The requirements of 49 C.F.R. Part 190, Subpart B (§§ 190.201-190.237) govern response to Notices issued by a Regional Director, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

Be advised that all material submitted by a respondent in response to an enforcement action is subject to being made publicly available. If you believe that any portion of your responsive material qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with the complete original document you must provide a second copy of the document with the portions you believe qualify for confidential treatment redacted and an explanation of why you believe the redacted information qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b).

Within 30 days of receipt of a Notice of Probable Violation, the respondent shall respond to the Regional Director who issued the Notice in the following way:

1. When the Notice contains a proposed CIVIL PENALTY* -- 
   1. If you are not contesting any violations alleged in the Notice, pay the proposed civil penalty and advise the Regional Director of the payment. This authorizes PHMSA to make findings and to close the case with prejudice to the respondent. Payment terms are outlined below;
   2. If you are not contesting any violations alleged in the Notice but wish to submit written explanations, information, or other materials you believe warrant mitigation of the civil penalty, you may submit such materials. This authorizes PHMSA to make findings and to issue a Final Order assessing a penalty amount up to the amount proposed in the Notice;
   3. If you are contesting one or more of the items in the Notice but are not requesting an oral hearing, submit a written response to the allegations and/or seek elimination or mitigation of the proposed civil penalty. Refer to 49 C.F.R. § 190.225 for assessment considerations, which include the respondent's ability to pay and the effect on the respondent's ability to stay in business, upon which civil penalties are based; or
   4. Request a hearing as described below to contest the allegations and/or proposed assessment of a civil penalty.
2. When the Notice contains a proposed COMPLIANCE ORDER* --
   1. If you are not contesting the compliance order, notify the Regional Director that you intend to take the steps in the proposed compliance order;
   2. If you are not contesting the compliance order but wish to submit written explanations, information, or other materials you believe warrant modification of the proposed compliance order in whole or in part, or you seek clarification of the terms of the proposed compliance order, you may submit such materials. This authorizes PHMSA to make findings and issue a compliance order;
   3. If you are contesting the proposed compliance order but are not requesting an oral hearing, submit written explanations, information, or other materials in answer to the allegations in the Notice and stating your reasons for objecting to the proposed compliance order items in whole or in part; or
   4. Request a hearing as described below to contest the allegations and/or proposed compliance order items.
3. When the Notice contains a WARNING ITEM --

No written response is required. The respondent is warned that if it does not take appropriate action to correct these items, enforcement action will be taken if a subsequent inspection reveals a violation.

* Failure of the respondent to respond to the Notice within 30 days of receipt constitutes a waiver of the right to contest the allegations in the Notice and authorizes the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety to find facts as alleged in the Notice without further notice to the respondent and to issue a Final Order.

Within 30 days of receipt of a Notice of Amendment, the respondent shall respond to the Regional Director who issued the Notice in the following way:

* Failure of the respondent to respond to the Notice within 30 days of receipt constitutes a waiver of the right to contest the allegations in the Notice and authorizes the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety to find facts as alleged in the Notice without further notice to the respondent and to issue a Final Order.

A request for a hearing must be in writing and accompanied by a statement of the issues that the respondent intends to raise at the hearing. The issues may relate to the allegations, new information, or to the proposed compliance order or proposed civil penalty amount. Refer to 49 C.F.R. § 190.225 for assessment considerations upon which civil penalties are based. A respondent's failure to specify an issue may result in waiver of the right to raise that issue at the hearing. The respondent's request must also indicate whether or not respondent will be represented by counsel at the hearing. Failure to request a hearing in writing within 30 days of receipt of a Notice waives the right to a hearing. In addition, if the amount of the proposed civil penalty or the proposed corrective action is less than $10,000, the hearing will be held by telephone, unless the respondent submits a written request for an in-person hearing. Complete hearing procedures can be found at 49 C.F.R. § 190.211.

An extension of time to prepare an appropriate response to a Notice may be granted, at the agency's discretion, following submittal of a written request to the Regional Director. The request must indicate the amount of time needed and the reasons for the extension. The request must be submitted within 30 days of receipt of the Notice.

Any material provided to PHMSA by the respondent, and materials prepared by PHMSA including the Notice and any order issued in this case, may be considered public information and subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). If you believe the information you are providing is security sensitive, privileged, confidential or may cause your company competitive disadvantages, please clearly identify the material and provide justification why the documents, or portions of a document, should not be released under FOIA. If we receive a request for your material, we will notify you if PHMSA, after reviewing the materials and your provided justification, determines that withholding the materials does not meet any exemption provided under the FOIA. You may appeal the agency's decision to release material under the FOIA at that time. Your appeal will stay the release of those materials until a final decision is made.

The Small Business and Agricultural Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman and 10 Regional Fairness Boards were established to receive comments from small businesses about federal agency enforcement actions. The Ombudsman will annually evaluate the enforcement activities and rate each agency's responsiveness to small business. If you wish to comment on the enforcement actions of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, call 1-888-REG-FAIR (1-888-734-3247) or go to http://www.sba.gov/ombudsman/dsp_faq.html.

Civil Penalty Payments of Less Than $10,000

Payment of a civil penalty of less than $10,000 proposed or assessed, under Subpart B of Part 190 of the Pipeline Safety Regulations can be made by certified check, money order or wire transfer. Payment by certified check or money order (containing the CPF Number for this case) should be made payable to the "Department of Transportation" and should be sent to:

Federal Aviation Administration
Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
Financial Operations Division (AMZ-341) P.O. Box 269039
Oklahoma City, OK 73125-4915

Wire transfer payments of less than $10,000 may be made through the Federal Reserve Communications System (Fedwire) to the account of the U.S. Treasury. Detailed instructions are provided below. Questions concerning wire transfer should be directed to the Financial Operations Division at (405) 954-8893, or at the above address.

Civil Penalty Payments of $10,000 or more

Payment of a civil penalty of $10,000 or more proposed or assessed under Subpart B of Part 190 of the Pipeline Safety Regulations must be made wire transfer (49 C.F.R. § 89.21 (b)(3)), through the Federal Reserve Communications System (Fedwire) to the account of the U.S. Treasury. Detailed instructions are provided below. Questions concerning wire transfers should be directed to the Financial Operations Division at (405) 954-8893, or at the above address.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFERS

INSTRUCTIONS: You, as sender of the wire transfer, must provide the sending bank with the information for blocks (1), (5), (7), (9), and (10). The information provided in Blocks (1), (7), and (9) are constant and remain the same for all wire transfers to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Department of Transportation.

Block #1 - RECEIVER ABA NO. - "021030004". Ensure the sending bank enters this 9-digit identification number; it represents the routing symbol for the U.S. Treasury at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.

Block #5 - AMOUNT - You as the sender provide the amount of the transfer. Please be sure the transfer amount is punctuated with commas and a decimal point. EXAMPLE: $10,000.00.

Block #7 - RECEIVER NAME - "TREAS NYC". Ensure the sending bank enters this abbreviation. It must be used for all wire transfers to the Treasury Department.

Block #9 - BENEFICIAL - AGENCY LOCATION CODE - "BNF=/ALC-69-14-0001". Ensure the sending bank enters this information. This is the Agency Location Code for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Department of Transportation.

Block #10 - REASON FOR PAYMENT - "AC-payment for PHMSA Case # /" To ensure your wire transfer is credited properly, enter the case number/ticket number or Pipeline Assessment number, and country."

NOTE: A wire transfer must comply with the format and instructions or the Department cannot accept the wire transfer. You as the sender can assist this process by notifying the Financial Operations Division (405) 954-8893 at the time you send the wire transfer.

January 2009