Implementation Guidelines - Federal Transit Administration - U.S. ...

Chapter 1.
INTRODUCTION
Section 1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE
OF THESE GUIDELINES
The Federal Transit Administration
(FTA) recognizes that prohibited drug use
and alcohol misuse affect everyone in the
United States. In response to passage of the
Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing
Act of 1991, FTA published two regulations
in February 1994, prohibiting drug use and
alcohol misuse by transit employees and
requiring that transit agencies test for
prohibited drug use and alcohol misuse.
These regulations were published as 49 CFR
Part 653, Prevention of Prohibited Drug Use
In Transit Operations, and 49 CFR Part 654,
Prevention of Alcohol Misuse in Transit
Operations. These regulations were updated
on August 1, 2001, and consolidated into
one regulation. The new regulation, 49 CFR
Part 655, Prevention of Alcohol Misuse and
Prohibited Drug Use in Transit Operations,
incorporates guidance that FTA previously
issued through letters of interpretation,
newsletters, training classes, and compliance
audits.
In addition, the Department of
Transportation (DOT) issued 49 CFR Part
40 Procedures for Transportation
Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing
Programs, on December 1, 1989, which
prescribed testing methods. Following the
publication of several amendments, letters of
interpretation, and DOT program guidelines,
the regulation underwent a major revision.
The revised 49 CFR Part 40 was published
on December 19, 2000, with an effective
date of August 1, 2001. Complete copies of
the regulations are located in Appendix I.
To assist transit agencies in
implementing these regulations, FTA and
DOT have developed a complement of
technical assistance tools including
procedural manuals and reports, training
workshops, videos, seminars, and Webbased
resources. Central to this technical
assistance effort is FTA’s publication of the
Chapter 1. Introduction 1-1 August 2002