More than half of the senior executives at a key US government regulatory body responsible for overseeing safety of the US pipeline system will depart the agency in the next three months, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg.
Several Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration employees have agreed to take voluntary resignation offers from the Office of Personnel Management, per an internal Feb. 21 memo from Acting Administrator Ben Kochman.
The exodus leaves the agency — crucial for maintaining the safe transport of materials, including refined fuels, natural gas and crude oil — without key leadership roles following the discovery of a pipeline rupture that contaminated the drinking water of homes in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The line, operated by Energy Transfer LP’s Sunoco Pipeline LP, was leaking for at least 16 months before being discovered, according to agency investigators.
The leaders include Executive Director Howard “Mac” McMillan; Alan Mayberry, who leads the Office of Pipeline Safety; Vasiliki Tsaganos, the agency’s top civil servant lawyer; and Senior Advisors Richard Chávez and Lisa Farmer. Associate Administrators Lisa Farley and William “Bill” Schoonover, the latter of whom leads the Office of Hazardous Materials, have also decided to retire, according to the memo.
PHMSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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