§ 5103. General regulatory authority

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(a)Designating Material as Hazardous.— The Secretary shall designate material (including an explosive, radioactive material, infectious substance, flammable or combustible liquid, solid, or gas, toxic, oxidizing, or corrosive material, and compressed gas) or a group or class of material as hazardous when the Secretary determines that transporting the material in commerce in a particular amount and form may pose an unreasonable risk to health and safety or property.

(b)Regulations for Safe Transportation.—

(1)The Secretary shall prescribe regulations for the safe transportation, including security, of hazardous material in intrastate, interstate, and foreign commerce. The regulations—

(A)apply to a person who—

(i)transports hazardous material in commerce;

(ii)causes hazardous material to be transported in commerce;

(iii)designs, manufactures, fabricates, inspects, marks, maintains, reconditions, repairs, or tests a package, container, or packaging component that is represented, marked, certified, or sold as qualified for use in transporting hazardous material in commerce;

(iv)prepares or accepts hazardous material for transportation in commerce;

(v)is responsible for the safety of transporting hazardous material in commerce;

(vi)certifies compliance with any requirement under this chapter; or

(vii)misrepresents whether such person is engaged in any activity under clause

(i)through (vi); and

(B)shall govern safety aspects, including security, of the transportation of hazardous material the Secretary considers appropriate.

(2)A proceeding to prescribe the regulations must be conducted under section 553 of title 5, including an opportunity for informal oral presentation.

(c)Federally Declared Disasters and Emergencies.—

(1)In general.— The Secretary may by order waive compliance with any part of an applicable standard prescribed under this chapter without prior notice and comment and on terms the Secretary considers appropriate if the Secretary determines that—

(A)it is in the public interest to grant the waiver;

(B)the waiver is not inconsistent with the safety of transporting hazardous materials; and

(C)the waiver is necessary to facilitate the safe movement of hazardous materials into, from, and within an area of a major disaster or emergency that has been declared under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).

(2)Period of waiver.— A waiver under this subsection may be issued for a period of not more than 60 days and may be renewed upon application to the Secretary only after notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the waiver. The Secretary shall immediately revoke the waiver if continuation of the waiver would not be consistent with the goals and objectives of this chapter.

(3)Statement of reasons.— The Secretary shall include in any order issued under this section the reasons for granting the waiver.

(d)Consultation.— When prescribing a security regulation or issuing a security order that affects the safety of the transportation of hazardous material, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall consult with the Secretary of Transportation.

(e)Biennial Report.— The Secretary of Transportation shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation a biennial report providing information on whether the Secretary has designated as hazardous materials for purposes of chapter 51 of such title all by-products of the methamphetamine-production process that are known by the Secretary to pose an unreasonable risk to health and safety or property when transported in commerce in a particular amount and form.

(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(d), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 761; Pub. L. 103–311, title I, § 117(a)(2), Aug. 26, 1994, 108 Stat. 1678; Pub. L. 103–429, § 6(3), Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4378; Pub. L. 107–296, title XVII, § 1711(a), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2319; Pub. L. 109–59, title VII, §§ 7103, 7126, Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1893, 1909; Pub. L. 109–177, title VII, § 741, Mar. 9, 2006, 120 Stat. 272; Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title VII, § 7201, Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1589.)

In subsection (a), the words “such quantity and form of material” and “in his discretion” are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (b)(1), before clause (A), the words “in accordance with section 553 of title 5” are omitted because 5:553 applies unless otherwise stated. In clause (A)(i), the words “hazardous material in commerce”, and in clause (A)(ii), the words “hazardous material . . . in commerce”, are added for consistency in this chapter.

Pub. L. 103–429

This amends 49:5103(b)(2) to clarify the restatement of 49 App.:1804(a)(2) by section 1 of the Act of July 5, 1994 (Public Law 103–272, 108 Stat. 761).

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