Its diverse, and critical to the way that americans live. In response, those of us at phmsa are addressing the issues at hand, but just important, were going beyond the issues at hand. We have challenged ourselves to invest in and plan for the future of our agency. Today, i would like to share some of our challenges and some of our opportunities. How were responding to our ever growing mission, and our longterm Strategic Vision for advancing safety through our phmsa 2021 framework. Growing up, my dad used to say he could fix anything with a pair of pliers, some duct tape, and wd40. And of course, he was absolutely right. He could fix anything. But what he likely didnt think about was the process involved in getting his tools of choice to him safely. Wd40 is a hazardous liquid transported in an aerosol can, and it has to be regulated during shipment. And it also cant be permitted on any kind of passenger aircraft and it has to follow very specific Hazardous Material labeling and packaging standards. All too susceptible to aerosol can regulations, whipped cream canisters. So my dad and every single 8yearold who has ever had an ice cream sundae with whipped cream from a canister are phmsas biggest fans. So just a quick question here. How many of you all have taken a flight in the last year . Just raise your hands. Okay. Pretty significant number. Overwhelming. Have you noticed that each time you check in, you have to agree not to bring any Hazardous Materials on your flight or in your checked bag . You have to touch that screen. Okay. Phmsa along with the faa developed these Safety Standards because many common Household Items can become dangerous when transported by air. Last fall, phmsa issued a safety advisory and shortly after an interim final rule banning the transport of electronic smoking devices or ecigarettes in checked bags on commercial flights. After a series of close call incidents, it became clear that these devices, which are powered by lithium ion batteries, were susceptible to overheating in the cargo compartments of commercial aircraft. The interim final rule addressed these concerns and provided guidance for safe transportation of personal devices as long as precautions are taken to reduce the risk of fire. This is just but one example of how phmsa addressed safety issues. By learning from incidents, by analyzing critical data, by Understanding Market and technology advancements, and proactively issuing guidance for safe transportation of these products. As i mentioned, our mission is to protect people and the environment by advancing the safe transportation of energy and other Hazardous Materials. Our operating model demands that we keep a close eye on industry trends, collect and leverage data, and understand emerging technologies and the changing Energy Environment in order to anticipate risk, inform our regulations, and truly drive safety. At phmsa, were transportation, energy, and Hazardous Materials experts. We are engineers, analysts, policymakers, and inspectors. And lawyers, too. We have some of the worlds leading corrosion and welding experts, and we actually hold a chair of the u. N. Subcommittee on transportation of dangerous goods. These are all members of our teams. Of our team. And this team is incredibly dedicated. And their dedication is matched by their expertise, and each of them contributes on a daily basis to safety, our level of enforcement, and response. Its really truly entrusted to our agency. Our regulators, as regulators, our goal is to smartly leverage the full scope of tools at our disposal, from regulation to edge caution and outreach. All in an effort to eliminate incidents and accidents, injury and harm. We inspect and enforce compliance of the Safety Standards that we promulgate. And we incorporate Lessons Learned from these accidents and incidents. Identifying trends and considering the human as well as the environmental impact, as we develop policies, initiatives, and regulations. In the last decade, the way that the American Public consumes and interacts with energy and Energy Products has fundamentally changed. And today, the expectation is that these interactions will be so safe and reliable that the public really doesnt have to think about the risk thats involved. They, the American Public, and you should associate this safe level of transportation with a job that we do every single day at phmsa. Phmsa is a relatively new and unique agency, established in 2004 by the mineta act, the creation of phmsa brought the regulation of the movement of Hazardous Materials by all modes, including pipeline, under one domain. Today, we house these two different programs, and yet interconnected Safety Programs all under one roof. Our office of Pipeline Safety regulates the designs, construction, operation, and inspection of pipelines that transport oil and natural gas across the country. Its also what powers our homes, cars, and the economy. The office of Hazardous Materials regulates the transport, packaging, and labeling of all Hazardous Materials. And provides training to Emergency Responders who deal with transportation incidents involving hazmat. There are over 2. 6 million miles of pipeline in the United States. This is enough pipe to circle the globe 104 times. Phmsa sets the standards for safety for this vast underground Pipeline Infrastructure which moves natural gas, oil, and other Energy Products 24 hours a day. We also regulate the move of Hazardous Material, including explosives, poisonous, corrosive, flammable, and radioactive materials. All valued at about 2. 3 trillion every year. These goods are moved on the 307 billion miles of our nations interconnected transportation network. Including land, air, and sea. The reality is that between pipelines and the transport of Hazardous Materials, if something is manufactured, produced, shipped, heated, or cooled, phmsa had a hand in it. This is an enormous responsibility for one agency. And a fairly small one at that, comprised of less than 600 people spread across the country. As an agency, phmsa operates in a constantly changing environment. Energy innovation and Technology Advances faster than regulation can often keep pace. The u. S. Energy renaissance has strengthened Americas Energy security and Economic Prosperity while simultaneously creating new Transportation Safety challenges. Our goal at phmsa is never to let these changes impact safety. The United States is in the midst of an unprecedented increase in Domestic Energy production. As a kid, i remember the gas crisis in the 70s, and now our nation is the number one producer of oil and gas around the world. And the United States no longer imports the majority of the energy it consumes. Its also created new concerns for consumers, pipeline operators, hazmat shippers, safety paramount across the board, no matter where you are in the supply chain, all of these companies that we regulate, the focus needs to be on safety. An example of the dynamic environment is the advancement of liquefied natural gas. Natural gas is an important element of the president s all of the above Energy Strategy to make america more energy independent. The abundant supply of natural gas in the United States has increased demand for it actually on a National Basis and internationally. And as the industry grows, we have to take a hard look at how the u. S. Produces, uses, and stores l g in this country. Phmsa plays a role in setting Safety Standards in the way the facilities are designed, maintained, and operated. An emphasis on safety, again, is more relevant than ever. Crude oil is also being produced domestically in unprecedented volumes. Yearly, about 5,000 car loads are transported across the United States, and phmsa is working diligently to make sure these products arrive safely at their destinations. In 2015, in collaboration with the federal rail administration, we issued the high hazard flammable rail rule. They designed new requirements designed to reduce the consequences involved trains transported large quantities of Flammable Liquids including crude oil and ethanol by setting new regulations in speed, braking systems, rooting, and tank car design. This comprehensive rule directly addresses the risks associated with this growing and changing marketplace. Advancing the Safe Movement of these products by rail. Our role in the changing Energy Market goes beyond regulating the products that power our cars and homes. Basically, we have been able to fly across the ocean for over a century now, but were now also global consumers. Asking products literally to move around the world with the touch of one button. You may remember the really cool gift last year during the Holiday Season was hoverboards. And in 2015, the embodiment of the hoverboard was the back to the future nostalgia we all had. But i have to tell you that several of the Major International manufacturers of these devices were not compliant with the international Safety Standards for the parts that were actually inside the hoverboards that they had manufactured. Many of the models were found to have faulty batteries, chargers, and cutoff switches that after regular use were not only susceptible to short circuiting but in some cases they were actually spontaneously combusting. It was a collaborative work of both phmsa and the u. S. Customs and Border Patrol as we worked to stop shipments of these faulty goods at the ports. Phmsa issued a safety alert that provided guidance on how hoverboards were to be transported, what their handling should be, the usage, et cetera. And it was the u. S. Consumer Safety Commission that educated the public on the quality and verification of what they actually needed to look for in the product they had purchased, oftentimes online. These collaborative efforts increased overall awareness of the safety risks that was really involved in arguably one of the hottest toys that sold last year. A major objective of phmsas Hazardous MaterialSafety Program is to maintain a global system of Hazardous Materials regulations that enhances the safe and efficient movement of hazmat from oil to batteries that power everything thats we just talked about, including your phone. They literally cross every border, every jurisdiction, and all international boundaries. The u. S. Is a leader in international harmonization. Working to set Global Compliance standards and Risk Identification and development of safety controls and to insure regulatory consistency. It was these safety stands that alerted us to countries and countries all over the world to stop the faulty batteries, stop the use of these faulty batteries that had been used in the hoverboards and really to make sure that they were stopped at the border. Our leadership and collaboration allows billions of International Shipments worldwide to reach their destination safely. So our challenge is to lead within our dynamic environment and create a regulatory atmosphere where innovation can flourish while protecting and advancing the highest priority of the American People which is their safety. We have regulated a series of accidents and incidents that have resulted in heightened detention and scrutiny about the safety of these modes of transportation. Public opinion is clear. There should not be any trade offs as we move products and everyone has a part in protecting the communities and the environment along these transportation routes while advancing the safety of products and services that we all rely on. The natural gas leak in california last fall was the largest methane leak in u. S. History. This failure at this facility, one of the most critical for Energy Supply in the area in Southern California not only had a disruptive effect and an impact on the People Living in and around that area, it brought heightened attention to inconsistencies in the state standards that regulate underground Natural Gas Storage and the real consequence of not investing in our nations infrastructu infrastructure. I toured a canyon this past year with the Energy Secretary and it was clear there were many lessons to be learned. Last month the department of energy and the u. S. Department of transportation announced the creation of an task force. As part of the work on the task force we are moving forward with regulations for underground Natural Gas Storage which will provide minimum operating and Safety Standards for all states and improve oversight for all state facilities. We work on behalf of every american no matter their zip code, economic background, race or gender. Accidents are not a part of acceptable business to the American People nor should they be. That expectation is the foundation of our work and it drives our mission. When i started back in august of 2015 having been nominate by the president and confirmed by the senate, coming in it was extremely clear to me that the mission of the agency is indeed expanding and our work is actually more critical than ever. In the last year alone the agency has made some significant accomplishments. We finalized major regulations for the safety of crude Oil Transportation by rail and to prevent excavation damage, one of the leading threats to Pipeline Safety. We proposed new regulations for hazardo hazardo hazardous liquid and gas pipelines. We have begun working on new requirements outlined in lenl elevation and now were fully engaged in the reauthorize of the Pipeline Safety program currently pending in congress. We are hard at work to engage with the risks our environment presents and as we look to the future we are investing in the agencys growth both in the size and in capabilities. To make us the most Innovative Safety agency in the world, one that leverages our predictive capabilities to enhance safety. To better understand our Current Operations we undertook a critical organizational assessment. We looked at the entire agency to take stock of not only our existing capability to better understand our culture and to develop an Investment Strategy that really is forward looking and looks to the future for what we have to do for Mission Critical capabilities. The reality is that we are in a fundamentally different place from where we were ten years ago when we were originally reorganized and reenacted. We are growing because at the bottom line our mission is growing and with advancements in technology, were going to continue to grow. The administration, the congress and other Key Stakeholders have all recognized and support the importance of our work. In the last two years weve had significant investments alone from congress, both in terms of people and in dollars. Weve grown our workforce by 25 adding and filling 122 new positions in the last year alone. Even with these increases however we anticipate that the scope and complexity of our Safety Mission will continue to outpace our ability to add resources requiring the agency to fundamentally rethink how we use data, information and technology to achieve our goals. While our hiring surge has helped us but more inspectors in the field, our long term strategic framework drives and will drive investment in our organizational capabilities. This new framework is based on the core principals of safety, trust and innovation and reflects our goals of being more predictive and data driven. To that end we are making important organizational changes that will impact the way the American People and our regulated industries interact with us. We are also establishing a cross functional office of planning and an lit ikz that will allow us to better leverage data and develop a more forward looking regulatory agenda, one that looks at the results in a more timely data informed and rigorous way so we can better uniform our role making. Our investments in research and development w