The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has recently issued some Region Recommendations in enforcement actions that have either added new material allegations or requested relief beyond that contained in the underlying matter. The Agency’s rules do not provide for Region Recommendations to be used in that manner. If PHMSA decides to add new allegations or seek additional relief in an enforcement action, the rules (and precedent) anticipate those modifications will be made through an amendment of the underlying enforcement documents. Amended enforcement documents, if material, allow a Respondent a new opportunity to request a Hearing. It is not clear why PHMSA has started issuing Region Recommendations in this manner, but if left unchallenged it may have the effect of circumventing additional or expanded Hearings.

Region Recommendations are intended to respond to information submitted by the Respondent and to recommend the terms of final action to either the Presiding Official (where there has been a Hearing) or to the Associate Administrator (when no Hearing has occurred but a respondent has issued additional information for Agency consideration). Region Recommendations are typically prepared only in contested matters, especially after a Hearing. Where a matter is not contested, then the enforcement documents as issued presumably state all relevant allegations and describe the relief requested, thus a Region Recommendation should be unnecessary.
Continue Reading Beyond the Scope of NOPVs – Recent Region Recommendations