U.S. Department of Transportation
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News

PHMSA 2-06
Monday, May 8, 2006
Contact: James Wiggins
202-366-4831

Krista L. Edwards Begins Role as New Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Chief Counsel

U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta today welcomed Krista L. Edwards as chief counsel at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Edwards comes to the department having served as a partner in the Washington, DC, office of Sidley Austin, LLP, while she was a member of the firm’s Employment & Labor and Transportation Practice groups.

"Krista Edwards brings an ideal blend of private-sector experience and in-depth understanding of transportation law to her position as PHMSA’s top lawyer," said Secretary Mineta.

Edwards, who started May 1, will be responsible for heading the Office of Chief Counsel of PHMSA, the federal agency charged with the safe and secure movement of almost 1 million daily shipments of hazardous materials by all modes of transportation. The agency also oversees the nation’s pipeline infrastructure which moves 64 percent of the energy products consumed in the United States.

Edwards received her Bachelor of Arts in political science from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb and her law degree (cum laude) from Northwestern School of Law in Chicago. She is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and the state of Illinois.

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