Pipeline safety enforcement stats rebound after plunge

E&E News

10-06-2025

Federal pipeline regulators filed more than two dozen enforcement actions last month, a surge in enforcement that followed a sudden drop in the early weeks of the second Trump administration.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration filed 29 cases in May, newly updated records show, after filing only five between President Donald Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration and early May.
Of the new batch of cases, 22 were 'warning letters' or 'notices of amendment,' which are relatively minor but common actions. Seven cases were the more serious 'notices of probable violation.' PHMSA did not seek a fine in any of the cases. The agency has not sought fines since former President Joe Biden left office.
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PHMSA filed only one case in February. In March, zero cases were brought, the first time in the agency's 20-year history it went a month without filing an enforcement action. Agency data, which is updated monthly, showed the number of cases ticked up to four in April.