[Skip to Content]
DOT Logo
U.S. Department
of Transportation

Pipeline Safety Stakeholder Communications

Pipeline Safety Connects Us All

Summary of Enforcement Activity - Nationwide

This report provides a high level summary of PHMSA's overall enforcement activity. It indicates how many enforcement cases are both initiated ("opened") and "closed" in a given year. PHMSA generally initiates enforcement cases in response to an accident or when an inspection identifies one or more probable violations of the pipeline safety statutes or regulations. These same cases are "closed" only after PHMSA has determined that the required corrective actions have been completed by the operator, and after any corresponding civil penalties have been paid. In some cases, the corrective actions are so extensive or the agency's monitoring period is so protracted that the case may remain open for months or even years. This means that many of the cases which are shown as "closed" in a given year may have been initiated in prior years.

Enforcement Activity: 2002-2023 (1)
Year Cases Initiated Cases Closed
2002 160 108
2003 144 122
2004 223 142
2005 297 265
2006 233 271
2007 255 263
2008 182 206
2009 181 241
2010 199 243
2011 207 218
2012 276 265
2013 266 267
2014 154 184
2015 197 195
2016 164 176
2017 229 212
2018 199 196
2019 223 262
2020 195 216
2021 264 246
2022 227 213
2023 176 170

Note: Tables may be sorted by clicking on the column heading. Also, numbers that appear as links can be clicked for more detailed information.

Cases shown as closed in a given year may have been originally initiated in prior years, reflecting a multi-year time period of PHMSA follow-up.

PHMSA Pipeline Enforcement Raw Data

How to Access Files

To load the data file into MS Excel:

  1. Download “Enforcement Cases Initiated from 2002” under the “Enforcement Cases Initiated from 2002”.
  2. Open Excel and click “Open”. This will start the “Open” dialog box.
  3. Change file type to “All Files”.
  4. Select the data TXT file and click “Open”.
  5. Excel will start the Text Import Wizard and display the first dialog.
  6. Under “Choose the file type that best describes your data:”, select “Delimited”, click next.
  7. In the second dialog, select “Tab” under “Delimiters”.
  8. Uncheck “Treat consecutive delimiters as one”, click next.
  9. In the third dialog set “Column data format” to “General”.
  10. Click “Finish”; to import the data.

Enforcement Cases Initiated from 2002 (data as of December 4, 2023)
Enforcement Data Dictionary

Also see

Sources

  1. PHMSA Safety Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART)and the Work Management System as of December 4, 2023.

For comments and questions on the enforcement information presented on this site, please send us feedback.

Information provided on this website is intended to enhance public understanding of PHMSA's enforcement program. Aggregate and company-specific statistical information reflecting PHMSA's enforcement actions is provided beginning with 2002. Key documents associated with new administrative enforcement cases are provided beginning with 2007. Agency orders issued since 2002 are also provided. The search feature may not retrieve every document associated with each individual enforcement action. Enforcement data is updated monthly as additional cases are initiated and other cases are resolved. Historical totals will change over time to reflect changes in case status.

Feedback | FOIA | Information Highlights | Privacy Policy | Accessibility Policy | ©2005-2023 PHMSA | DOT Home | PHMSA Home | PSA Forum | Adobe Reader | Generated: 12/04/23 08:25:13 PM