(a) Any person who willfully and knowingly violates a provision of 49 U.S.C. 60101 et seq. or any regulation or order issued thereunder will upon conviction be subject to a fine under title 18, United States Code, and imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, for each offense.

(b) Any person who willfully and knowingly injures or destroys, or attempts to injure or destroy, any interstate transmission facility, any interstate pipeline facility, or any intrastate pipeline facility used in interstate or foreign commerce or in any activity affecting interstate or foreign commerce (as those terms are defined in 49 U.S.C. 60101 et seq.) will, upon conviction, be subject to a fine under title 18, United States Code, imprisonment for a term not to exceed 20 years, or both, for each offense.

(c) Any person who willfully and knowingly defaces, damages, removes, or destroys any pipeline sign, right-of-way marker, or marine buoy required by 49 U.S.C. 60101 et seq. or any regulation or order issued thereunder will, upon conviction, be subject to a fine under title 18, United States Code, imprisonment for a term not to exceed 1 year, or both, for each offense.

(d) Any person who willfully and knowingly engages in excavation activity without first using an available one-call notification system to establish the location of underground facilities in the excavation area; or without considering location information or markings established by a pipeline facility operator; and

(1) Subsequently damages a pipeline facility resulting in death, serious bodily harm, or property damage exceeding $50,000;

(2) Subsequently damages a pipeline facility and knows or has reason to know of the damage but fails to promptly report the damage to the operator and to the appropriate authorities; or

(3) Subsequently damages a hazardous liquid pipeline facility that results in the release of more than 50 barrels of product; will, upon conviction, be subject to a fine under title 18, United States Code, imprisonment for a term not to exceed 5 years, or both, for each offense.

(e) No person shall be subject to criminal penalties under paragraph (a) of this section for violation of any regulation and the violation of any order issued under §§ 190.217, 190.219 or 190.291 if both violations are based on the same act.

(a) If a PHMSA employee becomes aware of any actual or possible activity subject to criminal penalties under § 190.291, the employee must report it to the Office of Chief Counsel, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and to the employee's supervisor. The Chief Counsel may refer the report to the Associate Administrator to investigate. If appropriate, the Chief Counsel shall refer the report to the 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 800-424-9071, at https://www.oig.dot.gov/hotline, by email at [email protected], or by mail to the Office of Inspector General, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Bldg. 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20590.