The federal government’s top career pipeline safety official is leaving, along with several other top career officials at the agency expected to maintain the safety of hazardous materials shipping and 3.3 million miles of oil and gas pipelines.
Alan Mayberry, the longtime head of pipeline safety at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, has agreed to leave, according to Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust advocacy group.
Reached by phone Thursday, Mayberry declined to comment. Caram said he learned recently from a senior PHMSA official that Mayberry had agreed to the terms of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s “Fork in the Road” offer. The proposal offered months of pay to civil servants who would leave early.
In a statement Friday, an unnamed spokesperson for PHMSA — which is part of the Department of Transportation — said the agency’s mission to protect the public hasn’t changed. PHMSA’s statement did not address questions about employee departures. On Thursday, the Office of Personnel Management had referred POLITICO’s E&E News to DOT.
