49 U.S.C. § 108: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration shall be an administration in the Department of Transportation. In carrying out its duties, the Administration shall consider the assignment and maintenance of safety as the highest priority, recognizing the clear intent, encouragement, and dedication of Congress to the furtherance of the highest degree of safety in pipeline transportation and hazardous materials transportation. The head of the Administration shall be the Administrator who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall be an individual with professional experience in pipeline safety, hazardous materials safety, or other transportation safety. The Administrator shall report directly to the Secretary of Transportation. The Administration shall have a Deputy Administrator who shall be appointed by the Secretary. The Deputy Administrator shall carry out duties and powers prescribed by the Administrator. The Administration shall have an Assistant Administrator for Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety appointed in the competitive service by the Secretary. The Assistant Administrator shall be the Chief Safety Officer of the Administration. The Assistant Administrator shall carry out the duties and powers prescribed by the Administrator. duties and powers related to pipeline and hazardous materials transportation and safety vested in the Secretary by chapters 51, 57, 61, 601, and 603; and other duties and powers prescribed by the Secretary. A duty or power specified in subsection (f)(1) may be transferred to another part of the Department of Transportation or another government entity only if specifically provided by law. Personnel, property, and records employed, used, held, available, or to be made available in connection with functions transferred within the Department of Transportation by this Act [see Short Title of 2004 Amendment note set out under section 101 of this title ] shall be transferred for use in connection with the functions transferred, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds (including funds of any predecessor entity) shall also be transferred accordingly. that have been issued, made, granted, or allowed to become effective by any officer or employee, or any other Government official, or by a court of competent jurisdiction, in the performance of any function that is transferred by this Act; and that are in effect on the effective date of such transfer (or become effective after such date pursuant to their terms as in effect on such effective date), The provisions of this Act shall not affect any proceedings, including administrative enforcement actions, pending before this Act takes effect, insofar as those functions are transferred by this Act; but such proceedings, to the extent that they relate to functions so transferred, shall proceed in accordance with applicable law and regulations. Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to prohibit the conclusion or modification of any proceeding described in this subsection under the same terms and conditions and to the same extent that such proceeding could have been concluded or modified if this Act had not been enacted. The Secretary of Transportation is authorized to provide for the orderly transfer of pending proceedings. This Act shall not affect suits commenced before the date of enactment of this Act [ Nov. 30, 2004 ], except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3). In all such suits, proceedings shall be had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner and with the same effect as if this Act had not been enacted. Any suit by or against the Department begun before the date of enactment of this Act, shall proceed in accordance with applicable law and regulations, insofar as it involves a function retained and transferred under this Act. If the court in a suit described in paragraph (1) remands a case, subsequent proceedings related to such case shall proceed under procedures that are in accordance with applicable law and regulations as in effect at the time of such subsequent proceedings. No suit, action, or other proceeding commenced by or against any officer in his or her official capacity shall abate by reason of the enactment of this Act. An officer or employee of the Department, for purposes of performing a function transferred by this Act, may exercise all authorities under any other provision of law that were available with respect to the performance of that function to the official responsible for the performance of the function immediately before the effective date of the transfer of the function by this Act. A reference relating to an agency, officer, or employee affected by this Act in any Federal law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or in any document pertaining to an officer or employee, is deemed to refer, as appropriate, to the agency, officer, or employee who succeeds to the functions transferred by this Act. In this section, the term ‘this Act’ includes the amendments made by this Act.” geographic allocation plans, hiring and time-to-hire challenges, and expected retirement rates and recruitment and retention strategies; an identification and description of any previous periods of macroeconomic and pipeline industry conditions under which the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has encountered difficulty in filling vacancies, and the degree to which special hiring authorities, including direct hiring authority authorized by the Office of Personnel Management, could have ameliorated such difficulty; and recommendations to address hiring challenges, training needs, and any other identified staff resource challenges. Upon identification of a period described in subsection (a)(2), the Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration may apply to the Office of Personnel Management for the authority to appoint qualified candidates to any position relating to pipeline safety, as determined by the Administrator, without regard to sections 3309 through 3319 of title 5, United States Code. Nothing in this section shall preclude the Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration from applying to the Office of Personnel Management for the authority described in subsection (b) prior to the completion of the report required under subsection (a).” A list of each statutory mandate regarding pipeline safety or hazardous materials safety that has not been implemented. A list of each open safety recommendation made by the National Transportation Safety Board or the Inspector General regarding pipeline safety or hazardous materials safety. Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter until each of the mandates referred to in subsection (a)(1) has been implemented, the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the specific actions taken to implement such mandates. Not later than January 1st of each year, the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report containing each recommendation referred to in subsection (a)(2) and a copy of the Department of Transportation response to each such recommendation.”