§ 190.293 - Criminal referrals.

§ 190.293 Referral for prosecution.Criminal referrals.

(a) If a PHMSA employee becomes aware of any actual or possible activity subject to criminal penalties under § 190.291, the employee

reports

must report it to the Office of Chief Counsel, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and to

his or her

the employee's supervisor. The Chief Counsel may refer the report to

OPS for investigation

the Associate Administrator to investigate. If appropriate, the Chief Counsel

refers

shall refer the report to the

Department of Justice for criminal prosecution of the offender.

Office of Inspector General, or other law enforcement as appropriate (with notification to the Office of Inspector General as soon as possible).

(b) A PHMSA employee also has the option of making a direct referral to the Office of Inspector General (OIG), either by directly contacting an OIG investigator, or via the OIG hotline at 800-424-9071, at https://www.oig.dot.gov/hotline, by email at [e-mail], or by mail to the Office of Inspector General, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Bldg. 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20590.

[87 FR 28781, May 11, 2022]