6 U.S.C. § 1166 Railroad Carrier Exercises

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-21 (published on www.congress.gov on 11/13/2023)

(a) In general

The Secretary shall establish a program for conducting security exercises for railroad carriers for the purpose of assessing and improving the capabilities of entities described in subsection (b) to prevent, prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism.

(b) Covered entities

Entities to be assessed under the program shall include-

(1) Federal, State, and local agencies and tribal governments;

(2) railroad carriers;

(3) governmental and nongovernmental emergency response providers, law enforcement agencies, and railroad and transit police, as appropriate; and

(4) any other organization or entity that the Secretary determines appropriate.

(c) Requirements

The Secretary shall ensure that the program-

(1) consolidates existing security exercises for railroad carriers administered by the Department and the Department of Transportation, as jointly determined by the Secretary and the Secretary of Transportation, unless the Secretary waives this consolidation requirement as appropriate;

(2) consists of exercises that are-

(A) scaled and tailored to the needs of the carrier, including addressing the needs of the elderly and individuals with disabilities;

(B) live, in the case of the most at-risk facilities to a terrorist attack;

(C) coordinated with appropriate officials;

(D) as realistic as practicable and based on current risk assessments, including credible threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences;

(E) inclusive, as appropriate, of railroad frontline employees; and

(F) consistent with the National Incident Management System, the National Response Plan, the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, the National Preparedness Guidance, the National Preparedness Goal, and other such national initiatives;