USA Law and Practice Contributed by: John D. O’Neill, Jr., David B. Horner, Andrej Micovic and Ryan Pedraza, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
8.4 Carbon Pricing and Reporting The United States does not currently maintain a nationwide carbon pricing regime. However, certain states operate cap-and-trade or similar programmes, and public companies increasingly face investor- driven ESG reporting expectations. Transportation agencies and infrastructure sponsors are also incor - porating climate-related disclosure, resilience and sustainability considerations into project planning and procurement processes. 8.5 Environmental Review in Regulation Where federal permits, approvals or funding are involved, regulators are usually required to consider environmental impacts through the NEPA process. Agencies evaluate direct, indirect and cumulative impacts, alternatives and mitigation measures before making decisions. Environmental review obligations frequently influence project design, procurement schedules, financing timelines and risk allocation pro - Environmental non-compliance may result in admin - istrative penalties, civil fines, injunctive relief, permit suspension, remediation obligations and, in certain circumstances, criminal liability. Transportation pro - ject sponsors and operators may also face contrac - tual liabilities, project delays and litigation risks arising from environmental violations or permitting failures. visions in concession agreements. 8.6 Enforcement and Liability 9. Safety and Technical Standards 9.1 Safety Regime Road and rail safety are governed primarily at the fed - eral level. The FMCSA regulates commercial motor carrier safety, while the FRA oversees railroad safety, operations, equipment and infrastructure. State agen - cies supplement federal oversight through enforce - ment activities, inspections and additional operational requirements. 9.2 Accident Investigation Major transportation accidents may be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, which has authority to investigate significant highway and rail incidents. Federal and state transportation agen -
cies frequently participate in investigations, and find - ings often influence future regulatory, operational and infrastructure decisions. 9.3 Operator Obligations Operators are required to report certain accidents, preserve evidence, co-operate with investigations, implement corrective actions and comply with appli - cable notification requirements. Additional obligations may arise under concession agreements, insurance policies, safety regulations and environmental laws. 9.4 Technical Standards and Certification Commercial vehicles, rail equipment, signalling sys - tems and transportation infrastructure are subject to extensive technical standards and certification requirements administered primarily by the FMCSA, the FRA and state transportation agencies. Compli - ance is required throughout design, construction, operation and maintenance phases. 9.5 Hazardous Materials Transportation of hazardous materials is regulated principally by the USDOT through the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, with addi - tional requirements administered by the FMCSA and FRA. Operators must comply with detailed rules gov - erning packaging, labelling, routing, training, docu - mentation, security and emergency response. 9.6 Insurance and Liability Motor carriers, railroads and concessionaires are required to maintain specified levels of insurance coverage. Liability exposure varies depending on the applicable legal framework, and the United States does not impose comprehensive statutory liability caps on transportation operators, although contrac - tual limitations and sovereign immunity principles may affect recovery in certain circumstances. Passenger rail liability is subject to a specialised fed - eral framework. Intercity passenger rail operators, including Amtrak, are subject to a statutory aggregate liability cap for claims arising from a single rail passen - ger accident or incident. Passenger rail projects also involve extensive contractual risk allocation among infrastructure owners, host freight railroads, operators, rolling stock providers and public authorities. Con -
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