in the revised title. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2008—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 110–432 substituted ‘‘death, personal injury, or significant harm to the en- vironment’’ for ‘‘death or personal injury’’. § 20105. State participation (a) INVESTIGATIVE AND SURVEILLANCE ACTIVI- TIES.—The Secretary concerned may prescribe investigative and surveillance activities nec- essary to enforce the safety regulations pre- scribed and orders issued by the Secretary 1 that apply to railroad equipment, facilities, rolling stock, and operations in a State. The State may participate in those activities when the safety practices for railroad equipment, facilities, roll- ing stock, and operations in the State are regu- lated by a State authority and the authority submits to the Secretary concerned an annual certification as provided in subsection (b) of this section. (b) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.—(1) A State authority’s annual certification must include—