An agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), PHMSA is responsible for keeping the public safe and the environment protected when hazardous materials are moved throughout the country by land, sea, or air. This includes almost one million daily shipments of hazardous materials, including 64% of the nation’s petroleum products.
PHMSA was created under the Norman Y. Mineta Research and Special Programs Improvement Act so that there would be a DOT unit to specifically focus on pipeline and hazardous materials transportation policies and procedures, whereas previously they had been addressed by DOT’s Research and Special Programs Administration.
- Develops and enforces regulations for the 2.3 million-mile pipelines transportation system.
Aims to eliminate deaths, injuries, incidents, and environmental and property damage when hazardous materials are shipped.
- Works to reduce the harmful consequences to people, the environment, and the economy after a “hazmat” (hazardous material) or pipeline failure occurs.
- Sponsors research projects to stay on top of the latest advances in technology that may be potentially applicable to safety procedure upgrades.
- Awards grants to provide financial and technical assistance for states, tribes and local communities to receive preparation on how to handle hazmat emergencies.
- Distributes special permits, guidance documents, and informational brochures and videos, and administers an 800 Number Information Center to answer questions, make publication orders, and report violations.
- Participates in an ongoing process to help standardize pipeline and hazardous material transportation requirements internationally; works with its counterparts in Canada and Mexico to coordinate universal guidelines for firefighters, police, and other emergency service personnel who may be first to arrive at a hazardous materials accident; and facilitates efficient and safe transportation through U.S. Ports of Entry.
- Conducts drug and alcohol testing of transporters of hazardous materials.
- Enforces compliance with safety and training standards through field inspections of shipper and carrier transportation facilities; manufacturing, packaging, repairing and reconditioning work areas; cargo vessel ports; rail freight yards; motor carrier and air cargo terminals; and chemical and explosive manufacturing plants.
- Provides continuously updated safety guidelines for travelers, including how to pack and transport batteries and battery-powered devices.
From the Website of PHMSA
Safety Trips for Travelers
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Founded: 2005
Annual Budget: $154 million
Employees: 389
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Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
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Quarterman, Cynthia
Administrator
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President Obama has turned to a strong supporter with lengthy experience in pipeline law and regulation to serve as the new Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Quarterman was confirmed by the Senate November 5, 2009.
Born circa 1961 to Bernice and Rudolph Quarterman in Savannah, Georgia, Cynthia Quarterman graduated in 1979 from A. E. Beach High School, where she was crowned “Miss Beach.” She went on to earn a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University in 1983, and a Juris Doctorate degree from Columbia University School of Law in 1987, where she was Executive Editor of the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law. She spent part of 1981 as an Industrial Engineering Intern at American Cyanamid, and the year between college graduation and her first year of law school as a Cost Engineer for IBM Federal Systems in Owego, New York.
After graduating law school, Quarterman worked for a year as an associate at the law firm of Benson & McKay in Kansas City, Missouri, before taking a job in 1989 at Steptoe & Johnson, which is one of the largest firms in Washington, DC. Following Bill Clinton’s election win in 1992, Quarterman served in various capacities at the Department of the Interior, including as a member of the Office of Surface Mining Interim Management Team and Deputy Director of the Minerals Management Service (MMS), which oversees the leasing, exploration and resource development on the Nation’s outer continental shelf, including the transportation of hazardous materials by pipeline. She was promoted to MMS Director in 1995, a position she retained until February 1999, when she left public service to return to Steptoe in September. She became a partner in Steptoe’s energy and natural resources practice, where she represented producers and pipeline companies in matters before the Department of the Interior, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Transportation. During the Obama Presidential Transition, Quarterman served on the transition team regarding the Department of Energy. Quarterman has been a member of Editorial Advisory Board for Natural Gas magazine since 2000, and a member of Executive Committee of Institute for Energy Law since 2002.
Quarterman is married to Pantelis Michalopoulos, who is also a partner at Steptoe & Johnson; they have a daughter. A Democrat, between 1995 and 2009 Quarterman contributed $11,149 to Democratic candidates and causes, including $971 to the Democratic National Committee, $750 to President Bill Clinton’s 1996 reelection campaign, $1,000 to Vice President Al Gore’s 2000 Presidential campaign, $2,000 to Senator John Kerry’s 2004 Presidential campaign, and $4,278 to President Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign.
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Johnson, Carl
Previous Administrator
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Johnson, who received a BA from Cornell and an MA from George Washington University, was named PHMSA’s second Administrator by President Bush on October 30, 2007, and confirmed by the Senate on December 19, 2007. He served until the end of the Bush administration. Previously, Johnson served as director of federal government regulations at Corning Glass Works; special assistant to New York Republican Representative Amory Houghton (whose great-great grandfather founded Corning Glass Works); and, for many years, president of the Compressed Gas Association, as well as chairman of the Helium Advisory Council.
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