PHMSA News Updates

Government, Business, Fuel

Keystone Pipeline Operators Aim to Restore Service April 15

Federal regulators have ordered the operator of the Keystone Pipeline to take several corrective actions after a rupture caused 147,000 gallons of oil to spill onto farmland in North Dakota.

April 14, 2025
Government, Business, Safety, Logistics

Pipeline Safety Agency’s Senior Leaders Exit Amid Trump Push

Several senior executives at a key government regulatory body responsible for overseeing safety of the pipeline system will depart in the next three months, according to a memo.

February 27, 2025
Government, Business, Safety

FMCSA Retains Fleets' 50% Random Drug Testing Rate in 2025

Motor carriers must continue to conduct random drug tests with 50% of their truck drivers and random alcohol tests with 10% of their drivers in 2025, FMCSA announced.

January 16, 2025
Government, Business, Safety

PHMSA Proposes to Increase Registration Fees

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has proposed to raise to the maximum level permitted by Congress registration fees that are paid by hazardous materials carriers.

June 11, 2024
Government, Business, Safety, Logistics

Rule Would Require First Responder Alerts After Derailment

ATLANTA — Federal regulators want all railroads to immediately send the details of everything aboard their trains to every emergency responder within 10 miles of an accident.

June 22, 2023
Government, Business, Technology, Safety

DOT Investigating Elon Musk’s Neuralink Over Hazardous Shipping Claim

The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating Elon Musk’s brain implant company, Neuralink Corp., after an animal rights group said it obtained emails suggesting the startup did not follow proper procedure when shipping possibly hazardous materials.

February 9, 2023
Government, Equipment, Safety

PHMSA Seeks Input on Possible Shift From Paper to Electronic Communication

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is seeking input on the advisability of using electronic communication as an alternative to the agency’s current paper documentation requirements for hazard communication.

July 25, 2022
Government, Business, Safety

Audit Says Hazmat Regulators Need to Meet Timely Reviews of Carriers

Hazardous materials regulators are falling short in performing some required timely reviews of whether hazmat carriers have the “knowledge, capability and performance record” to safely move hazmat, according to a new Department of Transportation inspector general audit.

April 12, 2022
Government, Business, Safety, Fuel

PHMSA Seeks Ideas to Improve Safe Hazmat Transportation

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is seeking ideas for leading-edge research and innovative techniques to advance the safe transportation of hazardous materials.

July 8, 2021
Government

Democrats Protest Removal of DOT Acting Inspector General

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats are protesting President Donald Trump’s decision to remove the Transportation Department’s acting inspector general, the latest in a string of actions by Trump to fire or replace government watchdogs.

May 19, 2020