Legal Issues in Public Transit Emergency Planning and Operation (2013) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 20-53
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20 gin, and income level. • Present and proposed membership by race, color, or national origin, in any planning or advisory body that is part of the program, policy, or activity.
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21 response and facility and vehicle evacuations were considered in the realm of transit safety as part of an agency's overall safety program, along with environmental and occupational health issues. When the SSO program standards were published, the safety and security elements of that program were outlined in this fashion.
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22 rity, and emergency management should be taken to eliminate the potential for confusion.
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23 legislation and programs to oversee transit bus safety and security.173 However, on July 17, 2012, MAP-21174 was enacted mandating the Secretary of Transportation to develop a NPTSP, to include: • Safety performance criteria for all modes of public transportation.175 • A standard for the meaning of "state of good repair" for capital assets.176 • Minimum safety performance standards, taking into account NTSB recommendations and best practices.177 • A safety certification training program to develop oversight capabilities.178 • Within 1 year of the rules for the NPTSP being promulgated, each USDOT recipient shall certify or have certified by the state: 1) a requirement that a Board or equivalent entity approve an agency safety plan and updates thereof, 2)
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24 and construction costs, and to some extent preventive maintenance operating costs. If ferry systems utilize FTA funds, they may be subject to PMP and SSMP requirements pursuant to the FTA's PMO program and statutory and administrative program requirement triennial reviews by FTA.186 4.
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25 Of all the laws and regulations described above, USDOT's rules regarding the treatment of the disabled on passenger vessels are among the most prescriptive. While other ADA-based rules were promulgated by the USDOT to afford reasonable accommodations and prevent discrimination on other modes,188 USDOT's passenger vessel rules are more narrowly defined and pertain specifically to emergency operations.
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27 commonly heard advice after September 11, 2001, interpreting guidance is at minimum a daunting task and at worst a disincentive to start preparations. Unfortunately, many have looked upon these homeland security planning issues and requirements narrowly as unfunded mandates or "check-the-box" tasks to fill in templates rather than seeing them for what they truly are: exercises in risk management.
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28 • Unity of effort through unified command -- each level and element of government will have its individual command structure established to marshal its own personnel, equipment, and supplies and have the capability to integrate into larger multi-agency commands. • Readiness to act -- having a "forwardleaning posture"195 built upon strategies, procedures, training, and communications.
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29 nation with transit by state and local emergency management agencies should occur to assist transit in understanding planning objectives and to determine how transit's capabilities and assets can be utilized to build a stronger regional preparedness program. Pursuant to state disaster plans, state and local emergency management agencies are charged with working with local transit systems to coordinate objectives to address identified risks.
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30 This issue can be exemplified in how some rail transit risk assessments are conducted today. Pursuant to FTA's Rail Transit State Safety Oversight program, rail transit engineers and planners must assess the safety impacts of hazards that may debilitate a system or operations in the Preliminary Hazard Assessment (PHA)
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31 could break down operations into parts, and begin assessing strengths, weaknesses, and interdependencies. A sample breakdown is as follows: Mission Essential Functions Communications Transport Maintenance Management/ Administration Cell phones Vehicles Facilities Executives Radios Yards Yards IT Repeaters Track Equipment Procurements Cell towers Signals Parts Admin staff Internet Power systems Fuel Safety Operators Maintainers Security Supervisors Cleaners Dispatchers Stations Facilities Bridges Tunnels SCADA systems Fuel Table 4.
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32 Reviewing agency operations and functions to ensure that transit can perform and meet the objectives of a local emergency plan is clearly not a simple matter. It requires a serious and deliberate attempt to critique the utilization of resources and operations.
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33 FTA FIXED GUIDEWAY RAIL STATE SAFETY OVERSIGHT PROGRAM AREAS NO. SSPP ELEMENT CONTENTS 1 Policy Statement and Authority for SSPP A policy statement signed by the agency's chief executive that endorses the safety program and describes the authority that establishes the SSPP.
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35 FTA FIXED GUIDEWAY RAIL STATE SAFETY OVERSIGHT PROGRAM AREAS NO. SSPP ELEMENT CONTENTS 18 Local, State, and Federal Requirements A description of the safety program for employees and contractors that incorporates the applicable local, state, and federal requirements, including (i)
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36 important to note that the ICS portion of NIMS is a personnel organizational tool. ICS provides a method to organize a transit system's personnel to manage incidents.
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37 b) Training and Exercises. -- The process of establishing response doctrine forwardreadiness is assisted by the establishment and implementation of a training and exercise program, a key tool of a continuous improvement program.
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38 of the county Safety Committee and the Local Emergency Planning Committee. The foundations upon which SCUSA can operate within an incident command are the basic job skills and experience of its personnel.
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39 recommends. "You just have to go out and find them and form partnerships." To date, 13 other North Carolina transit systems have asked to participate in Stanly County's Vehicle Emergency Evacuation program.
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40 pursuant to the CSP to ensure that services will be available after an event. The primary task is for NYCT to assess the potential impacts of the storm to essential functions and secure the system to the greatest extent possible prior to Zero Hour based on identified threats.
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41 With respect to emergency planning, a seminal court case establishing the legal parameters of sovereign immunity is Dalehite v. United States.232 Plaintiffs brought this action under the Federal Torts Claims Act,233 and argued that a death resulting from an explosion of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on a cargo ship under the control of the United States for export to Europe following World War II was a result of negligence on the part of the government.
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42 ject which was deemed feasible by the defendants and for which money was available -- was never considered by the defendants.249 The defendants failed "to anticipate the contingency that when no one was available to turn on pumps, flooding would ensue…[therefore]
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43 all their departments, divisions and bureaus….") 261 Defendants moved for summary judgment and the New York Supreme Court dismissed the complaint.
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44 edness plan is to anticipate the types of needs that will arise during and immediately after an emergency.272 The district court found that Los Angeles' emergency preparedness program was designed to apply to all city residents, including disabled individuals. Disabled individuals, however, did not have meaningful access to the program and the City had not made reasonable accommodations to meet these needs -- thus, disproportionately burdened disabled individuals.273 The court supported this finding with examples, such as the City's failure to determine whether its emergency shelters were wheelchair accessible or able to accommodate individuals who rely upon service animals.274 It was not long before the effects of the Communities decision had an impact on other jurisdictions.
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45 signing the consent decree the MTA failed to meet its requirements. Specifically, the MTA had not acted to reduce the over-crowding problems on the buses.281 The MTA argued that it had insufficient funds to purchase new buses and therefore could not meet its targeted goal.282 In 2001, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the earlier district court decision and ordered the MTA to comply with the consent decree.
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46 community turns to the state for help. The governor, after examining the situation, may direct that the state's emergency plan be executed,286 direct the use of state police or the National Guard, or commit other resources as appropriate to the situation.
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47 • Be required as a direct result of the declared disaster.296 • Be located within the designated area of a major disaster or emergency declaration (though evacuation activities may be located outside the area)
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48 Table 7. Eligible Work for Stafford Act Public Assistance.
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49 STAFFORD ACT TRANSIT EMERGENCY RELIEF WORK A reimbursable area specific to transit that can be used in conjunction with an agency's FTA Public Transit Emergency Relief Fund application is for Stafford PAP Public Transportation Emergency Work (49 C.F.R.
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50 when conditions are not appropriate for the use of sealed bids.311 • Procurement by Noncompetitive Proposals. Allowed when the award of a contract is infeasible under small purchase procedures, sealed bids, or competitive proposals and one of the following circumstances applies: 1)
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51 c) FTA Public Transit Emergency Relief Program. -- In 2008, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
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52 cent.333 For disaster areas in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York, the federal share was 100 percent for eligible recovery operating expenses between October 30 and November 14, 2012.334 Local match must be provided from an undistributed cash surplus, a replacement or depreciation cash fund or reserve, or new capital. For expenses within all three categories, state planning, Buy America, and Procurement and Contraction Guidelines were waived.335 3.
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53 first disaster-relief compact, established in 1996, which offers assistance during governordeclared states of emergency through a system that allows states to send personnel, equipment, and commodities to help disaster-relief efforts in other states. Once EMAC was enabled for Katrina, over 67,000 aid personnel were dispatched to Louisiana and Mississippi through EMAC coordination of 48 states.345 As a model for cooperative agreements between governments, EMAC "addresses the legal issues of liability, workers compensation, reimbursement, and professional licensure -- prior to a disaster or emergency when resource needs and timing are critical."346 The APTA Standards Development Program has established guidance for the development of an MOU to provide mutual aid between transit systems.347 Prior to establishing an MOU between agencies, APTA suggests consideration of a wide range of issues covering assets, personnel, and communications/coor- dination, including:348 • Vehicles and Equipment • Develop and maintain a transportation resource list by type, capacity and availability, including mobility device accessible vehicles (i.e., paratransit, taxi, shuttle)
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