President Trump’s recent executive orders have benefited the oil pipeline industry in a number of ways, including most notably, giving the final “okay” to the Dakota Access Pipeline. But some legislative mandates have been out of the reach of the President’s pen. On April 27, the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”), within the Department of Transportation, released a final rule revising its maximum penalties for violations of pipeline safety laws. The rule titled, Pipeline Safety: Inflation Adjustment of Maximum Civil Penalties, was issued pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, which requires federal agencies to adjust their civil monetary penalties annually to account for changes in inflation. So what’s changed?
Continue Reading Some Not-So-Good News Out of Washington, D.C. for Pipeline Operators – Feds Increase Fines for Pipeline Safety Violations
In Effort to Increase Both Transparency and Safety, PHMSA Releases Civil Penalty Framework
The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) issued a General Policy Statement for civil penalties (“Penalty Framework”) on October 17, 2016. The Penalty Framework allows a respondent in a PHMSA enforcement case to request a proposed civil penalty calculation related to its case, and provides a penalty range with corresponding factors used in calculating the penalty amount. Prior to publishing the Penalty Framework, the PHMSA only provided its civil penalty framework upon request.
In imposing a civil penalty, the PHMSA must consider five factors:
(1) The nature, circumstances and gravity of the violation, including adverse impact on the environment;
(2) The degree of the respondent’s culpability;
(3) The respondent’s history of prior offenses;
(4) Any good faith by the respondent in attempting to achieve compliance; and
(5) The effect on the respondent’s ability to continue in business.
49 U.S.C. § 60122.
New Law Streamlines Federal Permitting and Environmental Review Processes
Major infrastructure developers received a notable holiday gift from Capitol Hill and the White House earlier this month with the December 4, 2015 enactment of the Highway Authorization Act. Title XLI of the Act promises to streamline both the authorization (license, permit, approval, etc.) and environmental review processes for covered projects.
Who Benefits?
To benefit from the Act’s streamlined process, an infrastructure project must (1) fall within a covered project category, (2) be subject to NEPA, (3) be likely to require a total investment of more than $200,000,000, and (4) not qualify for abbreviated authorization or environmental review under another statute. Covered project categories include:
- Renewable or conventional energy production
- Electricity transmission
- Surface transportation
- Aviation
- Ports and waterways
- Water resource projects not already covered under the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (33 U.S.C. 2348)
- Broadband
- Pipelines
- Manufacturing
Continue Reading New Law Streamlines Federal Permitting and Environmental Review Processes