§5117 Special Permits and Exclusions

The Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972, referred to in subsec. (d)(1)(C), is Pub. L. 92–340, July 10, 1972, 86 Stat. 424, which was renamed the Ports and Waterways Safety Act by Pub. L. 95–474, § 2, Oct. 17, 1978, 92 Stat. 1471, and was classified generally to chapter 25 (§ 1221 et seq.) of Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 115–282, title IV, § 402(e), Dec. 4, 2018, 132 Stat. 4264. See Transitional and

s note preceding section 101 of Title 46, Shipping, and chapter 700 (§ 70001 et seq.) of Title 46.

2015—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 114–94, § 7204(1), substituted “an application for a new special permit or a modification to an existing special permit” for “an application for a special permit” and inserted “The Secretary shall make available to the public on the Department of Transportation’s Internet Web site any special permit other than a new special permit or a modification to an existing special permit and shall give the public an opportunity to inspect the safety analysis and comment on the application for a period of not more than 15 days.” before “This subsection”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 114–94, § 7204(2), substituted “a special permit or approval” for “the special permit” in two places, “120 days” for “180 days”, and “make available to the public” for “publish”, and struck out “in the Federal Register” after “a statement”. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 114–94, § 7204(3), added subsec. (g). 2012—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 112–141 added subsec. (f). 2005—Pub. L. 109–59, § 7115(a)(1), substituted “Special permits and exclusions” for “Exemptions and exclusions” in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–59, § 7115(b), substituted “Issue Special Permits” for “Exempt” in heading. Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 109–59, § 7126, substituted “Secretary” for “Secretary of Transportation” in introductory provisions. Pub. L. 109–59, § 7115(c), in introductory provisions, substituted “issue, modify, or terminate a special permit authorizing a variance” for “issue an exemption” and “performing a function regulated by the Secretary under section 5103(b)(1)” for “transporting, or causing to be transported, hazardous material”. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 109–59, § 7115(d), amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (2) read as follows: “An exemption under this subsection is effective for not more than 2 years and may be renewed on application to the Secretary.” Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 109–59, § 7115(e), substituted “the special permit” for “the exemption” and substituted “a special permit” for “an exemption” wherever appearing. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109–59, § 7115(f), substituted “the special permit” for “the exemption” in two places. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 109–59, § 7115(g), substituted “a special permit” for “an exemption” and “be granted a variance” for “be exempt”. 1994—Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 103–311 added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsecs. (c) and (d) as (d) and (e), respectively.

of 2015 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 114–94 effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as a note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

of 2012 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 112–141 effective Oct. 1, 2012, see section 3(a) of Pub. L. 112–141, set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 2012 Amendment note under section 101 of Title 23, Highways. Special Permits, Approvals, and Exclusions Pub. L. 112–141, div. C, title III, § 33012(a), (b), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 838, provided that: “(a) Rulemaking.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act [see section 3(a), (b) of Pub. L. 112–141, set out as Effective and Termination Dates of 2012 Amendment notes under section 101 of Title 23, Highways], the Secretary [of Transportation], after providing notice and an opportunity for public comment, shall issue

that establish—“(1) standard operating procedures to support administration of the special permit and approval programs; and “(2) objective criteria to support the evaluation of special permit and approval applications. “(b) Review of Special Permits.—“(1) Review.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a review and analysis of special permits that have been in continuous effect for a 10-year period to determine which special permits may be converted into the hazardous materials

. “(2) Factors.—In conducting the review and analysis under paragraph (1), the Secretary may consider—“(A) the safety record for hazardous materials transported under the special permit; “(B) the application of a special permit; “(C) the suitability of provisions in the special permit for incorporation into the hazardous materials

and “(D) rulemaking activity in related areas. “(3) Rulemaking.—After completing the review and analysis under paragraph (1), but not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and after providing notice and opportunity for public comment, the Secretary shall issue

to incorporate into the hazardous materials

any special permits identified in the review under paragraph (1) that the Secretary determines are appropriate for incorporation, based on the factors identified in paragraph (2).”