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

(a) In general. This section puts the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration inside the Department of Transportation. (b) Safety as highest priority. In everything it does, the Administration must treat safety as its most important goal. Congress wants pipeline transportation and hazardous materials transportation to be as safe as possible. (c) Administrator. The Administration is run by an Administrator. The President appoints this person, with the Senate's approval. The Administrator must have professional experience in pipeline safety, hazardous materials safety, or other transportation safety, and reports directly to the Secretary of Transportation. (d) Deputy Administrator. The Administration also has a Deputy Administrator, appointed by the Secretary of Transportation. The Deputy Administrator does whatever duties the Administrator assigns. (e) Chief Safety Officer. The Administration has an Assistant Administrator for Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety, appointed by the Secretary through the competitive civil service process. This person is the Administration's Chief Safety Officer and carries out duties the Administrator assigns. (f) Duties and powers of the Administrator. The Administrator handles: (1) the pipeline- and hazardous-materials-related duties that certain chapters of the law (chapters 51, 57, 61, 601, and 603) give to the Secretary of Transportation; and (2) any other duties the Secretary assigns. (g) Limitation. A duty or power listed in (f)(1) can only be moved to another part of the Department of Transportation, or to a different government agency, if a law specifically says that's allowed.