republic-os/legal/us/code/title-49/chapter-51/section-5122.md

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LegalText	49 U.S.C. § 5122	Enforcement	us	united_states_code	code_section	49	TRANSPORTATION	51	TRANSPORTATION OF HAZARDOUS MATERIAL	5122	49 U.S.C. § 5122	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc49@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t49/s5122	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-49/usc49.xml	e3dfb6c2a9205aa883e786412808b342232e6117701aeca3c9700ee330a99007	0786acdd244d8f42c5a8e8ed1ec2a8dcb47dd0e02a286752710a20745702a4fb	e1c6c2ffde66232dc417047e0adcfe8ad3d2400a8d5622f64b4e054626b149e9	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

49 U.S.C. § 5122 - Enforcement

Text

(a) General.— At the request of the Secretary, the Attorney General may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the United States to enforce this chapter or a regulation prescribed or order, special permit, or approval issued under this chapter. The court may award appropriate relief, including a temporary or permanent injunction, punitive damages, and assessment of civil penalties considering the same penalty amounts and factors as prescribed for the Secretary in an administrative case under section 5123.

(b) Imminent Hazards.— (1) If the Secretary has reason to believe that an imminent hazard exists, the Secretary may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the United States—

(A) to suspend or restrict the transportation of the hazardous material responsible for the hazard; or

(B) to eliminate or mitigate the hazard.

(2) On request of the Secretary, the Attorney General shall bring an action under paragraph (1) of this subsection.

(c) Withholding of Clearance.— (1) If any owner, operator, or individual in charge of a vessel is liable for a civil penalty under section 5123 of this title or for a fine under section 5124 of this title, or if reasonable cause exists to believe that such owner, operator, or individual in charge may be subject to such a civil penalty or fine, the Secretary of Homeland Security, upon the request of the Secretary, shall with respect to such vessel refuse or revoke any clearance required by section 60105 of title 46.

(2) Clearance refused or revoked under this subsection may be granted upon the filing of a bond or other surety satisfactory to the Secretary.

(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(d), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 780; Pub. L. 104–324, title III, § 312(a), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3920; Pub. L. 109–59, title VII, §§ 7119, 7126, Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1905, 1909; Pub. L. 109–304, § 17(h)(1), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1709.)

Notes

Historical and Revision Notes RevisedSectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 5122(a)49 App.:1808(a) (last sentence words after semicolon).Jan. 3, 1975, Pub. L. 93–633, §§ 109(a) (last sentence words after semicolon), 111(a), 88 Stat. 2159, 2161.  49 App.:1810(a). 5122(b)49 App.:1810(b).Jan. 3, 1975, Pub. L. 93–633, § 111(b), 88 Stat. 2161; Nov. 16, 1990, Pub. L. 101–615, § 3(b), 104 Stat. 3247. In this section, the words “bring a civil action” are substituted for “bring an action in” in 49 App.:1810 and “petition . . . for an order . . . for such other order” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code. In subsection (a), the text of 49 App.:1808(a) (last sentence words after semicolon) and the words “for equitable relief” in 49 App.:1810(a) are omitted as surplus. The words “enforce this chapter” are substituted for “redress a violation by any person of a provision of this chapter” to eliminate unnecessary words. The words “regulation prescribed or order issued” are substituted for “order or regulation issued” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code. The words “The court may award appropriate relief, including” are substituted for “Such district courts shall have jurisdiction to determine such actions and may grant such relief as is necessary or appropriate, including mandatory or prohibitive injunctive relief, interim equitable relief, and” to eliminate unnecessary words. In subsection (b)(1), before clause (A), the words “as is necessary” are omitted as surplus.

Editorial Notes

Amendments2006—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 109–304 substituted “Secretary of Homeland Security” and “section 60105 of title 46” for “Secretary of the Treasury” and “section 4197 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (46 App. U.S.C. 91)”, respectively. 2005—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–59, § 7126, substituted “Secretary” for “Secretary of Transportation”. Pub. L. 109–59, § 7119(a), substituted “this chapter or a regulation prescribed or order, special permit, or approval” for “this chapter or a regulation prescribed or order” and “The court may award appropriate relief, including a temporary or permanent injunction, punitive damages, and assessment of civil penalties considering the same penalty amounts and factors as prescribed for the Secretary in an administrative case under section 5123” for “The court may award appropriate relief, including punitive damages”. Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 109–59, § 7119(b), substituted “or mitigate the hazard” for “or ameliorate the hazard”. 1996—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–324 added subsec. (c).