1

Department of Transportation

Draft Preliminary Plan for 

Implementation of The President’s 

Memorandum dated January 18, 2011

Regulatory Enforcement and 

Compliance Data

May 2011
Department of Transportation Plan on

Access to Regulatory Enforcement and Compliance Information 

Executive Summary

This plan responds to a January 18, 2011, Presidential Memorandum for all executive 

departments and agencies on Regulatory Compliance that requires agencies with enforcement 

and compliance activities to develop plans to make data related to those activities publicly 

accessible, downloadable, and searchable online.

The General Counsel’s Office, in conjunction with the Chief Information Officer’s Office (CIO)

and each of the Department’s operating administrations (“modes”), developed the following 

process for implementing the requirements in the President’s Memorandum. 

• Identification of Activities and Inventory of Data. We met with the modes to 

identify their enforcement and compliance activities and to inventory related data on 

the attached charts. 

• Evaluation of Data. We continue to meet with the individual modes to further 

evaluate the data; identify needed improvements to some of their available data to

make them more useful; and assess data that are not now publicly available to 

determine if, and in what form, they can be made public. 

• Prioritization of Data. We then will work with the modes to prioritize improvement 

and publication of identified data. 

• Making Data Available. We will make data available in a more useable format as 

soon as possible and in various places: on the government-wide platform data.gov 

and on a DOT website with links to modal websites and to open.gov. 

• Technical Issues/Innovation. The Department’s CIO is leading the effort to explore 

the technical issues raised by modal data and innovative ways to improve and present 

the data (e.g., charts or other graphic formats); consider the use of new technologies; 

and, where possible, identify ways to allow the public access to real-time data.

• Broader Access. The Department’s CIO will evaluate the data to identify 

opportunities and develop tools to provide cross-modal searches and comparison of 

information and to explore how best to generate and share enforcement and 

compliance information across the Government, consistent with law. 

As we make more determinations and collect more information, we will modify or update the 

attached tables.
Introduction

This plan responds to a January 18, 2011, Presidential Memorandum for all executive 

departments and agencies on Regulatory Compliance. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-pressoffice/2011/01/18/presidential-memoranda-regulatory-compliance The Memorandum requires 

all agencies with regulatory compliance and administrative enforcement responsibilities to 

develop plans to make information related to their regulatory compliance and enforcement 

activities publicly accessible, downloadable and searchable online. 

The Department of Transportation (DOT or the Department) consists of ten operating 

administrations (“modes”) and the Office of the Secretary (OST), each of which has statutory 

responsibility for a wide range of regulations. DOT regulates safety in the aviation, motor 

carrier, railroad, motor vehicle, commercial space, and pipeline transportation areas. DOT also 

regulates aviation consumer and economic issues and provides financial assistance for programs 

involving highways, airports, public transportation, the maritime industry, railroads, and motor 

vehicle safety. Finally, DOT develops and implements a wide range of Department-wide 

regulations that govern internal programs such as acquisitions and grants, access for the disabled, 

environmental protection, energy conservation, information technology, occupational safety and 

health, property asset management, seismic safety, and the use of aircraft and vehicles. 

To ensure achievement of the Department’s missions, each of its “modes” and OST has 

responsibilities for promulgating regulations and ensuring compliance. The modes already make

a wealth of enforcement and compliance data available to the public in various formats. 

However, some of this information is not readily searchable or in the most useful format and 

there is some information that is not yet publicly available. 

Six of our modes have broad enforcement and compliance authority: 

• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

• The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)

• The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

• The Office of the Secretary (OST), and

• The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA). 

While several of our modes currently do not have broad enforcement authority they do generate 

some compliance data that the public might find interesting. These agencies are: 

• The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

• The Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

• The Maritime Administration (MARAD)

• The Research and Innovative Technology Administration’s (RITA) Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics (BTS) does not have its own enforcement and compliance 

authority, but does support the collection and dissemination of certain data for all of the 

modes, and

• The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC).
The Implementation Plan

The General Counsel’s Office, in conjunction with the Chief Information Officer’s Office (CIO),

developed the following process for implementing the requirements in the President’s 

Memorandum. 

Identification of Activities and Inventory of Data. 

First, we met with DOT’s modes to determine what enforcement and compliance activities they 

engage in and set out a process for inventorying their enforcement and compliance data

generated by those activities. They preliminarily determined whether these data are publicly

available, downloadable, and searchable and presented in a format most useful to the public. 

Having identified their compliance and enforcement activities, we then asked the modes to 

identify where the data are located, whether the data are shared with other Federal agencies or 

States, and whether there might be a reason not to make non-disclosed data available. They then 

compiled their data in the attached tables. 

Evaluation of Data. 

We are now meeting with the individual modes to further evaluate the data, to identify needed 

improvements to some of their available data to make them more useful and to assess data that 

are not now publicly available to determine if, and in what form, they can be made public. 

As part of this effort, we linked up modal enforcement and compliance personnel with our DOT 

Data.gov working group to: 

A. Determine if the information or data sets comply with DOT Order 1351.34, Departmental 

Data Release Policy, by ensuring data are identified and registered in the Department’s 

S/DAG Metadata Registry (our choice of a central platform, http://www.data.gov .) 

B. Help identify the priority data using the Data.gov Interim Identification and Prioritization 

Process and Guidelines. 

Our preliminary evaluation of the modal data sets reveals that:

A. Some data is publicly available and searchable in the form contemplated in the 

Presidential Memorandum. These formats can serve as templates for other modes. 

B. A great deal of data is publicly available and searchable, but can be improved by adding 

additional search factors such as: corporate identifiers, CFR part violated, disposition of 

case or subsequent appeals, etc. into the table or updating the data more often. These data 

can have links added so the public can “click” and access the actual opinion or 

disposition document. 
C. Some data, even some originally generated in a database or spreadsheet program, is 

available to the public on the web, but not in readily-searchable format. We are working

with the modes to determine how to improve the public’s ability to access and search the

data. 

D. Some data sets are not released at all, and we are evaluating them to see if they would be 

useful or of interest to the public and can be released. To avoid the release of information 

that violate privacy or harm our modal enforcement programs, we either would have to 

anonymize or aggregate such data before we release it, or, where these techniques cannot 

be applied, not release the data. We will work with the modes and the data.gov working 

group to figure out how to handle these more problematic data sets. Reasons for not 

disclosing data could include: 

• Data are preliminary, incomplete, or unverified.

• Disclosure would harm potential enforcement/compliance proceedings by signaling 

agency tactics or cause the agency to abandon useful enforcement tools.

We need to ensure the integrity of the data we make public and include explanations and caveats

for the data, where appropriate. We will work with the modes and the data.gov working group to 

assess information that presents:

A. Security risks – DOT’s Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response will

assist in making determinations about national/homeland security risks associated with 

identifying information about non-compliant regulated entities.

B. Proprietary/Protected Information – The General Counsel’s Office will assist the modes 

and Secretarial Offices in determining methods to protect Proprietary/Protected 

Information, while still releasing a reasonable amount of information about modal 

enforcement/compliance activities.

Prioritization of Data. 

We have identified the data from the six DOT modes that have broad enforcement and 

compliance authority: 1) FAA; 2) FMCSA; 3) FRA; 4) NHTSA; 5) OST; and 6) PHMSA as 

higher priority for upgrading and including in data.gov. As we meet further with each mode and 

the DOT data.gov implementation group to evaluate their data, we will identify priorities among 

their modal data sets for improving and making available the data most useful to the general 

public in making consumer decisions and evaluating safety. The attached tables are separated 

into three groups: 1) publicly available data sets that already meet necessary requirements and 

are scheduled to go on data.gov; 2) publicly available data sets that we need to improve to meet 

the requirements of the President’s Memorandum; and 3) non-available data sets that have 

limited utility, need aggregation, or cannot be made public because of concerns about privacy 

and proprietary and/or security sensitive information or possible harm to the enforcement 

program. Our priority is to work on those that need improvement, as we continue to put data 

sets that are in good shape on data.gov. We then will work on the non-available data sets. 

Although historical data is always useful, generally, our priority is to improve data accessibility 
going into the future. Our modes can choose to incorporate historical data to the extent their 

time and resources permit. As we make more determinations and collect more information, we 

will modify or update the attached tables.

Several of our agencies currently do not have broad enforcement authority; however, we have 

identified compliance data they have that the public might find useful. We will work with the

following agencies to put that data into useful form: 1) FHWA; 2) FTA; 3) MARAD; and 4) 

SLSDC. A description of their data is included on the attached tables. As noted above, 

RITA/BTS data is in the modal charts. 

Making Data Available. 

We will now focus on prioritization, and will work to ensure that priority data is made 

accessible, downloadable and searchable as soon as feasible. The Department’s CIO’s office is 

working on identified data sets and expects to place them on data.gov by the end of Fiscal Year 

2011. To give the public an alternative way to find DOT enforcement data, the Office of the 

General Counsel plans to include on http://regs.dot.gov an enforcement page with links to modal 

enforcement and compliance web sites and to data.gov. This page will describe what we do in 

this area, provide a list of the data that is available throughout the Department with links to the 

data, and describe and link to any on-line tools that we may ultimately create to help in the 

search of the data we have on the web. We also will link to this page from the Department’s 

Open Government web site at www.dot.gov/open. The CIO’s office will build a table similar to 

the one at www.dot.gov/open/data, automate it to the extent possible, and keep it up-to-date. 

Technical Issues/Innovation. 

As part of this effort, the Department’s CIO is leading the effort to explore the technical issues 

raised by modal data sets and suggesting how best to make such data available online in 

searchable form, including on http://www.data.gov , in a manner that facilitates easy access and 

engages the public in new and creative ways of using the information. His staff is working with 

the modes to explore innovative ways to improve and present the data (e.g., charts or other 

graphic formats); consider the use of new technologies; and, where possible, identify ways to 

allow the public access to real-time data. The CIO’s office and modal information technology 

and program staff are evaluating technologies supporting the Next Generation Data.gov 

platform, which would allow the public to search available modal meta-data in various ways to 

suit their needs. This capability would provide the public with much better access and 

searchability and also take a huge burden off modal information technology and program staff, 

who now respond to voluminous public requests for particular data. 

DOT has already recognized benefits as a result of regulatory transparency efforts. For example, 

for the first time, FMCSA has begun releasing the information behind its Safety Measurement 

System (SMS) to the public in bulk, downloadable formats. Business and private citizens are 

mining this data for potential opportunities. For instance, a windshield repair company looking to 

grow its business is mining FMCSA information about safety violations to identify new 

customers. DOT and the public realize a benefit because the commercial vehicle operator 
customer is using a safer vehicle and operating in compliance with Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations.

Broader Access. 

The CIO will evaluate the data sets to identify opportunities to provide cross-modal searches and 

comparison of information and to explore how best to generate and share enforcement and 

compliance information across the Government, consistent with law. For example, the FAA has 

suggested consolidating into one place multimodal, hazardous materials enforcement activity or 

noncompliance with industry drug and alcohol testing, organized to enable cross agency 

searches. This effort will require development of a universal corporate identity search factor 

useable across the government. The CIO will develop ways/tools (e.g., common search factors) 

to make cross-agency comparisons and searching easier. 

Responsibility for Implementation.

The DOT official with the primary responsibility for implementing the information technology 

and open government portions of President’s Memorandum is the Department’s Assistant Chief 

Information Officer, Giovanni Carnaroli, who is the Senior Accountable Official for Open 

Government. The General Counsel, Robert Rivkin, was responsible for the portion of the 

Memorandum involving identifying Departmental enforcement and compliance data and 

developing the implementation plan. Both Offices collaborated on establishing the plan and 

worked in close coordination with the modes to compile the inventory. 

Descriptions of Existing Regulatory and Enforcement Activities 

DOT Agencies with Broad Enforcement and Compliance Authority

The Federal Aviation Administration

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has broad regulatory responsibility over the aviation 

industry – both over entities (commercial operators, repair stations, etc.) and individuals. The 

FAA develops and reviews enforcement policies and programs. It provides guidance to 

personnel on enforcement matters and reviews enforcement actions of national significance. The 

FAA also handles enforcement actions before the National Transportation Safety Board, the 

FAA decision maker, and the United States courts of appeals.

Information Already Available to the Public

FAA provides information on its Enforcement Division Web site. FAA publishes quarterly 

enforcement reports regarding closed actions taken against regulated entities, including:

• Certificate Actions (e.g., suspensions and revocations of certificates)

• Civil Penalty Actions, and

• Issuance of Judicially Enforceable Orders, (e.g., cease and desist or compliance orders).
Information regarding appeals of enforcement actions is found under the Civil Penalty 

Adjudication Web site. Cases may be searched by:

• Subject

• Regulation or Statute

• Name

• FAA Order Number

• Whether they were appealed to Federal Court

Plans for Making Additional Information Available

While FAA makes some information available to the public, there are broad categories of 

information that are not currently made available, except pursuant to the Freedom of Information 

Act. These include:

• Legal enforcement actions against individuals (e.g., pilots).

• Administrative actions (warnings, letters of correction, re-examinations) against entities 

and individuals.

• Inspections and investigations.

FAA will evaluate how to generate aggregate quarterly statistics in each of these topic areas, 

taking care to be as granular as possible while not jeopardizing privacy, confidentiality, or 

enforcement programs. FAA will incorporate a mechanism to receive feedback from the public 

on ways to improve the level of detail in these new data releases.

Plans for Wider Dissemination

FAA is an active participant in the Department’s Data.gov Working Group. The Data.gov 

working group will assist FAA in identifying methods for improving the release of the data 

underlying the quarterly enforcement and civil penalty reports in more open, accessible, and 

modern formats, and will help FAA ensure that future information releases meet these same 

criteria.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has broad regulatory responsibility 

over the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) industry. FMCSA activities contribute to ensuring 

safety in motor carrier operations through strong enforcement of safety regulations; targeting 

high-risk carriers and commercial motor vehicle drivers; improving safety information systems 

and commercial motor vehicle technologies; strengthening commercial motor vehicle equipment 

and operating standards; and increasing safety awareness. To accomplish these activities, the 

Administration works with Federal, State, and local enforcement agencies, the motor carrier 

industry, labor safety interest groups, and others.
Information Already Available to the Public

The FMCSA provides the public with extensive enforcement and compliance information 

through the Analysis & Information Online Web site, which includes data such as:

• Motor Carrier Safety Measurement System (SMS) – which includes information on 

safety scores and carrier registrations.

• Safety Programs (Reviews, Roadside Inspections, and Traffic Enforcement) – where the 

public has the opportunity to view and download aggregated data for multiple years with 

options to filter the information by types and locations of companies.

• Crash Statistics - provides information about large truck and bus crashes, provided by the 

States. All of this information is available in aggregate at National and State levels and 

in detail at a motor carrier (company) level.

• Passenger Carrier Statistics can be found both at 

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/ProgramReport/PassengerCarrier.aspx and 

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/PCS/Consumers.aspx.

• Household Goods Carrier Statistics - the public can search for moving companies and 

view complaint histories. Members of the public may also submit complaints through the 

National Consumer Complaint Database.

• Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) - data filters on the MCSAP website 

allow users to view MCSAP program activities on a State level. Datasets are also 

available to support State-level decision making.

• CSA - Provides information about Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA), through 

which the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), together with State 

Partners and industry, is working to further reduce commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 

crashes, fatalities, and injuries on our nation's highways.

In addition to the interactive online experience provided through this Analysis and Information 

portal, FMCSA makes SMS information available for bulk download. FMCSA also provides the 

public with access to information on enforcement and compliance activities, including:

• Closed Enforcement Cases - the public can search for particular companies or violations 

in certain Parts of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs).

• Adjudications - orders are searchable by docket number at http://www.regulations.gov , 

but cases from 2009-present are searchable on the Office of Chief Counsel website. 

• Medical Exemptions – typically published directly through the Federal Register. 

Although the information is maintained in a searchable form, the records, which include 

sensitive medical information and PII, are not available to the public.
Plans for Making Additional Information Available

The FMCSA provides the public with extensive access to information and its regulatory 

enforcement activities. The FMCSA continually evaluates their information release practices and 

strives to provide the public with the most detailed information possible. FMCSA regularly 

responds to data on consumer feedback, providing more granular data sets when the public 

shows interest. 

Plans for Wider Dissemination

The FMCSA is an active participant in the Department’s Data.gov Working Group. DOT will 

submit the Analysis & Information Online data sets identified above to Data.gov by the end of 

fiscal year 2011. 

The Data.gov working group will also assist FMCSA in identifying methods for improving the 

release of the data underlying the enforcement, adjudication, and exemption reports in more 

open, accessible, and modern formats. The working group also recognizes the value of providing 

more of FMCSA’s information in bulk downloadable formats and will evaluate potential 

solutions available through the Next Generation Data.gov platform to support this type of 

increased access.

The Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has broad regulatory responsibility over the railroad 

industry. In the 1890s, Congress began regulating the railroad industry for safety purposes by 

enacting narrowly drawn laws to deal with discrete rail safety issues. Having determined the 

need for more comprehensive regulation, Congress enacted the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 

1970 (FRSA), which granted rulemaking authority over “all areas of railroad safety.” FRA has 

exercised this authority by issuing a wide variety of rail safety regulations and makes use of civil 

penalties and criminal penalties in limited circumstances as a means of enforcing those 

regulations and safety statutes. FRA is also authorized to issue orders assessing civil penalties for 

violations of the various hazardous materials statutes, regulations, and orders. FRA also utilizes 

a wide array of other enforcement tools to ensure compliance with existing regulations. These 

include the issuance of compliance agreements and orders as well as various sanctions against 

individuals such as warning letters; civil penalties; and disqualifications. In addition, FRA is 

authorized to issue emergency orders to address safety hazards and emergency events that pose 

an imminent hazard of injury or death that are not otherwise covered in existing regulations.

Information Already Available to the Public

The FRA provides the public with extensive visibility into railroad safety information through 

the Office of Safety Analysis Web site, which includes:

• Overview data that summarizes accident and incident information by railroad, state, or 

region.
• Accident and incident trend information, including statistics on casualties, signal 

activation failures, and “false proceeds” (when a signal incorrectly activates, indicating 

that it is safe for a train to move when, in fact, it may not be safe).

• Highway-rail crossings and associated accidents.

• Detailed casualty information.

This web site provides the public with an interactive experience to explore railroad safety data. 

In addition, the site provides the public with the ability to download entire data sets in bulk. FRA 

also makes the safety information available through an interactive online mapping application.

FRA also provides the public access to information about its enforcement activities through its 

Enforcement Web site, which contains:

• Annual Enforcement Report.

• Annual Civil Penalty Report.

In April 2010, FRA increased the amount of information readily available about its safety 

enforcement activities and also increased the accessibility of the information by posting its first 

expanded enforcement report on the Enforcement Web site. FRA intends to make this type of 

safety enforcement information available each year by December 31. Each report will cover the 

preceding fiscal year (October 1 through September 30).

Plans for Making Additional Information Available

While FRA makes a great deal of information available to the public, there are certain types of 

information that FRA does not make public, which are collected under a pledge of 

confidentiality, are not related to safety enforcement actions, or would adversely affect 

enforcement actions. These include:

• Information used to plan and manage inspection work – data from the Automated Track 

Inspection Program (ATIP), the National Inspection Plan, and the Continuous Welded 

Rail (CWR) inspection data. 

• Information that contains proprietary and protected information – data from the Positive 

Train Control (PTC) Web site and operational test data reports.

• Information related to ongoing investigations – accident investigation data, and granular 

information from the Railroad Enforcement System.

The FRA respects the need for transparency in the area of regulatory enforcement and 

compliance and continually evaluates the ways to release more information about railroad safety 

to the public. Summary statistics for some programs are being considered and will be evaluated 

for quality and accuracy before they are released to the public.

Plans for Wider Dissemination

The FRA is an active participant in the Department’s Data.gov Working Group. DOT will 

submit the safety data sets identified above to Data.gov by the end of fiscal year 2011. The 
Data.gov working group will also assist FRA in identifying methods for improving the release of 

the data underlying the annual enforcement and civil penalty reports in more open, accessible, 

and modern formats.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has broad regulatory 

responsibility over vehicle safety and associated standards. NHTSA’s regulatory authority 

extends to activities that include vehicle safety compliance, vehicle and equipment importation, 

defect investigations, civil penalties, and odometer fraud.

Information Already Available to the Public

NHTSA provides the public with extensive information associated with its defect investigations:

• Consumer Complaints

• Technical Service Bulletins from vehicle manufacturers

• Early Warning Reporting of information about potential defects

• Defect Investigations

• Recall Campaigns (foreign and domestic vehicles with defects)

While information can be searched and retrieved through the Web, NHTSA also offers this data 

for bulk download. NHTSA also participates in the Recalls.gov initiative, and its defect 

investigation information is available in the Recalls.gov mobile application.

NHTSA has also made available information on registered importers, registered importers whose 

registrations have been suspended or revoked as well as an approved/disapproved vehicle list at 

its Vehicle Importation and Certification Requirements Web site.

The NHTSA Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance publishes a searchable compliance database

containing testing data from 2003 to the present. Members of the public may search this database 

for both equipment and vehicles. These two categories may be searched by Year, Make/Brand, 

and Model or by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS). NHTSA also publishes 

information regarding civil penalties assessed to vehicle manufacturers for violating Corporate 

Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards in PDF form.

Plans for Making Additional Information Available

While NHTSA makes extensive information available to the public, some activities are enforced 

in cooperation with other Federal agencies. For instance, odometer fraud is a criminal matter that 

is pursued through the Department of Justice. In addition, forfeiture for illegal vehicle 

importation is administered through Customs and Border Protection at the Department of 

Homeland Security; NHTSA is not the lead agency in forfeiture matters, but may provide 

guidance in some cases. 

Plans for Wider Dissemination
NHTSA is an active participant in the Department’s Data.gov Working Group. DOT will submit 

the Office of Defect Investigation data sets identified above to Data.gov by the end of fiscal year 

2011.

The Data.gov working group will assist in identifying methods for improving the release of data 

underlying importation compliance, vehicle safety compliance, and civil penalties in more open, 

accessible, and modern formats, and will help NHTSA ensure that future information releases 

meet these same criteria. NHTSA will also take steps to release information about the full 

universe of civil penalty actions before the end of the calendar year.

The Office of the Secretary

The Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, 

including its Aviation Consumer Protection Division, monitors compliance with and investigates 

violations of the Department of Transportation’s aviation economic, consumer protection, and

civil rights regulations. The Office also provides legal review and support on aviation economic 

licensing matters. The Aviation Consumer Protection Division receives complaints from 

members of the public regarding air travel consumer issues. The Office verifies compliance with 

the Department’s aviation consumer protection requirements and provides guidance to the 

industry and members of the public on consumer protection matters. The Office also makes 

available to the public information on pertinent consumer matters.

Consumer protection compliance and enforcement activities relate to areas such as unfair and 

deceptive practices and unfair competition by air carriers and travel agents, deceptive airline 

advertising (e.g., fare, on-time performance, schedule, code sharing, etc.), and violations of rules 

concerning denied boarding compensation, ticket refunds, baggage liability requirements, and 

charter flights.

The Office is also very active in civil rights enforcement. The Department is charged with 

prohibiting discrimination by airlines and has committed to protecting consumers in this regard. 

The Office focuses on ensuring that individuals with disabilities obtain nondiscriminatory access 

to the air transportation system and that the public is not subjected by airlines to unlawful 

discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or sex during the course of their air 

transportation.

Furthermore, the Office provides legal review and support on activities concerning airline 

authority. This includes unauthorized air transportation operations by foreign carriers within the 

U.S. (i.e., cabotage) or to or from the U.S. The Office also reviews the marketing or operation 

(i.e., holding out of service or operation) of air transportation service by unauthorized U.S. 

companies. Enforcement action is pursued against airlines or other companies offering service 

for which they have not been found fit by the Department. Requirements relating to continuing 

fitness (e.g., reporting requirements and insurance rules) are also enforced to ensure that airlines 

remain in compliance with conditions on their authority.

Information Already Available to the Public 
The Aviation Consumer Protection Division produces a monthly Air Travel Consumer Report, 

which is available to the public. This report is designed to assist consumers with information on 

the quality of services provided by the airlines and is divided into six sections:

• Flight delays, which includes information about on-time arrival performance by airlines, 

flight cancellations, flight delay causation data, and tarmac delays.

• Mishandled baggage reports by airlines.

• Passenger denied boarding data.

• Consumer complaints, which are presented by category or airline.

• Customer service reports to the Transportation Security Administration.

• Airline reports of the loss, injury, or death of animals during air transportation.

Some of the data that support the report are managed by the Department’s Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics (BTS). While the Air Travel Consumer report itself is a static product in 

PDF form, BTS provides the public the ability to search, download, and visualize much of the 

information included in the report. BTS provides:

• Airline On-Time Statistics – available for search and download in both summary and 

detailed form.

• Cause of Delay Reports.

• Flights cancelled more than 5% of the time

Information that is collected and maintained by the Aviation Consumer Protection Division is 

available directly at their Web site and includes:

• Enforcement Orders/Settlement Agreements.

• Industry Notices/ Guidance Regarding Aviation Rules and Statutes.

• Annual Report on Disability-Related Air Travel Complaints.

• Airline Service Cessation Bulletins.

Plans for Making Additional Information Available

As discussed above, the Aviation Consumer Protection Division proactively discloses a great 

deal of regulatory enforcement and compliance information that is useful to consumers. 

Enforcement case documents and data are posted once a case has closed, and information can be 

accessed and studied in a number of ways.

At this time, the Aviation Consumer Protection Division does not provide the public access to 

Warning Letters to Regulated Entities, nor does the Division provide access to its Compliance 

Inspection Schedule. Warning letters are not made publicly available or typically shared with 

State and Federal Agencies because the disclosure of this type of data could cause public 

confusion and misinformation as to the culpability of the regulated entity where the findings in 

the documents have not been adjudicated and the entity has not agreed to them. A requirement 

to disclose warning letters could cause harm to the OST enforcement program and result in the 

office abandoning a useful enforcement tool.
Each year the Aviation Enforcement Office plans to conduct five to seven on-site investigations

at the headquarters of certain airlines. It conducts these investigations by sending a team of staff, 

including attorneys and transportation industry analysts, to the airline’s headquarters and 

conducting a thorough review of the airline’s records in connection with its compliance with 

Department regulatory matters, such as training records, airline passenger complaints, and refund 

and baggage claims. The airline receives information about the visit no more than three weeks 

before the actual visit. This is a very important investigative tool and to release specific 

information about the visits such as dates or airline names could be detrimental to the review of 

material and to any enforcement case that is initiated as a result of the visit. The information 

could also be damaging to the reputation of the airline in question, since these visits do not 

necessarily reflect any compliance issues or result in an enforcement action. In addition, 

scheduled visits are often canceled or rearranged because of unanticipated budget constraints or 

exigent circumstances at the airline.

The Office is considering methods by which summary statistics about these activities can be 

published after they occur. 

Plans for Wider Dissemination

BTS is an active participant in the Department’s Data.gov Working Group. All information for 

which BTS is responsible outlined above is in the queue for posting to Data.gov. DOT will 

submit these data sets to Data.gov by the end of fiscal year 2011. The Data.gov working group 

will also assist OST in identifying methods for improving the release of enforcement orders, 

cessation bulletins, and the annual report on disability-related air travel complaints in more open, 

accessible, and modern formats.

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has broad regulatory 

responsibility for pipeline safety and compliance as well as hazardous materials facility safety 

and compliance. The PHMSA meets this responsibility through:

• field inspections of facilities and construction projects

• programmatic inspections of pipeline operator management systems, procedures, and 

processes

• incident investigations, and 

• direct dialogue with operator management.

To facilitate compliance, PHMSA:

• clarifies its regulatory expectations with published inspection forms and protocols

• interprets rules and makes these interpretations available online

• develops guidance manuals and advisory notices

• posts frequently asked questions (FAQs) online

• posts enforcement actions on its website, and 
• conducts public meetings and workshops.

Finally, PHMSA has available a full range of enforcement mechanisms to require that operators 

take appropriate and timely corrective actions for violations, and that they take preventive 

measures to preclude future failures or non-compliant operation of their pipelines and hazardous 

materials facilities.

Information Already Available to the Public

The PHMSA makes a broad array of information available to the public through its Web site. 

The PHMSA Pipeline Safety Office has made significant progress in making information on its 

regulatory compliance and enforcement activities available to the public. In the spring of 2007, 

PHMSA significantly enhanced the transparency of its enforcement program actions. A new 

section of the Stakeholder Communications web site was developed to provide industry-wide 

and operator-specific enforcement information. Commonly referred to as the Enforcement 

Transparency web site, reports and supporting explanatory information now provide:

• The total number of enforcement cases that are opened and closed each year.

• The different types of enforcement cases that are opened each year (e.g., the number of 

Corrective Action Orders issued, the number of Notices of Probable Violation letters 

issued, etc.)

• The different types of enforcement actions taken to resolve cases each year (e.g., the 

number of Corrective Action Orders closed, the number of Final Orders issued, etc.)

• Summary level case status information on a year-by-year basis that shows how many 

cases opened in a given year are still open and how many are closed. Separate status 

reports are provided for each type of case PHMSA initiates.

• The number of civil penalty cases opened in a given year and the total civil penalties 

proposed in those cases. This report also shows the number of civil penalty cases opened 

in a given year that are still open and how many are closed.

• The resolution of civil penalty cases including a comparison of the civil penalty amounts 

proposed, assessed, and collected.

In the fall of 2010, PHMSA introduced a new series of operator-specific reports on the 

Stakeholder Communications web site. These new reports allow the public to readily access 

information on specific pipeline operators. For the first time, PHMSA now provides information 

on a specific operator in a single location on its web site. This information includes the 

operator’s pipeline mileage, and accident, inspection, and enforcement history. 

These new operator reports represent the first time PHMSA has made summary level 

information on its inspection program available to the public. Within the inspection history 

portion of these reports is a listing of all specific inspections performed since 2005, the type of 

inspection conducted, the Region conducting the inspection, and the specific enforcement cases 

that resulted from the inspection, if any. The enforcement actions are linked to the individual 

case reports described previously for the Enforcement Transparency web site. PHMSA provides 

summary level information on state pipeline safety program enforcement actions. This data is 

reported to PHMSA annually as part of the each state’s program certification. For each state 

agency, two reports are provided.
The PHMSA Hazardous Materials Safety Office also makes extensive information available to 

the public. PHMSA’s public enforcement transparency web site provides access to a variety of 

reports and enforcement program information. This site provides year-by-year reports on cases 

initiated and closed; information on the status of different types of enforcement cases, and 

reports on civil penalties. Information and documents on closed individual cases against each 

regulated entity is also provided. These documents include the notice letters that allege company 

violations or inadequacies, responses to these allegations, and the orders documenting PHMSA’s 

final determinations. 

Recently, PHMSA added a new statistics section to the Hazardous Materials enforcement 

transparency Web site to provide annual and 10-year summary reports that include the number of 

incidents related to specific causes, the number of injuries or fatalities, as well the cost of 

damages. Users can download up-to-date, useful information from the database because it is 

updated on a nightly basis and the data can be sorted based on the details of the incident. The

creation of this database streamlines the delivery of this information to the public and continues 

PHMSA's commitment to increased transparency. 

Plans for Making Additional Information Available

As discussed above, PHMSA a leader in the proactive disclosure of regulatory enforcement and 

compliance information. Enforcement case documents and data are posted as a case progresses, 

and information can be accessed and studied in a number of ways.

Plans for Wider Dissemination

PHMSA is an active participant in the Department’s Data.gov Working Group. All information 

outlined above is in the queue for posting to Data.gov. DOT will submit these data sets to 

Data.gov by the end of fiscal year 2011.

DOT Agencies without Broad Enforcement and Compliance Authority

As discussed earlier in this report, many of DOT’s modes have limited regulatory authority. 

These include:

• The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is not a traditional enforcement agency; it 

primarily operates grant programs. FHWA does have an oversight role at all stages of a 

project where Federal-aid monies are involved, largely at the project approval level.

When a State department of transportation submits its plans, specifications, and estimates 

for a project, FHWA Division office staff evaluate the project's compliance with Federal 

laws before approving the project. Similarly, as the project moves forward and 

reimbursement is sought, the FHWA continually assesses compliance with Federal laws 

and regulations and, if a violation is found, uses its authority under 23 USC 1.36 to 

withhold Federal funds and take such other action as is appropriate under the 

circumstances until compliance or remedial action has been accomplished by the State.

Correspondence with the States indicating that the FHWA may withhold funds for a 
project under 23 CFR 1.36 is not made available to the public or other States or Federal 

agencies. However, FHWA does make available to the public suspension and debarment 

notices at the ELPS website, accessible via the DOT OST Suspension and Debarment 

Program page, and information on the disposition of Buy America waiver requests. The 

public can view waiver requests at: 

www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/contracts/waivers.cfm

• The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) – like FHWA, FTA is not a major 

enforcement agency. It does make available to the public and to States decisions 

enforcing the prohibition on the use of FTA financial assistance to operate charter bus 

services and school bus services, information on the purchase of U.S. goods with FTA 

financial assistance, and Equal Employment Opportunity compliance reviews (including 

the Americans with Disabilities Act and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises). It does 

conduct a wide variety of audits on grantees, including State safety oversight reviews, 

drug and alcohol program inspections, program management oversight reviews, 

procurement system reviews, State management reviews, Triennial reviews and financial 

management oversight reviews. It does not make results available to the public or States 

(except the subject of the review). We will examine whether these audits generate any 

useful, releasable data.

• The Maritime Administration (MARAD) is primarily a promotional agency with limited 

regulatory enforcement and compliance responsibilities. Upon noticing noncompliance

of maritime laws and regulations, MARAD notifies the appropriate agency -- the U.S. 

Coast Guard, the Department of Defense, or the Internal Revenue Service -- so that they 

can undertake enforcement. While MARAD does have statutory authority in place to 

assess penalties for non-compliance with the Cargo Preference rules, it has not yet 

promulgated implementing regulations for assessing penalties.

• The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) - The SLSDC and the 

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), in conjunction with Transport Canada and the SLSMC, 

signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March 1997 to develop a program of 

coordinated vessel inspection and enforcement activities to expedite the safe transit of 

shipping through the Great Lakes Seaway System. The principal goal of the Enhanced 

Seaway Inspection (ESI) program is to inspect all ocean vessels for safety and 

environmental protection in Montreal, Quebec, before they enter U.S. waters. The 

program includes Seaway regulations, legislated USCG port-state inspection, and the 

International Safety Management Code (ISM). Other transit related inspections 

conducted by SLSDC personnel include ballast water screenings and security-related risk 

assessment inspections, which are conducted concurrently with the ESI. The USCG 

makes certain parts of their inspection results, such as pollution violations and vessel 

incident information public in a database located on its Web site.

Information Already Available to the Public

Following is a summary of activities that are already available to the public for these agencies:
• Any suspension and debarment activities undertaken by the FHWA and FTA are 

published through the General Services Administration’s Excluded Parties List System.

• FHWA and FTA conduct reviews of waivers and violations of the Buy America Act. 

Information on these activities are found at:

o FHWA Web site, once waiver decisions are made.

o FTA Web site.

• FTA conducts reviews of certain expenditures to ensure that funds are applied in 

accordance with the law:

o Enforcement of provisions regarding charter bus service 

 From 1996 to 2008, on the FTA Web site.

 From 2008 to present, at regulations.gov in docket FTA-2007-0024.

o Enforcement of provisions regarding school bus service at the FTA Web site.

• FTA also evaluates grantees for compliance under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

1964, and publishes compliance reports at the FTA Web site.

• SLSDC publishes an annual report on the Ballast Water Exchange Inspection in 

coordination with Canada. This report is available at the Seaway Web site

Plans for Making Additional Information Available

MARAD intends to begin publishing information regarding shipper agency compliance with its 

current Cargo Preference Rule at its Web site. 

The Office of the Secretary’s Office of Drug & Alcohol Policy & Compliance (ODAPC) 

publishes information on Public Interest Exclusions, but has only had one such case during the 

last ten years. Information is available at the ODAPC Web site. If more exclusions are made, 

release practices may be reviewed.

The SLSDC issues tickets for violations of the joint regulations that occur in U.S. waters, which 

typically involve speeding. Depending on where the speeding occurs, either the SLSDC (U.S.) 

or SLSMC (Canada) issues the actual violation. SLSDC averages 6-8 tickets per year. Making 

only the U.S. violations public would not give a consumer an accurate picture of a vessel’s 

transit violations in the Seaway System. Releasing complete information on SLSDC and SLSMC 

ticketing would require negotiations with Canada. This is lower priority data, therefore, we have 

no plans to make additional information regarding these activities available at this time.

As noted above, FTA conducts a wide variety of audits on grantees, including safety oversight 

audits, drug & alcohol program inspections, program management oversight, procurement 

system reviews, state management reviews, and financial management oversight reviews. The 

results of these audits are shared only with the subject of the review, and are not part of any 

regulatory compliance or enforcement activity.
Plans for Wider Dissemination

Where appropriate, the Department’s Data.gov working group will also assist these modes with 

little enforcement authority in identifying methods for improving the release of the data 

underlying these activities in more open, accessible, and modern formats.

Public Availability of DOT Plan

DOT will post a copy of this preliminary report on its regs.dot.gov website and invite the public 

to comment on it and about the accessibility, downloadability, searchability, and usefulness of 

specific data.
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-1

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

OST (C70)Flight Delay 

Statistics by 

Airline (ATCR)

Yes 

Available at 

http://airconsumer.dot.gov

Yes Yes

OST (C70)Flight Delay 

Statistics by 

Airline and 

Airport (ATCR)

Yes 

Available at 

http://airconsumer.dot.gov

Yes Yes

OST (C70)Mishandled 

Baggage 

Statistics by 

Airline (ATCR)

Yes 

Available at 

http://airconsumer.dot.gov

Yes Yes

OST (C70)Airline 

Consumer 

Complaints by 

Categories 

(ATCR)

Yes 

Available at 

http://airconsumer.dot.gov

Yes Yes

OST (C70)Airline 

Consumer 

Complaints by 

Airlines 

(ATCR)

Yes 

Available at 

http://airconsumer.dot.gov

Yes Yes

OST (C70)Loss, Injury, or 

death of an 

animal in air 

transportation 

(ATCR)

Yes 

Available at 

http://airconsumer.dot.gov

Yes Yes

OST (C70)Airline on time 

arrival statistics 

(ATCR)

Yes 

Available at 

http://airconsumer.dot.gov

Yes Yes

OST (C70)On-time arrival 

and departure 

percentage by 

airport (ATCR)

Yes 

Available at 

http://airconsumer.dot.gov

Yes Yes

OST (C- Percentage of Yes Yes Yes
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-2

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

70) Flight 

Cancellations 

by Airline 

(ATCR)

Available at 

http://airconsumer.dot.gov

FTA Enforcement of 

49 U.S.C. 

5323(d) 

prohibition on 

use of FTA 

financial 

assistance to 

operate charter 

bus services

Yes. Decisions from 1996 to 

2008 are posted at 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/laws/leg

islation/leg_reg_8807.html. 

Decisions from 2008 to the 

present are posted at 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!d

ocketDetail;D=FTA-2007-0024

Yes Decisions are publicly 

posted. 

FTA Enforcement of 

49 U.S.C. 

5323(f) 

prohibition on 

use of FTA 

financial 

assistance to 

operate school 

bus services

Yes. Decisions are posted at 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/laws/leg

_reg_8724.html

Yes Decisions are publicly 

posted. 

FTA Enforcement of 

49 U.S.C. 

5323(j) 

requirements 

regarding 

purchase of 

U.S. goods with 

FTA financial 

assistance

Yes. Decisions and guidance 

are posted at 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/laws/leg

_reg_598.html

Yes Decisions are publicly 

posted. 

FMCSA Motor Carrier 

Safety 

Measurement 

Yes. 

SMS data is available at 

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov.

Yes. 

FMCSA has made 

the SMS scores 

Yes. 

Expanded information 

is shared with State & 

The next phase of 

SMS data release to 

the public will 

Our next steps are 

twofold --new 

information to release 
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-3

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

System (SMS) and the company 

registration data 

available for public 

download. 

(http://ai.fmcsa.dot.

gov/SMS/Data/Do

wnloads.aspx).

Federal Agencies 

through a password 

protected page from 

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov

.

either involve 

expanded summary 

information related 

to SMS, or the 

detailed crash and 

inspection records 

that go into SMS.

in bulk and ways to 

tailor the release so that 

users get what they 

want without the need 

to get extraneous 

information.

FMCSA Safety 

Programs 

(Reviews, 

Roadside 

Inspection, 

Traffic 

Enforcement)

Yes. 

Safety programs data is 

available at 

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov.

Yes. 

National and State 

level enforcement 

information is 

available through 

the “Safety 

Programs” section 

of A&I Online 

(http://ai.fmcsa.dot.

gov/SafetyProgram

/home.aspx). At 

this website, the 

public has the 

opportunity to view 

and download 

aggregated data for 

multiple years with 

options to filter the 

information by 

types and locations 

of companies. 

Yes. 

FMCSA provides 

States with software 

and data needed to 

perform roadside 

inspections (ASPEN), 

interventions 

(CAPRI), safety 

audits (SENTRI), and 

prioritize carriers for 

roadside inspections 

(ISS and Query 

Central). 

FMCSA distributes 

data to roadside State 

law enforcement 

officers through the 

Commercial Vehicle 

Information Systems 

and Networks 

(CVISN) program.

FMCSA assists States 

in keeping unsafe 

companies off the 

road through the 

Performance and 

Registration 

Information Systems 

There has been 

some public 

demand for 

inspection records, 

and it is being 

considered for 

public release. 

Data quality 

standards and 

performance are 

available online at 

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.g

ov/DataQuality/data

quality.asp.

FMCSA may release 

details of roadside 

inspections and crashes 

and should consider 

releasing details of 

compliance reviews and 

safety audits. The first 

two items directly feed 

SMS and would 

provide additional 

transparency to the 

process. The inspection 

file is large (over 3.5 

million inspections in 

each of the past two 

years and over 7 million 

violations per year), but 

manageable. 

Compliance reviews 

(interventions) and 

safety audits would 

help provide additional 

transparency, but might 

raise questions on 

FMCSA and State 

operations (such as why 

ratings were not 

available for reviews 
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-4

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

Management 

(PRISM) program.

uploaded late).

FMCSA Crash Statistics Yes. 

Crash statistics are available at 

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov.

Yes. 

FMCSA provides 

information about 

large truck and bus 

crashes, provided 

by the States. All 

of this information 

is available in 

aggregate at 

National and State 

levels and in detail 

at a motor carrier 

(company) level 

through FMCSA’s 

Analysis & 

Information Online 

(A&I Online) 

website at 

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.

gov. 

Yes. 

The information is 

publically available, 

however a special 

download is available 

to State Partners 

through the MCSAP 

page on A&I.

There has been 

some public 

demand for crash 

data records, and it 

is being considered 

for public release. 

Data quality 

standards and 

performance are 

available online at 

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.g

ov/DataQuality/data

quality.asp. 

FMCSA works with 

NHTSA data sources, 

but there are differences 

in how our data are 

collected and used. 

FMCSA works with 

other DOT modes 

through the Traffic 

Records Coordinating 

Committee (TRCC) in 

order to standardize 

data whenever possible.

FMCSA Passenger 

Carrier 

Statistics

Yes. 

Passenger Carrier statistics are 

available at 

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov.

Yes. 

FMCSA provides 

reports and 

information 

regarding its 

passenger carrier 

program. Reports 

can be downloaded 

or printed via pdf. 

Yes. 

This information is 

geared towards public 

consumption of 

information. We have 

an internal system 

called GOTHAM that 

provides Passenger 

carrier data analysis to 

FMCSA and State 

Partners.

The information in 

this section is 

coordinated closely 

with the SMS and 

Safety Programs 

sections of the A&I 

website.

The information on this 

site already combines 

multiple FMCSA data 

sources to provide a 

"one-stop shopping" 

experience for users. 

FMCSA MCSAP (Motor Yes. Yes. Yes. The information in Information on the 
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-5

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

Carrier Safety 

Assistance 

Program) 

(Quarterly 

Report/CVSP 

Dashboard, 

CVSP Toolkit, 

State Data 

Summary, State 

Safety 

Performance 

Measure) 

Quarterly reports, CVSP data 

dashboard and state data 

summary are available. State 

safety performance measures 

and the CVSP toolkit are not 

publically available. 

There are data 

filters on the 

MCSAP website 

that allow users to 

view MCSAP 

program activities 

on a State level. 

Datasets are also 

available to support 

State-level decision 

making.

To provide States 

with the data needed 

to analyze safety 

problems and monitor 

their safety programs 

through a MCSAP 

program dashboard, a 

toolkit for developing 

their Commercial 

Vehicle Safety Plans 

(part of the MCSAP 

grant application 

process), and other 

monitoring tools on 

A&I 

(http://ai.fmcsa.dot.go

v/StatePrograms/Hom

e.aspx).

this section is 

coordinated closely 

with the SMS and 

Safety Programs 

sections of the A&I 

website.

MCSAP website is 

provided in a number of 

formats (charts, tables 

and downloadable data) 

to make it easy for the 

user to view the data in 

a way that makes sense 

to them. 

FMCSA Closed 

Enforcement 

Cases

Yes. 

Information about closed cases 

for the past 6 years is available 

at: 

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts

-research/enforcementreports/enforcementreports.aspx.

Yes. 

Information on 

closed civil 

penalties is 

available on 

FMCSA’s main 

website. The 

public can search 

for particular 

companies or 

violations in 

certain Parts of the 

Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety 

Regulations 

(FMCSRs). The 

data is also 

Yes. 

This information is 

geared towards public 

consumption of 

information. We have 

an internal system 

called EMIS that 

provides enforcement 

case data to FMCSA 

and State Partners.

FMCSA is working 

to provide this 

information in a 

more timely manner 

(monthly or weekly 

rather than 

quarterly). 
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-6

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

available for 

download in 

multiple formats 

(Excel and 

searchable PDF) 

for multiple years.

SLSDC Joint 

U.S./Canadian 

Enhanced 

Seaway 

Inspection 

Program (ESI); 

33 CFR Part 

401

Yes Some is accessible. Yes

FRA Accident/

Incident Data

Yes 

the data can be found at: 

http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov 

Can also be accessed through 

FRA's web-site at: 

www.fra.dot.gov

Yes Yes Data can be 

searched and 

prioritized in a 

variety of ways

Railroads Identified by 

Railroad Code and data 

presented in tables, 

charts and graphs

FRA Signal 

Activation 

Failures and 

False Proceeds

Yes 

the data can be found at: 

http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov 

Can also be accessed through 

FRA's web-site at: 

www.fra.dot.gov

Yes Yes Data can be 

searched and 

prioritized in a 

variety of ways

Railroads Identified by 

Railroad Code and data 

presented in tables, 

charts and graphs

FRA Crossing 

Inventory

Yes 

the data can be found at: 

http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov 

Can also be accessed through 

FRA's web-site at: 

www.fra.dot.gov

Yes Yes Data can be 

searched and 

prioritized in a 

variety of ways

Railroads Identified by 

Railroad Code and data 

presented in tables, 

charts and graphs

FRA Inspection Data 

and Dashboard

Yes 

Limited - FRA will provide 

No No Data can be 

searched and 

Data presented in 

tables, charts and 
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-7

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

summary information when 

requested. Used as a work 

resource and evaluation tool

prioritized in a 

variety of ways

graphs

ODAPC 

(OST)

Public Interest 

Exclusion 

Decisions (PIE) 

see 49 CFR Part 

40, Subpart R

Yes - published in the Federal 

Register when issued & 

available at: 

http://www.dot.gov/ost/dapc/pi

e.html

Yes Yes N/A N/A

NHTSA Results of 

NHTSA testing 

for compliance 

with Federal 

Motor Vehicle 

Safety 

Standards 

(FMVSS)

Yes. Available at 

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/prob

lems/comply/

Accessible, 

downloadable and 

searchable. 

Contains testing 

data from 2003 to 

present. Searches 

can be performed 

for equipment and 

vehicles by Year, 

Make/Brand, and 

Model or by 

Federal Motor 

Vehicle Safety 

Standard 

(FMVSS). Once a 

list of test results 

(pass or fail) is 

retrieved, the final 

test report can be 

viewed or saved.

Data shared with 

CPB, EPA, sometimes 

FMCSA, and other 

countries including 

Canada.

NHTSA Defect 

Investigations -

Consumer 

Complaints

Yes. Available at http://wwwodi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/Accessible, 

downloadable and 

searchable. 

Contains data from 

January 1, 1995 to 

present. Searches 
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-8

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

can be performed 

for child seats, 

tires, equipment 

and vehicles by 

Year, Make/Brand, 

and Model or 

Component. Once 

a list of complaints 

is retrieved, the 

complaint or a 

summary can be 

viewed or saved. 

No personal 

identifiers are 

included. The 

information is 

updated nightly.

Note: An online 

form provides the 

capability to file a 

complaint.

NHTSA Defect

Investigations -

Technical 

Service 

Bulletins

Yes. Available at http://wwwodi.nhtsa.dot.gov/tsbs/Accessible, 

downloadable and 

searchable. 

Contains data from 

January 1, 1995 to 

present. Searches 

can be performed 

for child seats, 

tires, equipment 

and vehicles by 

Year, Make/Brand, 

and Model or 

Component. Also 

contains 
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-9

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

summaries of 

bulletins. The 

information is 

updated nightly. 

NHTSA Defect 

Investigations -

Early Warning 

Reporting

Some are available. 

(Information including deaths, 

injuries, property damage and 

light vehicle production)

Available at http://wwwodi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ewr/

Accessible, 

downloadable and 

searchable. 

Contains data from 

July 2000 to 

present. Searches 

can be performed 

by Manufacturer, 

Report Type and 

Reporting Period. 

The information is 

updated quarterly. 

No personal 

identifiers or 

business 

confidential data 

are included.

NHTSA Defect 

Investigations

Yes. Available at http://wwwodi.nhtsa.dot.gov/defects/Accessible, 

downloadable and 

searchable. 

Contains data from 

January 1, 1972 to 

present. Searches 

can be performed 

for child seats, 

tires, equipment 

and vehicles by 

Year, Make/Brand, 

and Model or 

Component. Once 

a list of 
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-10

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

investigations is 

retrieved, 

documents from 

the investigation 

can be viewed or 

saved. The 

information is 

updated nightly. 

No personal 

identifiers or 

business 

confidential data 

are included.

NHTSA Recall 

Campaigns

Yes. Available at http://wwwodi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/Accessible, 

downloadable and 

searchable. 

Contains data from 

January 1, 1966 to 

present. Searches 

can be performed 

for child seats, 

tires, equipment 

and vehicles by 

Year, Make/Brand, 

and Model or 

Component. Once 

a list of recalls is 

retrieved, 

documents such as 

defect or 

noncompliance 

report, 

representative 

letter to owners 

and quarterly 
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-11

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

report may be 

viewed or saved. 

The information is 

updated nightly. 

No business 

confidential data 

are included.

NHTSA Foreign 

Recall 

Campaigns

Yes. Available at http://wwwodi.nhtsa.dot.gov/frecalls/Accessible, 

downloadable and 

searchable. 

Contains data from 

November 20, 

2000 to present. 

Searches can be 

performed by date 

range and 

Manufacturer. 

Once a list of 

recalls is retrieved, 

a copy of the report 

can be viewed or 

saved. The 

information is 

updated nightly. 

No business 

confidential data 

are included.

FHWA Suspension and 

Debarment

Yes

This information is made 

available on the GSA EPLS 

website, accessible via the DOT 

OST Suspension and 

Debarment Program page.

Y Y Once a case is 

decided, we have 

provided upon request 

copies of the 

suspension and 

debarment notices, 

which are letters that 

serve as the decision 
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-12

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

for the agency, to the 

OIG and Division 

Administrators who 

refer a case to us.

FHWA Buy America 

Waiver 

Requests

Y This information is made 

available to the public on the 

FHWA Web site at 

www.fhwa.dot.gov/constructio

n/contracts/waivers.cfm. After 

a decision has been made 

whether the waiver should be 

granted, a notice is also 

published in the Federal 

Register. Members of the 

public can also sign up for 

email alerts from the FHWA 

web site when new waiver 

requests are posted.

Y Y Waiver 

information is shared 

with the State in 

which the project is 

located and is 

otherwise available 

for review on the 

FHWA website. 

FHWA also produces 

a Quarterly Report to 

Congress.

MARA

D

Statistical data 

for preference 

cargo shipped 

by US AID and 

Dept. of 

Agriculture 

showing funds 

expended and 

tonnage.

To be placed on MARAD's 

website.

Will be accessible,

downloadable, 

searchable and 508 

compliant.

Compiled from 

shipping agency 

calculations.

PHMSA

PIPELI

NE

Stakeholder 

Communication

s web site:

Information on 

its regulatory 

compliance and 

enforcement 

Yes. Available at 

http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/co

mm/

Accessible and 

downloadable.

Yes Yes No
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-13

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

activities 

available to the 

public.

PHMSA

PIPELI

NE 

Enforcement 

Transparency 

web site:

Provide 

industry-wide 

and operatorspecific 

enforcement 

information. 

Yes. Available at 

http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/co

mm/reports/enforce/Enforceme

nt.html?nocache=8644

Accessible and 

downloadable.

Yes Yes No

PHMSA

PIPELI

NE

The total 

number of 

enforcement 

cases that are 

opened and 

closed each 

year.

Yes. Available at 

http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/co

mm/reports/enforce/EnfHome.h

tml?nocache=2161

Accessible and 

downloadable.

Yes Yes No

PHMSA

PIPELI

NE

The different 

types of 

enforcement 

cases that are 

opened each 

year.

Yes. Available at 

http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/co

mm/reports/enforce/Actions_op

id_0.html?nocache=7143

Accessible and 

searchable. 

Yes Yes No

PHMSA

PIPELI

NE

The different 

types of 

enforcement 

actions taken to 

resolve cases 

each year.

"Yes. Available at 

http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/co

mm/reports/enforce/Actions_op

id_0.html?nocache=7143#_TP_

1_tab_2"

Accessible and 

searchable.

Yes Yes No

PHMSA

PIPELI

NE

Summary level 

case status 

information on 

"Yes. Available at 

http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/co

mm/reports/enforce/CaseStatus

Accessible and 

searchable.

Yes Yes No
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-14

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

a year-by-year 

basis.

_opid_0.html?nocache=8759"

PHMSA

PIPELI

NE

The number of 

civil penalty 

cases opened in 

a given year 

and the total 

civil penalties 

proposed in 

those cases

"Yes. Available at 

http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/co

mm/reports/enforce/CivilPenalt

y_opid_0.html?nocache=5512#

_TP_1_tab_1"

Accessible and 

searchable.

Yes Yes No

PHMSA

PIPELI

NE

The number of 

civil penalty 

cases opened in 

a given year 

and the total 

civil penalties 

proposed in 

those cases

"Yes. Available at 

http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/co

mm/reports/enforce/CivilPenalt

y_opid_0.html?nocache=5512#

_TP_1_tab_2"

Accessible and 

searchable.

Yes Yes No

PHMSA

PIPELI

NE

Operatorspecific reports 

allow the public 

to readily 

access 

information on 

specific 

pipeline 

operators.

"Yes. Available at 

http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/co

mm/reports/operator/Operatorli

st.html?nocache=3692"

Accessible and 

searchable.

Yes Yes No

PHMSA

PIPELI

NE

Summary level 

inspection 

history portion 

of these reports 

.

"Yes. Available at 

http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/co

mm/reports/operator/OperatorI

E_opid_31618.html?nocache=8

034#_InspectionActivity_tab_2

"

Accessible and 

searchable.

Yes Yes No

PHMSA Summary level "Yes. Available at Accessible and Yes Yes No
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-15

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

PIPELI

NE

information on 

state pipeline 

safety program 

enforcement 

actions

http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/co

mm/reports/stenforce/StateEnf

Det_state_AZ.html?nocache=6

57"

searchable.

PHMSA

HAZM

AT

PHMSA 

Hazardous 

Materials safety 

also makes 

extensive 

information 

available to the 

public. 

PHMSA's 

public 

enforcement 

transparency 

web site 

provides access 

to a variety of 

reports and 

enforcement 

program 

information.

Yes. Available at 

http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/haz

mat/enforcement/reportsdocuments

Accessible and 

searchable.

Yes Yes No

PHMSA

HAZM

AT

Statistics 

section to the 

Hazardous 

Materials 

enforcement 

transparency 

provides annual 

and 10-year 

summary 

reports that 

include the 

Yes. Available at 

http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/haz

mat/library/data-stats/incidents

Accessible and 

searchable.

Yes Yes No
Appendix A – Information Already Available to the Public

Page A-16

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

number of 

incidents 

related to 

specific causes, 

the number of 

injuries or 

fatalities, as 

well the cost of 

damages.
Appendix B – Information Already Available to the Public, but release practices could be improved

Page B-1

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

FAA Certificate 

Actions (e.g., 

suspensions and 

revocations of 

certificates)

Basic information about closed

certificate actions against 

entities are posted quarterly at 

http://www.faa.gov/about/offic

e_org/headquarters_offices/agc/

operations/agc300/reports/quart

ers/ 

All other actions available 

under FOIA.

Info. posted on 

internet is not 

searchable. Info. 

about certificate

actions is stored in 

EIS, FAA's 

National Database 

for enforcement 

actions. EIS is not 

open to search or 

review by public.

Pursuant to a request 

for such information

FAA will take 

measures to 

improve the 

accessibility, 

searchability, and 

usability of these 

reports. 

FAA Civil Penalty 

Actions

Basic information about closed 

civil penalty actions against 

entities are posted quarterly at 

http://www.faa.gov/about/offic

e_org/headquarters_offices/agc/

operations/agc300/reports/quart

ers/ 

All other actions available 

under FOIA.

Info. posted on 

internet is not 

searchable. Info. 

about civil penalty

actions is stored in 

EIS, FAA's 

National Database 

for enforcement 

actions. EIS is not 

open to search or 

review by public.

Civil penalty cases 

>$50K for small 

business concerns or 

>$400K for other 

businesses might be 

referred to DOJ for 

processing but not 

publication. Civil 

Penalty cases might 

be referred to Dept. of 

Treasury for 

collection, but not 

publication. 

Otherwise, civil 

penalty actions would 

be referred to a state 

or Federal agency 

upon request. 

FAA will take 

measures to 

improve the 

accessibility, 

searchability, and 

usability of these 

reports.

FAA Issuance of 

Judicially 

Enforceable 

Orders, e.g., 

cease and 

Basic information about closed 

actions against entities are 

posted quarterly at 

http://www.faa.gov/about/offic

e_org/headquarters_offices/agc/

Info. posted on

internet is not 

searchable. Info. 

about cp actions is 

stored in EIS, 

Would refer orders to 

DOJ for judicial 

enforcement, not for 

publication. 

Otherwise, orders 

FAA will take 

measures to 

improve the 

accessibility, 

searchability, and 
Appendix B – Information Already Available to the Public, but release practices could be improved

Page B-2

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

desist, 

compliance 

operations/agc300/reports/quart

ers/ 

All other actions available 

under FOIA.

FAA's National 

Database for 

enforcement 

actions. EIS is not 

open to search or 

review by public.

would be shared upon 

request. 

usability of these 

reports.

OST (C70)Enforcement 

Orders/

Settlement 

Agreements

Yes 

Available at http://

airconsumer.dot.gov and 

www.regulations.gov

Yes Yes 

OST (C70)Industry 

Notices/ 

Guidance 

Regarding 

Aviation Rules 

and Statutes

Yes 

Available at 

http://airconsumer.dot.gov

Yes Yes

OST (C70)Annual Report 

on DisabilityRelated Air 

Travel 

Complaints

Yes 

Available at 

http://airconsumer.dot.gov

Yes Yes

OST (C70)Airline Service 

Cessation 

Bulletins

Yes 

Available at 

http://airconsumer.dot.gov

Yes Yes

FTA EEO 

Compliance 

Reviews - FTA 

contracts for 

reviews to 

determine if the 

grantee's 

required efforts 

under Title VI 

of the Civil 

ADA compliance 

determinations are posted at 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrigh

ts/ada/civil_rights_3903.html

Yes ADA compliance 

reviews are publicly 

posted.
Appendix B – Information Already Available to the Public, but release practices could be improved

Page B-3

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

Rights Act of 

1964, 

Disadvantaged 

Business 

Enterprise 

programs and 

the Americans 

with 

Disabilities 

Acts 

requirement are 

in compliance 

with Federal 

law.

FMCSA Household 

Goods Carrier 

Statistics

Yes. 

Information about household 

goods carriers is available at 

https://www.protectyourmove.g

ov.

Yes. 

Members of the 

public can search 

for moving 

companies and 

view complaint 

histories. Members 

of the public may 

also submit 

complaints through 

the National 

Consumer 

Complaint 

Database. 

Yes. 

This information is 

geared towards public 

consumption of 

information. We have 

an internal system 

called GOTHAM that 

provides HHG carrier 

data analysis to 

FMCSA and State 

Partners.

The information in 

this section is 

coordinated closely 

with the SMS and 

Safety Programs 

sections of the A&I 

website.

Information 

underlying the 

search tool could be 

made more 

accessible in bulk 

or via an API.

The information on this 

site already combines 

multiple FMCSA data 

sources to provide a 

"one-stop shopping" 

experience for users. 

FMCSA Adjudications Yes. 

Orders in cases adjudicated by 

the Assistant Administrator are 

available at 

http://www.regulatons.gov or 

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/abou

Yes. 

Orders are 

searchable by 

docket number at 

regulations.gov, 

but cases from 

Yes. 

The adjudications 

orders are publically 

available and the 

website was shared 

with the other modes. 

FMCSA plans to 

update the orders on 

its internal site as 

they are issued and 

is working towards 

having pre-2009 

The Office of Chief 

Counsel developed its 

own searchable 

database of 

adjudications. An FAQ 

regarding Civil Penalty 
Appendix B – Information Already Available to the Public, but release practices could be improved

Page B-4

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

t/offices/cc/chiefcounsel.aspx. 2009-present are 

searchable on the 

Office of Chief 

Counsel website. 

cases posted. The 

search capability 

will also be further 

refined. 

Proceedings is also 

available for carriers.

FMCSA Exemptions Yes. 

Some information about 

medical exemptions are 

published in the Federal 

Register. 

No. 

Although the 

information is 

maintained in a 

searchable form, 

the records, which 

include sensitive 

medical 

information and 

PII, are not 

available to the 

public. 

Yes. 

FMCSA notifies the 

State licensing and 

motor carrier 

enforcement agencies 

of the exemptions 

granted and revoked.

The Vision and 

Diabetes Exemption 

Programs are 

priorities for the 

Office of Policy 

because of the 

Congressional 

interest in helping 

constituents begin 

or continue their 

careers in trucking.

FMCSA is developing a 

"Med-Ex" web site to 

support online 

applications for medical 

exemptions. The 

system will also 

provide for improved 

management of the 

records.

SLSDC Ballast Water 

Exchange 

Inspections, 

part of the ESI.

Yes. The annual Bi-national 

Ballast water Inspection 

Summary Report is made 

publically available at 

http://www.greatlakesseaway.com/en/pdf/2010_BW_

Rpt_EN.pdf 

Yes. It is not 

searchable. 

Yes

FRA GIS Mapping of 

National Rail 

System and 

Crossings

Yes 

the data can be found at: 

www.fra.dot.gov by looking 

under freight data

Yes Yes Data can be 

searched and 

prioritized in a 

variety of ways

FRA Annual 

Enforcement 

Report

Yes 

the data can be found at: 

www.fra.dot.gov

Yes 

limited - PDF 

document that can 

be searched 

through word 

search. 

Yes The document 

provides a variety 

of information 

regarding FRA's 

enforcement 

activities - most in 

summary format.

Railroads Identified by 

Railroad Code 
Appendix B – Information Already Available to the Public, but release practices could be improved

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Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

FRA could make 

data underlying the 

report more 

accessible and 

searchable.

FRA Annual Civil 

Penalty Report

Yes 

the data can be found at: 

www.fra.dot.gov

Yes 

limited - PDF 

document that can 

be searched 

through word 

search. 

Yes The document 

provides 

information 

regarding annual 

civil penalty 

assessments and 

settlements.

FRA could make 

data underlying the 

report more 

accessible and 

searchable.

Railroads Identified by 

Railroad Code 

NHTSA Corporate 

Average Fuel 

Economy

Yes. Available at 

http://www.nhtsa.gov/fueleconomy

Latest version: 

http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles

/rulemaking/pdf/cafe/Fines_Col

lected_112010.pdf

Accessible and 

downloadable but 

not searchable. 

Data is maintained 

in a spreadsheet.

Report generated at 

least twice per year 

(after civil 

penalties are paid)

of penalties 

collected since 

1978 and made 

available as a 

"PDF".

DOE and 

Congressional 

Research Services 

periodically request 

data.
Appendix C – Information not currently available to the Public

Page C-1

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

FAA Inspections, 

Investigations 

No, except under FOIA. 

Results of 

investigation/inspection 

protected under 7(A) until 

enforcement action taken or 

case closed. 

No, this 

information is 

voluminous and is 

stored in program 

office specific 

databases (not open 

to searches or 

review by public). 

Yes, case-by-case 

basis when possible 

criminal activity is 

discovered or 

noncompliance within 

jurisdiction of other 

Fed. Agency. 

FAA Reexamination No, except under FOIA. No, this 

information is 

stored in program 

office specific 

databases (not open 

to search or review 

by public). 

Pursuant to a request 

for such information

FAA Informal 

Actions

No, except under FOIA. No, this 

information is 

stored in program 

office specific 

databases (not open 

to search or review 

by public). 

Pursuant to a request 

for such information

FAA Administrative 

Actions 

(Warning 

Notices and 

Letters of 

Correction)

No, except under FOIA. No, this 

information is 

stored in program 

office specific 

databases. 

Pursuant to a request 

for such information

OST (C70)Warning Letters 

to Regulated 

Entities

No 

These documents are not 

publicly available or typically 

shared with State and Federal 

Agencies. The disclosure of 

No Yes ( Federal) 

No( State)
Appendix C – Information not currently available to the Public

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Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

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Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

this type of data could cause 

public confusion as to the 

culpability of the regulated 

entity where the findings in the 

documents have not been 

adjudicated and the entity has 

not agreed to them. A 

requirement to disclose warning 

letters could cause harm to our 

enforcement program and result 

in the office abandoning a 

useful enforcement tool.

OST (C70)Airline 

Compliance 

Inspection 

Schedule

No 

Each year the Aviation 

Enforcement Office plans to 

conduct five to seven on-site 

investigations at the 

headquarters of certain airlines. 

We conduct these 

investigations by sending a 

team of staff, including 

attorneys and transportation 

industry analysts, to the 

airline’s headquarters and 

conducting a thorough review 

of the airline’s records in 

connection with its compliance 

with Department regulatory 

matters, such as training 

records, airline passenger 

complaints, and refund and 

baggage claims. The airline

receives information about our 

No No
Appendix C – Information not currently available to the Public

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Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

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Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

visit no more than three weeks 

before the actual visit. The is a 

very important investigative 

tool and to release specific 

information about our visits 

such as dates or airline names 

could be detrimental to our 

review of material and to any 

enforcement case that is 

initiated as a result of the visit. 

The information could also be 

damaging to the reputation of 

the airline in question since 

these visits do not necessarily 

reflect any compliance issues or 

result in an enforcement action. 

In addition, scheduled visits are 

often canceled or rearranged 

because of unanticipated budget 

constraints or exigent 

circumstances at the airline.

FTA State Safety 

Oversight 

Reviews - FTA 

audits each of 

the State Safety 

Oversight 

agencies on a 

three-year basis

No. No Results are shared 

with the audited 

entities.

FTA Drug & Alcohol 

program 

inspections -

FTA 

implements 

No. No Results are shared 

with the audited 

entities.
Appendix C – Information not currently available to the Public

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Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

regulations 

governing 

substance abuse 

management 

programs, under 

its drug and 

alcohol testing 

regulations for 

transit 

employees, 

published in 

February 1994. 

FTA Program 

Management 

Oversight 

Reviews - FTA 

contracts with 

consultants to 

asset FTA to 

ensure 

compliance 

with statutory, 

administrative 

and regulatory 

requirements.

No. No Contract deliverable 

may be shared with 

the subject of the 

review.

FTA Procurement 

System 

Reviews - FTA 

contracts with 

consultants to 

review grantee 

procurement 

systems in an 

effort to ensure 

No. No Results are shared 

with the subject of the 

review.
Appendix C – Information not currently available to the Public

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Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

grantees expend 

FTA assistance 

in accordance 

with Federal 

requirements

FTA State 

Management 

Reviews - FTA 

contracts for 

reviews of the 

States' 

implementation 

and 

management of 

their transit 

programs 

No. No Results are shared 

with the subject of the 

review.

FTA Triennial 

Reviews - FTA 

contracts for 

reviews of 

grantee 

performance 

and adherence it 

current FTA 

requirements 

and policies.

No. No Results are shared 

with the subject of the 

review.

FTA Financial 

Management 

Oversight 

Reviews - FTA 

contracts for 

reviews to 

determine if a 

grantee's 

No. No Results are shared 

with the subject of the 

review.
Appendix C – Information not currently available to the Public

Page C-6

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

financial 

management 

system meets 

the 

requirements of 

the Common 

Grant Rule (49 

C.F.R. Part 18)

FMCSA Driver Safety 

Information 

(Driver Safety 

Management 

System 

(DSMS), Driver 

Information 

Resource, 

GOTHAM 

Reports)

No. 

FMCSA does not post the 

personally identifiable 

information (PII) of 

commercial drivers involved in 

a roadside inspection or crash. 

FMCSA does provide this 

information to the motor carrier 

listed on these reports as well 

as to Federal and State 

enforcement personnel. 

No. Yes. 

Driver safety 

information is shared 

with State & Federal 

Agencies through a 

password protected 

page from

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov

.

This information is 

not publically 

available, although 

FMCSA strives to 

improve data 

quality at every 

opportunity to 

increase the data 

integrity. 

Lack of a Federal 

database of commercial 

drivers makes this very 

difficult.

SLSDC Violations of 

joint Seaway 

regulations, 

primarily 

speeding; 33 

CFR Part 401

No. The tickets are issued by 

country with jurisdiction over 

where the violation occurred. 

Release of only U.S. activity 

would not usefully inform the 

public of enforcement in the 

Seaway.

No. Shared with Canada 

and the US Coast 

Guard

FRA Automated 

Track 

Inspection 

Program 

No 

Used as a work resource and 

evaluation tool

Yes 

internal to FRA

Yes 

Limited - Sanitized 

and Upon request

Data can be 

searched and 

prioritized in a 

variety of ways

FRA Accident 

Investigation 

Data

No 

involves on-going 

investigations. PII involved

Yes 

internal to FRA

Yes 

Limited - Sanitized 

and Upon request

Data can be 

searched and 

prioritized in a 

variety of ways

Data presented in 

tables, charts and 

graphs
Appendix C – Information not currently available to the Public

Page C-7

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

FRA Railroad 

Enforcement 

System/VTMS 

- contains 

current 

violation 

reports and 

information

No 

contains ongoing violation 

information

Yes 

internal to FRA

Yes 

Limited - Provide 

summary information 

on request

Data can be 

searched and 

prioritized in a 

variety of ways

Railroads Identified by 

Railroad Code and data 

presented in tables and 

charts

FRA PTC Website No - proprietary and protected 

information. Limited public 

access.

No 

Each railroad has 

separate web drop 

box for submitting 

information

No

FRA Operational 

Test Data 

Reports

No 

On FRA's secure site. Contains 

PPI and other proprietary 

railroad information

Yes 

internal to FRA

Yes 

Limited - Provide 

summary information 

on request

Data can be 

searched and 

prioritized in a 

variety of ways

FRA National 

Inspection Plan

No 

management work planning 

tool

Yes 

internal to FRA

No Data can be 

searched and 

prioritized in a 

variety of ways

FRA CWR 

Inspection Data

No 

internal planning tool 

Yes 

internal to FRA

Yes 

Limited - Sanitized 

and Upon request

Data can be 

searched and 

prioritized in a 

variety of ways

Railroads Identified by 

Railroad Code and data 

presented in tables and 

charts

NHTSA Registered 

Importers (RI): 

Suspensions 

and 

Revocations

No.

Note: in the future, NHTSA 

will post and update an annual 

list of RIs whose registrations 

have been suspended or 

revoked. Most of the 

suspensions are for nonpayment of renewal fees. 

No.

Note: NHTSA will 

post an accessible 

and downloadable 

list at:

http://www.nhtsa.g

ov/cars/rules/impor

t/

Data shared with 

CPB, EPA, sometimes 

FMCSA.
Appendix C – Information not currently available to the Public

Page C-8

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

When the fees are paid, the RI 

will be reinstated and added to 

the list of active RIs. The list 

will be updated quarterly, if 

there is a change in any RI 

status.

NHTSA Forfeiture 

Cases

No. Customs and Border 

Protection (CBP) may request 

NHTSA's guidance in these 

cases and CBP is considered 

the owner of this data.

No. NHTSA is not 

the lead agency 

and does not have 

the status on all 

cases. The 

information should 

be obtained from 

DOJ and CBP.

NHTSA Civil penalties 

assessed for 

Noncompliance 

and Defect 

Violations

No.

Note: in the future, NHTSA 

will post and update an annual 

list of civil penalty cases.

No.

Note: NHTSA will 

post an accessible 

and downloadable 

list at:

http://www.nhtsa.g

ov/Vehicle+Safety

NHTSA Ongoing 

criminal 

investigations 

into odometer 

fraud

No. Data is often subject to 

federal rules of criminal 

procedure and will not be made 

publically available. Postindictment information 

generally available at US DOJ 

website - unless determined 

confidential by court order. 

No. Data supports 

criminal 

investigative 

activities 

concerning 

multiple state, 

local, and federal 

enforcement 

agencies. 

Releasing this 

information would 

seriously hamper 

Yes. Very limited 

Government agencies 

and entities on a needto-know basis. 
Appendix C – Information not currently available to the Public

Page C-9

Department of Transportation - Regulatory Enforcement & Compliance Data Review

OA 1. 

Activity

2 

Publicly Available? 

3. 

Accessible, 

Downloadable, 

Searchable? 

4. 

Shared With State & 

Federal Agencies? 

5. 

Prioritization & 

Data Integrity? 

6. 

Centralization/ 

Innovation/ CrossAgency Comparison?

the program 

effectiveness and 

jeopardize officer 

safety. DOJ is the 

lead agency in 

criminal cases.

http://www.justic

e.gov/civil/ocpl/c

ases.html