Chapter 02. State Safety Oversight Authority

An unexpected outcome resulting in injury or death;

Damage to or loss of the facilities, equipment, rolling stock, or infrastructure of a public transportation system; or

Damage to the environment.

Conduct, or cause to be conducted, inspections, investigations, examinations, and testing of the property, equipment, facilities, rolling stock, personnel, and operations of the RTA rail systems, including, without limitation, electronic information and databases;;

Enter upon the RTA rail systems and, upon reasonable notice and a finding by the SSOA personnel that a need exists, upon any lands, waters, and premises adjacent to the RTA rail systems for making inspections, investigations, examinations and testing as the SSOA may deem necessary to carry out the purposes of this regulation, and such entry shall not be deemed a trespass. The SSOA shall make reasonable reimbursement for any actual damage resulting to any such adjacent lands, waters, and premises because of such activities;

Compel compliance by an RTA with any Corrective Action Plan, directive, or order of the SSOA by such means as the SSOA deems appropriate, including, but not limited to:

Direct an RTA to suspend or disqualify from performing in a safety sensitive position an individual who has violated or directed others to violate safety rules, regulations, policies, procedures, or laws in a manner that the SSOA determines make that individual unfit for the performance of such a function; and

Take such other actions as the SSOA may deem appropriate consistent with its purposes and powers.

The SSOA shall establish minimum standards for the safety of all rail fixed guideway public transportation systems within its oversight. These shall be consistent with the National Public Transportation Safety Plan, the Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program, the rules for Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans and all applicable federal and State laws.

The SSOA shall review and approve the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan for every rail fixed guideway public transportation system within its oversight. The SSOA shall oversee an RTA’s execution of its Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan. The SSOA shall enforce the execution of a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan, through an order of a corrective action plan or any other means, as necessary or appropriate. The SSOA shall ensure that a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan meets the requirements at 49 U.S.C. §5329(d) and 49 CFR Part 673.

If the SSOA does not approve a Public Transportation Safety Plan, the SSOA shall provide a written explanation and allow an RTA an opportunity to modify and resubmit its Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan for the SSOA’s approval.

The SSOA has the responsibility to provide safety oversight of an RTA’s project or projects in the engineering or construction phase to verify compliance with all applicable federal and State safety requirements, safety procedures, and other safety management system practices such as safety event investigation. This includes operations, testing, simulated service or pre-revenue service, and transit-related maintenance activity. The SSOA may set additional reporting and investigation requirements for the RTA beyond those required by FTA.

The SSOA shall have primary responsibility for the investigation of any allegation of noncompliance with a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan.

The SSOA shall have primary responsibility for the investigation of a safety event on a rail fixed guideway public transportation system.

The SSOA may enter into an agreement with a contractor for assistance, including overseeing safety event investigations performing independent safety event investigations and for expertise or resources the SSOA does not have within its own organization.

All designated SSOA personnel shall comply with the requirements of the Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program as applicable.

The SSOA shall investigate or require an investigation of any safety event that requires the transit agency to notify FTA under 49 CFR §674.33, may investigate or require investigations of other safety events, and is ultimately responsible for the sufficiency and thoroughness of all investigations, whether conducted by the SSOA or RTA. If the SSOA requires an RTA to investigate a safety event, the SSOA must conduct an independent review of the RTAs findings of causation. In any instance in which an RTA is conducting its own internal safety event investigation, the SSOA and the RTA must coordinate their investigations in accordance with the SSO program standard.

Within a reasonable time, the SSOA shall issue a written report on its investigation of a safety event or review of an RTA’s safety event investigation in accordance with the reporting requirements established by the SSOA. The report shall describe the investigation activities; identify the factors that caused or contributed to the safety event; and set forth a corrective action plan or plans, as necessary or appropriate. If the SSOA conducts its own investigation, it shall transmit that report to the RTA for review and concurrence. If the RTA does not concur with an SSOA’s report, the SSOA may allow the RTA to submit a written dissent from the report, which may be included in the report, at the discretion of the SSOA. The SSOA shall formally adopt each investigation report.

All personnel that conduct investigations on behalf of an SSOA shall be trained to perform their functions in accordance with the Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program.

In any instance in which an RTA must develop and carry out a Corrective Action Plan (CAP), the SSOA shall review and approve the CAP before the RTA carries out the plan; however, an exception may be made for immediate or emergency corrective actions that must be taken to ensure immediate safety, provided that the SSOA has been given timely notification, and the SSOA provides subsequent review and approval. A CAP shall describe, specifically, the actions the RTA will take to correct the deficiency and to mitigate the identified risks and hazards to an acceptable level as required by the SSOA Program Standard and the RTA’s Agency Safety Plan, the schedule for taking those actions, and the individuals responsible for taking those actions. The RTA shall periodically report to the SSOA on its progress in carrying out the CAP. The SSOA may monitor the RTA’s progress in carrying out the CAP through unannounced, on-site inspections, or any other means the SSOA deems necessary or appropriate.

In any instance in which a safety event on the RTA’s rail fixed guideway public transportation system is the subject of an investigation by the NTSB, the SSOA shall evaluate whether the findings or recommendations by the NTSB require a CAP by the RTA, and if so, the SSOA shall order the RTA to develop and carry out a CAP.

On or before March 15 of each year, the SSOA shall submit the following material to FTA:

These materials must be submitted electronically through a reporting system specified by FTA.