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Colorado Revised Statutes Title 40. Utilities § 40-20-311. Office of rail safety--agreement with federal railroad administration--duties of commission, department of public safety, and department of transportation--inspections--report--rules--repeal

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(1) The office of rail safety is created with the mission of ensuring freight, passenger, community, and environmental rail safety in the state for the state's unique and delicate terrain, its headwaters, its communities, and its rail workers. The commission shall administer the office in accordance with this article 20.

(2)(a) As soon as is practicable, the commission, on behalf of the state, shall enter into an agreement with the federal railroad administration pursuant to 49 CFR 212 to participate in inspection and investigation activities. Under the agreement, the commission shall secure the authority to address all railroad safety disciplines, including crossings, track, signal and train control, motive power and equipment, operating practices, compliance, and hazardous materials.

(b) If an agreement cannot be reached as described in subsection (2)(a) of this section, the commission, on behalf of the state, shall file an annual certification pursuant to 49 CFR 212.107.

(3) The commission, the department of public safety, and the department of transportation shall engage in inspection and investigation activities as described in 49 CFR 212 to address compliance with the requirements of this part 3. Notwithstanding any provision of this section, the authority of the commission, the department of public safety, and the department of transportation to engage in inspection and investigation activities pursuant to this section is limited to:

(a) Class I railroads;

(b) Railroads operating any lines that were used by class I railroads as of July 1, 2024; and

(c) Passenger railroads.

(4) The attorney general may bring an action, consistent with 49 CFR 212, to enforce state and federal railroad safety regulations. In bringing such an action, the attorney general shall comply with 49 CFR 212.115.

(5) An interested party may request that the commission, the department of public safety, or the department of transportation investigate an alleged violation of this part 3.

(6) The commission, the department of public safety, or the department of transportation may report an alleged violation of this part 3 or any other safety concern to the federal railroad administration or the federal surface transportation board.

(7) The commission may seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, and donations and federal grant money to purchase training materials and other equipment as needed for the implementation of this section.

(8) The commission shall regularly engage with railroads, unions representing railroad employees, local governments of counties, special districts, and municipalities that contain railroad lines, first responder organizations, disproportionately impacted communities, and environmental organizations in implementing this section.

(9) The commission, the department of public safety, and the department of transportation are immune from liability for actions performed pursuant to this section, as described in article 10 of title 24.

(10) The office of rail safety shall collect and report information regarding blocked highway-rail crossings in the state, including information regarding emergency vehicles affected by blocked highway-rail crossings.

(11)(a) The office of rail safety shall create a standard process for investigators to use during investigations under this section for determining the appropriate time and method for:

(I) Gathering information about an investigation from railroads, contractors, employees of railroads or representatives of employees of railroads, and others, as determined relevant by the office of rail safety; and

(II) Consulting with railroads, contractors, employees of railroads, or representatives of employees of railroads, and others, as determined relevant by the office of rail safety, for technical expertise on the facts of an investigation.

(b) In developing the process required under subsection (11)(a) of this section, the office of rail safety shall include consideration of how to maintain the confidentiality of any entity identified pursuant to subsection (11)(a) of this section if:

(I) The entity requests confidentiality;

(II) The entity was not involved in the accident or incident; and

(III) Maintaining the entity's confidentiality does not adversely affect an investigation by the office of rail safety.

(c)(I) Except as provided in subsection (11)(c)(II) of this section, the office of rail safety may not disclose the name of an employee of a railroad who has provided information about an alleged violation of this part 3 or matters described in subsection (11)(c)(II) of this section unless the office of rail safety obtains the employee's written consent for such disclosure.

(II) The office of rail safety shall disclose to the attorney general or the federal railroad administration the name of an employee described in subsection (11)(c)(I) of this section if the matter is referred to the attorney general or the federal railroad administration for enforcement. Before making such a disclosure, the office of rail safety shall provide reasonable advance notice to the affected employee and to a designated employee representative if such a representative exists.

(d) The office of rail safety shall promulgate rules to protect employees from retaliation for their participation in investigations under this section and shall create a mechanism to accept and resolve complaints regarding violations of the rules, which mechanism is consistent with federal law.

(12) The office of rail safety shall coordinate with the department of transportation, the department of public safety, the department of public health and environment, the department of natural resources, and stakeholders such as railroads, first responders, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and labor organizations to identify and implement initiatives and priorities to reduce the frequency of blocked highway-rail crossings, improve emergency preparedness and resilience, and improve rail safety. This may include innovative use of data and technology to prioritize elimination or protection of highway-rail crossings, information sharing, and first responder decision support. The office of rail safety shall also coordinate with the aforementioned entities regarding possible federal grants to improve rail and public safety.

<Subsection (13) effective until July 1, 2026.>

(13)(a) On or before December 1, 2024, the commission, the department of public safety, and the department of transportation shall provide a report to the governor; the transportation, housing, and local government committee of the house of representatives; and the transportation and energy committee of the senate. The report must be developed in consultation with the community rail safety advisory committee and the rail industry safety advisory committee and include:

(I) An assessment of the staffing levels and equipment necessary to ensure railroads' compliance with federal and state rules and regulations and minimize rail safety risks for railroads, facilities, workers, and communities that include rail lines;

(II) An indication that public data not subject to exceptions under the “Colorado Open Records Act”, part 2 of article 72 of title 24, will be shared with the community rail safety advisory committee and the rail industry safety advisory committee;

(III) An assessment of data collection and reporting needs to ensure annual reporting on rail safety, including train length, for covered railroads and facilities;

(IV) An assessment of emergency response and cleanup capacity needed for hazardous materials incidents involving railroads;

(V) A quantification of the adequate levels of investment necessary to reduce highway-rail crossing incidents and other risks;

(VI) Mechanisms for ensuring equitable input from members of the public to state agencies regarding rail safety;

(VII) An assessment of best practices for ensuring financial responsibility for response, cleanup, and damages from major rail events, which assessment reviews best practices from other states;

(VIII) A report concerning communication issues impacting rail lines in the state, including communication with state entities such as the department of public safety; communication issues between crews working long trains; and communication from wayside detectors to crews; and

(IX)(A) A legislative proposal concerning the creation of a fee structure or other revenue source, an assessment, and a governance body and an office of rail safety to address the needs described in subsections (13)(a)(I) to (13)(a)(VIII) of this section, which fee structure, assessment, and governance body can be introduced as legislation as soon as the 2025 regular legislative session and begin operating no later than January 1, 2027.

(B) The report must include a recommendation as to which state agency would host the proposed governance body to ensure proper compliance with state and federal law, equitable access to community and worker organizations, and enforcement of safety requirements.

(b) In preparing the report described in subsection (13)(a) of this section, the commission, the department of public safety, and the department of transportation shall consult with the attorney general, the community rail safety advisory committee, and the rail industry safety advisory committee, and interested stakeholders, including railroads, unions representing railroad employees, local governments of counties, special districts, municipalities that contain railroad lines, the federal railroad administration, first responder organizations, disproportionately impacted communities, and environmental organizations.

(c) This subsection (13) is repealed, effective July 1, 2026.

(14) The commission may promulgate rules to implement this section.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Colorado Revised Statutes Title 40. Utilities § 40-20-311. Office of rail safety--agreement with federal railroad administration--duties of commission, department of public safety, and department of transportation--inspections--report--rules--repeal - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/co/title-40-utilities/co-rev-st-sect-40-20-311/

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