49 U.S.C. § 5112 — Highway routing of hazardous material

(a) Application. (1) This section applies to a motor vehicle only when it transports hazardous material in commerce and regulations under this chapter require the vehicle to display warning placards. By regulation, however, the Secretary may extend this section or a standard under subsection (b) to: (A) any use of a vehicle under this paragraph to transport hazardous material in commerce; and (B) any motor vehicle used to transport hazardous material in commerce. (2) Except as subsection (d) and section 5125(c) provide, each State and Indian tribe may establish, keep, and enforce: (A) specific highway routes on which motor vehicles may or may not transport hazardous material; and (B) limits and requirements about highway routing. (b) Standards for States and Indian Tribes. (1) After consulting the States, the Secretary must issue regulations setting standards for States and Indian tribes to carry out subsection (a). The standards must include: (A) each routing designation, limit, or requirement must improve public safety both in the State or tribe's area and in directly affected areas outside its jurisdiction; (B) minimum procedures that provide for public participation when the designation, limit, or requirement is created; (C) consultation with appropriate State, local, and tribal officials responsible for areas outside the establishing State or tribe's jurisdiction, and with affected industries; (D) routes through the State or tribe for hazardous-material transportation between neighboring areas; (E) a designation, limit, or requirement affecting another State or tribe may be established, kept, and enforced only if (i) the other State or tribe agrees within a reasonable time or the Secretary approves it under subsection (d), and (ii) it is not an unreasonable burden on commerce; (F) the designation, limit, or requirement must be created promptly; (G) reasonable routes for vehicles carrying hazardous material to reach terminals; food, fuel, repair, and rest facilities; and loading and unloading places; (H) a State must (i) ensure that its political subdivisions follow these standards when creating, keeping, or enforcing a routing designation, limit, or requirement, and (ii) resolve disputes between its political subdivisions; and (I) the State or tribe must consider (i) population density, (ii) highway types, (iii) the types and amounts of hazardous material, (iv) emergency-response ability, (v) consultation results, (vi) exposure and other risks, (vii) terrain, (viii) route continuity, (ix) alternative routes, (x) effects on commerce, (xi) transportation delays, and (xii) other factors the Secretary considers appropriate. (2) The Secretary may not tell a State or tribe how much weight to give any factor in paragraph (1)(I). (c) List of Route Designations. (1) Working with the States, the Secretary must periodically update and publish a list of currently effective hazardous-material highway route designations. (2)(A) Each State must submit, in the form and manner the Secretary sets and under subparagraph (B), (i) the name of the State agency responsible for these designations and (ii) a list of the State's currently effective designations. (B) Each State must submit the list (i) at least every 2 years and (ii) within 60 days after a designation is created, changed, or ended. (d) Dispute Resolution. (1) The Secretary must issue regulations for disputes about through highway routing or an agreement concerning a proposed routing designation, limit, or requirement between or among States, political subdivisions of different States, or Indian tribes. (2) A State or tribe involved may petition the Secretary. The Secretary must resolve the dispute within 1 year after receiving the petition. The resolution must provide the highest level of highway safety without unreasonably burdening commerce and must follow subsection (b)'s standards. (3)(A) After a petition is filed, a court action about the dispute may be brought only after whichever occurs first: (i) the Secretary issues a final decision; or (ii) the last day of the 1-year period beginning when the Secretary receives the petition. (B) A State or tribe harmed by the Secretary's decision may seek judicial review in an appropriate United States district court within 89 days after the decision becomes final. (e) Relationship to Other Laws. This section and its regulations do not affect sections 31111 or 31113 of this title or section 127 of title 23. (f) Existing Radioactive Material Routing Regulations. The Secretary does not have to change or issue again regulations that were in effect on November 16, 1990, concerning highway routes on which motor vehicles may or may not transport radioactive material, or limits and requirements concerning those routes.