49 U.S.C. § 20901 — Reports

(a) General Requirements. Within 30 days after the end of each month, a railroad carrier must file a report with the Secretary of Transportation. The report covers all accidents and incidents from that month that caused injury or death to a person, or damage to equipment or a roadbed, arising from the carrier's operations. The report must be made under oath and must state the nature, cause, and circumstances of each accident or incident. If the carrier blames human error, the report must include a statement from each blamed employee — if that employee wants to include one — explaining any factors the employee says contributed to the accident. (b) Monetary Threshold for Reporting. (1) When the Secretary sets or changes a dollar threshold for reporting an accident or incident, the Secretary must calculate damage costs using only publicly available information from: (A) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; or (B) another federal department, agency, or instrumentality — but only if that information came from objective, statistically sound surveys, or had already gone through public notice and comment in a government proceeding. (2) If information isn't available from those sources, the Secretary may use any other source. But then that information must go through public notice and a chance for written comment before it can be used.