Former NTSB Chairman Jim Hall To Advise Colonial Pipeline

Safety, Public Accountability and Environmental Protection are on Hall’s Colonial Agenda 

ATLANTA, Ga. — Colonial Pipeline announced today that former NTSB Chairman Jim Hall has agreed to provide counsel and guidance to Colonial as it works to sustain improvements achieved in protecting the environment and public safety. Hall, whose more than seven years on the National Transportation Safety Board included rigorous oversight of the pipeline industry, will serve in an advisory capacity on issues of pipeline safety and environmental protection. 

Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Bill Scott announced the appointment, saying Hall will add a new dimension to Colonial Pipeline’s commitment to public accountability. ​“Jim Hall’s years of public service and dedication to public safety will expand Colonial’s ability to operate safely, protect the public and safeguard the environment,” Scott said. 

“As head of the NTSB, Hall represented all taxpayers in demanding, quite appropriately, that all pipelines adhere to the strictest standards of safe operations. Colonial is fortunate to have his experience, knowledge and commitment to help us continue to pursue our goal of spill-free operations,” Scott said. 

Hall was appointed a member of the NTSB in October 1993. Former President Clinton named him chairman in November 1994. He resigned from the board in January 2001 and is heading the Washington, D.C., offices of Dillon, Hall & Lungershausen, a law firm which specializes in transportation safety, crisis communication and related analysis of litigation. 

Hall’s more than seven years of service at the National Transportation Safety Board were dedicated to improving the safety of all modes of transportation, including the transportation of products through the nation’s pipelines. His tenure included a period of unprecedented activity by the board, including major airline accident investigations, a special focus on child safety that resulted in dramatic improvements in all modes of transportation, and a focus on pipeline safety. 

“I have been extremely impressed by the strides Colonial Pipeline has made as well as their goals for the future,” said Hall. ​“Their recent record is an example to the industry of how the latest technology, the right training for employees and a deep, unrelenting commitment to safety can serve the public’s need for energy while protecting their well-being and the environment.” 

Colonial’s safety record reflects increased spending, program improvements and heightened focus on detecting and preventing pipeline problems before they occur. Colonial has worked more than two years without a 50-barrel spill, the minimum volume requiring a report to the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

“We’re counting on Jim Hall to help us on our journey to excellence,” Colonial President and Chief Executive Dave Lemmon said. ​“We’ve made important progress on safety and environmental fronts, but we have more to do to meet the public’s and the government’s insistence on spill-free operations.” 

Prior to joining the NTSB, Hall served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations. Later he maintained a private legal practice in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tenn. Hall served for five years as director of the Tennessee State Planning Office for Gov. Ned McWherter, during which time Hall developed Tennessee’s first comprehensive anti-drug effort. In 1993, he returned to Washington as chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Harlan Matthews. Hall earned a law degree from the University of Tennessee. While serving in the Army, he received a Bronze Star for Meritorious Service in Vietnam. He and his wife have two daughters. 

Colonial Pipeline, based in Atlanta, transports liquid petroleum products from Houston and Gulf Coast refineries to New York, serving the South and East Coast with 5,500 miles of pipeline. Colonial safely carries about 20 percent of the gasoline, home heating oil, aviation fuel and other liquid petroleum products consumed in the United States. The company recently swept top awards from the American Petroleum Institute for occupational safety and environmental protection as well as a Distinguished Environmental and Safety Performance Award for 2000.