108 STAT. 864 PUBLIC LAW 103-272—JULY 5, 1994 Public safety. The Secretary shall make public the reasons for granting information. ^^^ waiver. (e) HEARINGS.— The Secretary shall conduct a hearing as provided by section 553 of title 5 when prescribing a regulation or issuing an order under this chapter, including a regulation or order establishing, amending, or waiving compliance with a railroad safety regulation prescribed or order issued under this chapter. An opportunity for an oral presentation shall be provided. § 20104. Emergency authority (a) ORDERING RESTRICTIONS AND PROHIBITIONS.— (1) If, through testing, inspection, investigation, or research carried out under this chapter, the Secretary of Transportation decides that an unsafe condition or practice, or a combination of unsafe conditions and practices, causes an emergency situation involving a hazard of death or personal injury, the Secretary immediately 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 obtaining 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 section 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 ORDERS.An employee of a railroad carrier engaged in interstate or foreign commerce who may be exposed to imminent physical injury during that employment because of the Secretary's failure, without any reasonable basis, to issue an order under subsection (a) of this section, or the employee's authorized representative, may bring a civil action against the Secretary in a district court of the United States to compel the Secretary to issue an order. The action 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. § 20105. State participation (a) INVESTIGATIVE AND SURVEILLANCE ACTIVITIES. —The Secretary of Transportation may prescribe investigative and surveillance activities necessary to enforce the safety regulations prescribed and orders issued by the Secretary 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, rolling stock, and operations in the State are regulated by a State authority and the authority submits to the Secretary an annual certification as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
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