Nationwide
About Pipelines
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.
| 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:
- Download “Enforcement Cases Initiated from 2002” under the “Enforcement Cases Initiated from 2002”.
- Open Excel and click “Open”. This will start the “Open” dialog box.
- Change file type to “All Files”.
- Select the data TXT file and click “Open”.
- Excel will start the Text Import Wizard and display the first dialog.
- Under “Choose the file type that best describes your data:”, select “Delimited”, click next.
- In the second dialog, select “Tab” under “Delimiters”.
- Uncheck “Treat consecutive delimiters as one”, click next.
- In the third dialog set “Column data format” to “General”.
- Click “Finish”; to import the data.
Enforcement Cases Initiated from 2002 (data as of December 4, 2023)
Enforcement Data Dictionary
Also see
- PHMSA's Pipeline Enforcement
- Additional Information on the PHMSA Enforcement Program
- Enforcement Information on a Specific Pipeline Operator
- National Pipeline Mapping System
Sources
- 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.