§ 107.335 - Criminal referrals.

§ 107.335 Referral for prosecution.

If the Associate Administrator becomes aware of a possible willful violation of the Federal hazardous material transportation law, this subchapter, subchapter C of this chapter, or any special permit, or order issued thereunder, for which the Associate Administrator exercises enforcement responsibility, it shall

Criminal referrals.

(a) If a PHMSA employee becomes aware of any actual or possible activity subject to criminal penalties under § 107.333, the employee must report it to the Office of

the

Chief Counsel, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration,

U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

and to the employee's supervisor. The Chief Counsel may refer the report to 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. [Amdt. 107-11, 48 FR 2651, Jan. 20, 1983, as amended by Amdt. 107-22, 55 FR 39978, Oct. 1, 1990; Amdt. 107-24, 56 FR 8621, Feb. 28, 1991; 56 FR 15510, Apr. 17, 1991; Amdt. 107-32, 59 FR 49131, Sept. 26, 1994; Amdt. 107-35, 60 FR 49108, Sept. 21, 1995; 66 FR 45377, Aug. 28, 2001

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 [phone], 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 28780, May 11, 2022]