Listing of Cases Completing the Civil Penalty Collection Process

This report lists all civil penalty cases that have completed the civil penalty collection process. This includes all closed cases, as well as open cases for which penalties have been collected. The report also includes cases where the assessed civil penalty was reduced to zero from a prior proposed amount and therefore no collection was required. The yearly tables include the date the case was opened, the name of the operator, the PHMSA Region initiating the enforcement action(s), the date the case was closed (when applicable), the total civil penalty proposed in the case, the civil penalty amount assessed if a Final Order has been issued, the total civil penalty collected from the operator, and the PHMSA case number.

When PHMSA identifies a probable violation following an inspection or incident investigation, it may decide to propose a civil penalty and issue the operator a Notice of Probable Violation (NOPV). NOPVs inform the operator that PHMSA is charging the operator with probable violations of pipeline safety statutes or regulations. These allegations are accompanied by either a proposed Compliance Order identifying actions the operator is required to take, proposed civil penalties for these alleged violations, or both. An operator then has the right to respond to the allegations and the right to an administrative hearing before a final decision by the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety is made. Only after a Final Order has been issued are civil penalties assessed and operators obligated to pay. The administrative enforcement procedures and other regulations governing the enforcement program are described in 49 CFR 190 Subpart B "Enforcement."