Elliott slated for PHMSA post

President Donald J. Trump on Sept. 8 announced his intent to nominate CSX executive Howard R. “Skip” Elliott to be Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), U.S. Department of Transportation.

Elliott is a 40-year veteran of the U.S. freight rail industry, serving over the past decade as group Vice President of Public Safety, Health, Environment and Security for CSX Transportation in Jacksonville, Fla. His realm of responsibility includes hazardous materials transportation safety, homeland security, railroad policing, crisis management, environmental compliance and operations, occupational health management and continuity of business operations.

Elliott is described as “a pioneer and leading advocate in developing and implementing computer-based tools to assist emergency management officials, first responders and homeland security personnel in preparing for and responding to a railroad hazardous materials or security incident.” He is a recipient of the Association of American Railroads prestigious Holden-Proefrock Award for lifetime achievement in hazardous materials transportation safety.

Elliott is a graduate of Columbia Southern University and Indiana University, where he received the first ever Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Criminal Justice, and is a current member of the IU College of Arts and Sciences Executive Dean’s Advisory Committee.

PHMSA, with the Federal Railroad Administration, holds regulatory responsibility for hazmat transported in railroad tank cars. Among its most recent actions was overseeing development of the DOT-117A tank car for crude oil and ethanol transportation, and regulations governing phasing-out of older, “legacy” DOT-111 tank cars.