Issue 29, Pg 1 - FTA Drug And Alcohol Regulation Updates

U.S. Department
of Transportation
Federal Transit
Administration
Office of Safety and Security

FTA Drug And Alcohol Regulation Updates

Winter 2005

Issue 29

Introduction....

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) published its revised rule on prohibited drug use and the prevention of alcohol misuse (49 CFR Part 655) on August 1, 2001. The FTA published the revised Implementation Guidelines for Drug and Alcohol Regulations in Mass Transit to provide a comprehensive overview of the regulations.
Since the Guidelines were published, there have been numerous amendments, interpretations, and clarifications to the Drug and Alcohol testing procedures and program requirements.
This publication is being provided to update the Guidelines and inform your transit system of these changes. This Update is the twenty-ninth in a series.

Inside....

Interim Final Rule	2
Updates	3
Technical Assistance	4
Rx & OTC Medications	5
Resource Materials	6

MIS Reports Due March 15
   All transit systems and safety sensitive contractors subject to the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) drug and alcohol testing regulations must file annual Management Information System (MIS) reports for the 2004 calendar year by March 15, 2005. In 2004, the FTA joined the four other Department of Transportation (DOT) agencies in adopting a single one-page form for use in reporting drug and alcohol test results. The form is provided in 49 CFR Part 40 and was published in the Federal Register on July 25, 2003 (§40.25 and Appendix H).
   The FTA also strongly encouraged electronic filing of MIS reports. Implementation of the new form and electronic filing procedure went very smoothly and thus, the same procedures are in place for reporting the CY 2004 data.
   All FTA grantees and states have been selected to report 2004 MIS information to FTA. Agencies are strongly encouraged to file their reports electronically. However, those who choose to submit hard copies can do so by obtaining the forms from the FTA Office of Safety and Security website and once completed, mail them to: FTA Drug and Alcohol MIS Project Office, DTS-781, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, 55 Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA 02142.
   Electronic reporters should file online at http://damis.dot.gov. To file each grantee must use the user ID and password issued for their agency. They should provide user Ids and passwords, sent to them by FTA, to their contractors/subrecipients. If a grantee has a new contractor or subrecipient or if the list of contractors/subrecipients is incorrect, the agency should contact the FTA Drug and Alcohol MIS (DAMIS) Project Office to request additional passwords. The DAMIS office can be reached at (617) 494-6336, or fta.damis@volpe.dot.gov.
   State DOTs are to review the Section 5311 subrecipients’ submittals for accuracy, return for correction if necessary, and accept to submit. Similarly, grantees must check the accuracy of their safety-sensitive contractors’ reports. The grantee/State DOT must officially accept the submittal for it to be considered complete. Once all information has been completed and all errors and warnings have been addressed, an official of the covered employer must sign the submission before it is mailed. Internet submissions can be signed by clicking the Electronically Sign button.

Random Rates Unchanged
The USDOT Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy & Compliance (ODAPC) outlined the annual minimum drug and alcohol random testing rates established for each DOT mode for 2005 on its website (www.dot.gov/ost/dapc/rates.html). The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) random testing rate for drugs remains at fifty percent (50%) while the random testing rate for alcohol remains at ten percent (10%).
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) also requires random testing at the 50 % rate for drugs and 10 % rate for alcohol, while the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) test at the 25% rate for drugs and 10% rate for alcohol. Employers and third party administrators (TPAs) subject to more than one DOT agency drug and alcohol testing rule may combine covered employees into a single random selection pool. However, if the employer/TPA fall under the jurisdiction of DOT modes with differing testing rates, the employer/TPA must test at or above the highest minimum annual random testing rates of the modes.

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