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

The regulations also apply to any
contractor who performs safety-sensitive
functions for a recipient or subrecipient
of federal assistance as defined above.
Exempt are contractors of rural operators,
including those that receive Section 5311
funding and operators that serve
populations under 200,000 and receive
funding through the Section 5309
discretionary capital funding program
and the Section 5307 urban funding
program, including Job Access.
Some transit agencies could be
affected by drug and alcohol testing
regulations of more than one USDOT
modal agency. These include transit
agencies operating ferry boats, commuter
railroads, or vehicles that require
operators to hold Commercial Driver’s
Licenses (CDLs). In those cases, FTA
has coordinated responsibility with the
other modal agencies to minimize
overlapping requirements.
U.S. Coast Guard. The U.S. Coast
Guard (USCG) will be deemed in
concurrent compliance with the testing
requirements of 49 CFR Part 655 when
they comply with the USCG’s chemical
and alcohol testing requirements.
However, ferry operations will remain
subject to FTA’s random alcohol testing
requirements because the USCG does not
have a similar requirement.
Federal Railroad Administration.
The Federal Railroad Administration
(FRA) and FTA have agreed that
commuter railroad operators who receive
FTA funds are exempt from compliance
with FTA’s testing regulations.
However, these operators must certify to
FTA as specified in Section 655.83 that
they are in full compliance with the FRA
substance abuse regulations set forth in
49 CFR Part 219 for its railroad
operations. A sample certification letter
can be found in the Sample
Documentation section at the end of this
chapter. The recipient must follow Part
655 requirements for its non-rail safetysensitive
operations, if any.
Commercial Driver’s Licenses. The
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) and FTA have
agreed that transit agencies with safetysensitive
employees holding CDLs are
covered by the FTA drug and alcohol
regulations. However, individual CDL
holders remain subject to FMCSA
sanctions and other ramifications for
FMCSA rule violations, which are not
included in the FTA drug and alcohol
regulations (i.e., loss of CDL for one year
following a positive alcohol test of 0.04
or greater).
The regulations promulgated by each
of the USDOT modes are very similar
and address the same basic principles.
However, the regulations are different in
that they reflect the operating
environment and regulatory authority
unique to each mode. Since many transit
systems are associated with other entities
that fall under the FMCSA rule, they
have assumed incorrectly that a program
that is compliant with one modal
administration’s regulation will also be in
compliance with the other’s regulation.
The regulations are similar, but they are
not identical. The primary areas of
difference between the FTA and FMCSA
regulations are summarized in the
Sample Documentation section at the end
of this chapter.
Chapter 2. Regulatory Overview 2-3 August 2002