# Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 10, 2007 / Rules and Regulations

> Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more.

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/agency%3Aferc%3A73ce15f92cfb6fc7

## Record

- **Collection:** Agency decision
- **Document type:** Agency decision

## Text

Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 10, 2007 / Rules and Regulations
extending from the 6.4-mile radius of Sand
Point Airport, AK, to 17 miles northwest of
Sand Point Airport, AK, and within 5 miles
either side of the 324° bearing from the
Borland NDB/DME, AK, extending from the
6.4-mile of the Sand Point Airport, AK to 17
miles northwest of the Sand Point Airport,
AK. Mile radius, and within a 6.6-mile radius
of St. George Airport, AK, and within an 8mile radius of St. Paul Island Airport, AK,
and 8 miles west and 6 miles east of the 360°
bearing from St. Paul Island Airport, AK, to
14 miles north of St. Paul Island Airport, AK,
and within 6 miles west and 8 miles east of
the 172° bearing from St. Paul Island Airport,
AK to 15 miles south of Paul Island Airport,
AK, and within a 6.4-mile radius of Unalaska
Airport, AK, and within 2.9 miles each side
of the 360° bearing from the Dutch Harbor
NDB, AK, extending from the 6.4-mile radius
of Unalaska Airport, AK, to 9.5 miles north
of Unalaska Airport, AK; and that airspace
extending upward from 1,200 feet above the
surface within a 26.2-mile radius of
Eareckson Air Station, AK, within an 11-mile
radius of Adak Airport, AK, and within 16
miles of Adak Airport, AK, extending
clockwise from the 033° bearing to the 081°
bearing from the Mount Moffett NDB, AK,
and within a 10-mile radius of Atka Airport,
AK, and within a 10.6-mile radius from Cold
Bay Airport, AK, and within 9 miles east and
4.3 miles west of the 321° bearing from Cold
Bay Airport, AK, extending from the 10.6mile radius to 20 miles northwest of Cold
Bay Airport, AK, and 4 miles each side of the
070° bearing from Cold Bay Airport, AK,
extending from the 10.6-mile radius to 13.6
miles northeast of Cold Bay Airport, AK, and
west of 160°W. longitude within an 81.2-mile
radius of Perryville Airport, AK, and within
a 10-mile radius of St. George Airport, AK,
and within a 73-mile radius of St. Paul Island
Airport, AK, and within a 20-mile radius of
Unalaska Airport, AK, extending clockwise
from the 305° bearing from the Dutch Harbor
NDB, AK, to the 075° bearing from the Dutch
Harbor NDB, AK, and west of 160°W.
longitude within a 25-mile radius of the
Borland NDB/DME, AK, and west of 160°W
longitude within a 72.8-mile radius of
Chignik Airport, AK.

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Issued in Washington, DC, on June 28,
2007.
Edith V. Parish,
Manager, Airspace and Rules Group.
[FR Doc. E7–13222 Filed 7–9–07; 8:45 am]

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BILLING CODE 4910–13–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 71
[Docket FAA No. FAA–2006–24926;
Airspace Docket No. 06–ASW–1]

Establishment, Modification and
Revocation of VOR Federal Airways;
East Central United States

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V–65 [Corrected]
From DRYER, OH; Sandusky, OH; INT
Sandusky 288° and Carleton, MI 157° radials;
to Carleton.

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Administration (FAA), DOT.

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P

ACTION: Final rule; correction.
SUMMARY: This action corrects a final
rule published in the Federal Register
June 15, 2007 (72 FR 33151), Airspace
Docket No. 06–ASW–1, FAA Docket No.
FAA–2006–24926. In that rule, an error
was made in the legal description for
VOR Federal Airway V–65. Specifically,
the description omitted the words
‘‘Sandusky, OH’’. This action corrects
that error.
EFFECTIVE DATE: 0901 UTC, August 30,
2007. The Director of the Federal
Register approves this incorporation by
reference action under 1 CFR part 51,
subject to the annual revision of FAA
Order 7400.9 and publication of
conforming amendments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steve Rohring, Airspace and Rules
Group, Office of System Operations
Airspace and AIM, Federal Aviation
Administration, 800 Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591;
telephone: (202) 267–8783.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

History
On June 15, 2007, a final rule for
Airspace Docket No. 06–ASW–1, FAA
Docket No. FAA–2006–24926 was
published in the Federal Register (72
FR 33151), establishing VOR Federal
Airway V–65 over the East Central
United States. The legal description for
V–65 was incorrect in that a reference
to the Sandusky, OH, VORTAC was
omitted. The correct legal description
should contain the words ‘‘Sandusky,
OH’’. This action corrects that error.
Correction to Final Rule
■ Accordingly, pursuant to the authority

delegated to me, the legal description as
published in the Federal Register on
June 15, 2007 (72 FR 33151), Airspace
Docket No. 06–ASW–1, FAA Docket No.
FAA–2006–24926, and incorporated by
reference in 14 CFR 71.1, is corrected as
follows:
[Amended]

description for V–65, to read as follows:

Jkt 211001

VOR Federal Airways.

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AGENCY: Federal Aviation

■ On page 33152, correct the legal

15:36 Jul 09, 2007

Paragraph 6010

Issued in Washington, DC, on July 2, 2007.
Edith V. Parish,
Manager, Airspace and Rules Group.
[FR Doc. E7–13209 Filed 7–9–07; 8:45 am]

§ 71.1

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. RM06–7–001; Order No. 686–
A]

18 CFR Part 157
Revisions to the Blanket Certificate
Regulations and Clarification
Regarding Rates
Issued June 22, 2007.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Final rule; order on rehearing

and clarification.
SUMMARY: On October 19, 2006, the
Commission issued a Final Rule
amending its regulations to expand the
scope and scale of activities that may be
undertaken pursuant to blanket
certificate authority and clarifying that
existing Commission policies permit
natural gas companies to charge
different rates to different classes of
customers. The revised regulations
allow interstate natural gas pipelines to
employ the streamlined blanket
certificate procedures for larger projects
and for a wider variety of types of
projects, thereby increasing efficiencies,
and decreasing time and costs,
associated with the construction and
maintenance of the nation’s natural gas
infrastructure. The Commission grants
in part, and denies in part, requests for
rehearing and clarification of the Final
Rule.
DATES: The amendments in this final
rule are effective August 9, 2007, except
that the amendment to § 157.206
(b)(5)(i) is effective November 7, 2007.
Requests for clarification are granted
and denied, and requests for rehearing
are denied, effective August 9, 2007.
The request for rehearing with respect to
the measurement of compressor noise is
granted, effective November 7, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gordon Wagner, Office of the General

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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 10, 2007 / Rules and Regulations

Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426,
gordon.wagner@ferc.gov, (202) 502–
8947. Michael McGehee, Office of
Energy Projects, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426,
michael.mcgehee@ferc.gov, (202) 502–
8962.
Lonnie Lister, Office of Energy
Projects, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426,
lonnie.lister@ferc.gov, 202–502–8587.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Before
Commissioners: Joseph T. Kelliher,
Chairman; Suedeen G. Kelly, Mark
Spitzer, Phillip D. Moeller, and John
Wellinghoff.

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I. Introduction
1. On October 19, 2006, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission) issued a Final Rule in
Order No. 6861 amending Part 157,
Subpart F, of its regulations to expand
the scope and scale of activities that
may be undertaken pursuant to blanket
certificate authority by (1) broadening
the types of natural gas projects
permitted under blanket certificate
authority to include certain mainline,
storage, and liquefied natural gas (LNG)
and synthetic gas pipeline facilities, and
(2) increasing the blanket certificate
project cost limits from $8,200,000 to
$9,600,000 for automatic authorization
projects and from $22,700,000 to
$27,400,000 for prior notice projects.2 In
addition, Order No. 686 clarified that a
company is not necessarily engaged in
an unduly discriminatory practice if it
charges different customers different
rates for the same service when
customers commit to service on
different dates. The revised blanket
certificate regulations became effective
on January 2, 2007, and are intended to
allow interstate natural gas pipelines to
employ the streamlined blanket
certificate procedures for larger projects
and for a wider variety of types of
projects, thereby increasing efficiencies,
and decreasing time and costs
1 Order No. 686, 71 FR 63680 (October 31, 2006),
FERC Stats & Regs ¶ 31,231 (2006); Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) 71 FR 36276 (June
26, 2006), FERC Stats. Regs.
¶ 32,606 (2006). This rulemaking proceeding was
initiated in response to a petition submitted under
18 CFR 385.207(a) of the Commission’s regulations
by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of
America (INGAA) jointly with the Natural Gas
Supply Association.
2 These cost limits now stand at $9,900,000 for an
automatic authorization project and $28,200,000 for
a prior notice project. See Natural Gas Pipelines;
Project Cost and Annual Limits, 72 FR 5614 (Feb.
7, 2007).

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associated with the construction and
maintenance of the nation’s natural gas
infrastructure.
2. In this order, for the reasons
discussed below, the Commission grants
and denies requests for clarification and
denies requests for rehearing of the
Final Rule.
II. Requests for Rehearing and
Clarification
3. NiSource Gas Transmission and
Storage Companies (NiSource),3 the
National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation
(National Fuel), and INGAA submitted
timely requests for rehearing and/or
clarification. For the reasons discussed
below, requests for clarification are
granted and denied, as discussed below.
Requests for rehearing are denied, with
the exception of INGAA’s rehearing
request with respect to the measurement
of compressor noise, which is granted.
A. NiSource
4. Section 157.208(f)(2) of the blanket
certificate regulations permits natural
gas companies to alter the maximum
allowable operating pressure (MAOP) of
supply or delivery laterals, provided
companies comply with the prior notice
provisions of § 157.205 of those
regulations. NiSource proposes that
companies be permitted to rely on
blanket certificate authority to change
the MAOP of facilities that are not
supply or delivery laterals.
5. The Final Rule permits companies
to construct compression and loop lines
to expand mainline capacity under
blanket authority. Consistent with this
approach, the Commission clarifies that,
provided companies meet all applicable
blanket certificate regulatory
requirements, they can rely on blanket
certificate authority to change the
MAOP of facilities that are not supply
or delivery laterals, such as mainlines.
B. National Fuel
6. The Final Rule extends blanket
certificate authority to include certain
underground storage field projects.
National Fuel supports this inclusion,
but seeks assurance that storage
remediation and maintenance activities
that qualify as auxiliary installations or
replacements under § 2.55 of the
Commission’s regulations can still be
undertaken pursuant to § 2.55, and need
not now proceed under the automatic or
prior notice provisions of the blanket
certificate program. National Fuel also
seeks clarification that plugging and
3 NiSource consists of Columbia Gas
Transmission Corporation, Columbia Gulf
Transmission Company, Crossroads Pipeline
Company, Granite State Gas Transmission, Inc., and
Central Kentucky Transmission Company.

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abandoning storage wells constitutes
maintenance, and as such will be
eligible to be undertaken pursuant to the
automatic authorization provisions of
§ 157.213(a), and will not be viewed as
altering the function of a well, which
would require adherence to the prior
notice requirements of § 157.205(b).
7. The Final Rule’s enlargement of the
scope of blanket certificate authority
does not constrict the scope of activities
that may be performed under § 2.55 of
the Commission’s regulations. Thus,
activities involving storage, mainline,
and LNG and synthetic gas pipeline
facilities that could have been
performed under § 2.55 prior to the
expansion of the blanket certificate
program may continue to be performed
under § 2.55. Further, as before, a
company need not obtain a blanket
certificate as a prerequisite to act under
§ 2.55.
8. The Commission clarifies that the
reference in new § 157.213(a) to altering
‘‘the function of any well that is drilled
into or is active in the management of
the storage facility’’ is not intended to
include temporarily plugging a storage
field well as part of standard
maintenance operations. In contrast,
permanently plugging a well would not
qualify as standard maintenance, but
would instead constitute an
abandonment, as it would permanently
alter the function of the well, and could
impact the performance of the storage
field. Accordingly, such an action
would need to comply with the blanket
certificate program’s § 157.216
regulatory requirements regarding an
abandonment.
9. In addition, the Commission will
revise §§ 157.213(b) and (c) to permit
companies to employ blanket certificate
authority to make modifications to
storage facilities to enhance injection
and withdrawal capacity. This is
consistent with the Commission’s
previously expressed intent to permit a
company to rely on expanded blanket
certificate authority ‘‘to re-engineer an
existing storage facility to decrease
cushion gas, increase working gas,
improve injection and withdrawal
capabilities, and add more cycles per
season,’’ provided the company can
‘‘demonstrate, by theoretical or
empirical evidence, that a proposed
project will improve storage operations
without altering an underground storage
facility’s total inventory, reservoir
pressure, or reservoir or buffer
boundaries, and will comply with
environmental and safety provisions.’’ 4
4 71 FR 36276, 36281 (June 26, 2006), FERC Stats.
& Regs. ¶ 32,606 (2006).

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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 10, 2007 / Rules and Regulations
C. INGAA

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1. Compressor Station Noise
10. The blanket certificate program
relies on the presumption that any
project permitted under blanket
certificate authority will not have a
significant adverse environmental
impact. The Commission ensures that
this is the case by restricting blanket
certificate authority to certain types of
facilities and to individual projects that
can comply with a cost cap and the
environmental requirements specified
in § 157.206(b). Prior to the Final Rule’s
increase in the per project cost cap and
the expansion of blanket certificate
authority to cover compressor facilities
that alter mainline capacity, blanket
certificate authority was restricted to a
limited set of compression facilities,
e.g., compressors on lateral pipelines,
compressors installed temporarily,
replacement compressors that could not
qualify under § 2.55(b), and compressors
needed to restore service lost due to
sudden unforeseen damage to a
mainline.
11. A compressor project under the
blanket certificate program is not subject
to the same scrutiny and procedural
safeguards that apply to a compressor
project subject to case-specific NGA
section 7 certificate authority. A casespecific application is subject to a more
extensive notification process than a
proposed blanket certificate project;
indeed, for a project that qualifies for
automatic authorization under the
blanket certificate regulations, the
Commission itself does not receive
notice in advance of the project’s
construction. Thus, in contrast to a
request for case-specific certificate
authority, for a compressor project
subject to blanket certificate authority,
the Commission and public do not have
the opportunity to assess aspects of a
proposal such as what constitutes a
noise sensitive area (NSA),5 the
prospective uses of property proximate
to a compressor facility, habitat impacts
on non-residential areas, whether a
particular area has a heightened noise
sensitivity that would merit a limit of
less than 55 dBA, or the cumulative
impacts resulting from modifying or
expanding existing compressor
facilities.
12. As a result, whereas an individual
assessment can be undertaken for each
proposed case-specific compressor
project in order to establish a noise level
appropriate to the particular site, this is
5 In the case of a blanket certificate compressor
project, the blanket certificate holder, rather than
the Commission, determines what constitutes a
potentially affected NSA.

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not the case for blanket certificate
compressor projects. The more cursory
standard of review necessary to expedite
projects under the blanket certificate
program, coupled with the expansion of
blanket certificate authority to cover
larger and more varied types of
compressor facilities, prompted the
Commission to impose a stricter
standard on the noise produced by
blanket certificate compressor facilities.
As described in the NOPR and
implemented in the Final Rule, the
Commission stated that, going forward,
all compressor facilities constructed
pursuant to blanket certificate authority
must meet a standard day-night level
(Ldn) limit of 55 dBA at the boundary of
the compressor site. Previously, the
Commission had required that
compressor facilities installed under
blanket certificate authority meet a
noise level of 55 dBA at any pre-existing
NSA.6
13. INGAA requests the Commission
revert to this prior noise criterion.
INGAA argues that (1) noise attenuation
equipment may have an adverse impact
on air quality; (2) compressor
equipment has been installed based on
a 55 dBA noise limit at nearby NSAs,
and not on the basis of the noise at the
site boundary; (3) companies will be
compelled to acquire larger areas of land
to push compressor station boundaries
out from the noise source to meet the 55
dBA standard, which could damage
relationships with nearby landowners
and inhibit companies from upgrading
facilities at existing stations; and (4) it
will be more costly to comply with the
new noise standard.
14. The Commission acknowledges
that noise attenuation equipment may
adversely impact air quality, but notes
that depending upon the chosen control
technology, such equipment may also
improve air emissions. Shifting the
location for measuring noise from new
facilities should not impact existing
facilities, given that ‘‘this new noise
measurement criterion only applies to
facilities placed in service after the
effective date of th[e] rule.’’ 7
15. The Commission anticipated that
if a company expected a new project
might compel it to acquire land or make
costly investments to meet the new
blanket certificate program’s noise
6 This compressor noise constraint has always

been a part of the environmental compliance
conditions of the blanket certificate program.
Interstate Pipeline Certificates for Routine
Transactions, Order No. 234, 47 FR 24254 (June 4,
1982), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,368 (1982); Order
No. 234–A, 47 FR 38871 (Sept. 3, 1982), FERC Stats.
& Regs. ¶ 30,389 (1982).
7 71 FR 63680 (Oct. 31, 2006), FERC Stats. & Regs.
¶ 31,231, P 57 (2006) (footnote omitted).

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criterion, the company could instead
seek case-specific NGA section 7
certificate authorization as an
economically preferable alternative.
Noise limits for case-specific
compressor projects are established after
a staff analysis of the properties of each
particular project site, and for such
projects, the Commission typically has
found 55 dBA at existing NSAs to be an
acceptable noise level. In view of this,
to diminish any disparity in the cost to
comply with noise limits for compressor
projects proceeding under the blanket
certificate program and those authorized
on a case-specific basis, the Commission
will revise § 157.206(b)(5)(i) by
returning to the text of the previous
§ 157.206(b)(5),8 which specifies that
noise attributable to any new
compressor station, compression added
to an existing station, or any
modification, upgrade or update of an
existing station, must not exceed an Ldn
of 55 dBA at any pre-existing NSA. This
revision will establish a noise limit for
blanket certificate compressor projects
that is consistent with the noise limit
typically required for case-specific
certificate compressor projects.
2. Notice Period
16. The Final Rule extends the time
period allotted for landowner notice for
blanket certificate activities from 30 to
45 days for automatic projects and from
45 to 60 days for prior notice projects.
INGAA proposes that rather than add 15
days to the notice periods for all blanket
certificate projects, the Commission
retain the 30- and 45-day notice periods,
but allow for a longer notice time on a
case-by-case basis as needed. INGAA
suggests the Commission delegate
authority to the Director of the Office of
Energy Projects to extend the notice
time for prior notice projects for an
additional 15 days, noting that if this
proves insufficient, the Commission
retains the option of protesting a prior
notice project. Alternatively, INGAA
proposes that a 60-day prior notice
period apply only to those mainline,
storage, LNG, and synthetic gas facilities
that are newly included under the
blanket certificate program by the Final
Rule, while the 45-day prior notice
period is retained for all other blanket
certificate projects, an approach which
8 To further enhance consistency between
compressor projects proceeding under the blanket
certificate program and those authorized on a casespecific basis, and to affirm that compressor
facilities put in place under companies’ expanded
blanket certificate authority will not have a
significant adverse environmental impact, the
Commission is proposing to modify certain notice
and environmental compliance requirements in the
contemporaneously issued NOPR in Docket No.
RM07–17–000. 119 FERC ¶ 61,304 (2007).

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‘‘would have the virtue of targeting the
additional notice more precisely to the
expansion of the blanket coverage.’’ 9
17. The Commission deemed it
prudent to provide an additional 15
days for notification to landowners and
the public in light of the greater size and
types of projects permitted under the
revised blanket regulations. In addition,
the Commission noted that in the past,
on occasion, it had found the shorter
time period to be insufficient for a
complete assessment of a proposed
project. Similarly, on occasion,
landowners have made claims that the
time provided is inadequate to review a
proposal and engage in meaningful
negotiations. Finally, the Commission
observed that companies, in large part,
dictate the schedule of a blanket project
by when they choose to initiate the
notice process, and commented that a
company could compensate for the
additional notification time by
beginning to contact landowners two
weeks earlier.
18. INGAA takes issue with the
Commission’s expectation that a
company can offset the additional 15day notice period by advancing initial
action on a proposed project by 15 days.
INGAA claims that a company’s
decision on when to proceed with a
proposal is ‘‘dictated by economic and
practical considerations, including
scheduling of construction to minimize
impact on flowing gas and other
customer service requirements, material
availability, and logistics to coordinate
construction contractors.’’ 10 The
Commission accepts that numerous
factors have a bearing on a company’s
deciding when to, or whether to,
undertake a blanket certificate project;
further, the Commission accepts that
companies have incomplete control over
these varying factors. Nevertheless,
although the in-service date of a project
may be affected by circumstances
beyond a company’s direct control, e.g.,
the availability of construction materials
and personnel, the Commission expects
a company to be able to anticipate and
adapt to such circumstances, and in so
doing, to factor in 15 additional days
during the planning phase. Accordingly,
the Commission continues to believe
that the dominant factor in determining
when a blanket certificate project can be
placed in service is when a company
chooses to initiate the blanket certificate
process.
19. In response to INGAA’s proposal
that the Commission adopt a shorter
notice period for projects qualifying for
9 INGAA’s Request for Rehearing and
Clarification at 12 (Nov. 20, 2006).
10 Id. at 13.

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automatic authorization, or provide for
a sliding scale for notice time as needed,
or apply the longer times only to the
newly included types of activities, the
Commission prefers to retain a uniform
notice period applicable to all blanket
certificate projects.11 As noted, the
blanket certificate program is intended
to enable the industry and the
Commission to take advantage of the
administrative efficiency inherent in
applying a uniform set of regulatory
requirements to a restricted set of
activities. Within the context of the
blanket certificate program, the
Commission prefers to retain the
simplicity and transparency of a
uniform notification time.
3. Laterals Lines
20. The revised regulations extend
blanket certificate authority to include
pipelines used to transport only
revaporized LNG—previously, such
facilities were excluded from the
blanket certificate program. In the Final
Rule, the Commission stated the
expanded blanket certificate authority
would be inapplicable to facilities that
transport revaporized LNG from an LNG
import terminal and which are subject
to the 180-day mandatory prefiling
procedure described in § 157.21 of the
Commission’s regulations.12 However,
the Commission pointed out that a
company could employ blanket
certificate authority for facilities that
attach directly to an existing LNG
terminal, provided the construction and
operation of such facilities would not
involve modifications to the terminal
which would trigger a 180-day
mandatory prefiling process.13
21. INGAA asks whether ‘‘a lateral
directly attached to an LNG terminal
can be constructed under automatic
authorization pursuant to § 157.208(a),
or is required to be a prior notice filing
under the new § 157.212.’’ 14 The new
§ 157.212, which extends blanket
certificate authority to include laterals
directly attached to an LNG terminal,
requires prior notice pursuant to
§ 157.205 for all projects undertaken
pursuant to the new § 157.212 authority.
11 Note that the regulatory requirement for
landowner notification, 18 CFR 157.203(d)(1),
continues to allow for landowners to waive the
remaining time in the prior notice period once
notice has been provided.
12 The Commission explained that ‘‘related
jurisdictional natural gas facilities,’’ as defined by
18 CFR 153.2(e)(1), are properly reviewed in
tandem with LNG terminals in a prefiling pursuant
to 18 CFR 157.21; thus, these facilities are excluded
from the blanket certificate program.
13 See 71 FR 63680 (Oct. 31, 2006); FERC Stats.
& Regs. ¶ 31,231, P 23–24 (2006).
14 INGAA’s Request for Rehearing and
Clarification at 14 (Nov. 20, 2006).

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Projects eligible for automatic
authorization pursuant to § 157.208(a)
include those facilities defined in
§§ 157.202(b)(2)(i), 157.209(a),
157.211(a), and 157.215(a)—none of
which describe a lateral directly
attached to an LNG terminal.
Among the projects excluded from
automatic authorization are those
described in § 157.202(b)(2)(ii)(D), and
such projects include ‘‘a facility used to
receive gas * * * from plants gasifying
liquefied natural gas.’’
22. As discussed in the NOPR and the
Final Rule, the blanket certificate
program is not well suited to address
the complexity inherent in issues raised
by LNG terminals and related facilities.
The Commission concluded that:
LNG plant facilities are not within the class
of minor, well-understood, routine activities
that the blanket certificate program is
intended to embrace; LNG plant facilities
necessarily require a review of engineering,
environmental, safety, and security issues
that the Commission believes only can be
properly considered on a case-by-case basis
* * * [Thus, b]ecause an LNG terminal and
the facilities that attach directly to it are
interdependent—inextricably bound in
design and operation—a terminal and its
takeaway facilities must be evaluated in
tandem; both merit a similar degree of
regulatory scrutiny.15

In view of this, in extending blanket
certificate authority, the Commission
decided to require prior notice for all
projects involving pipelines that will
carry exclusively revaporized LNG. The
Commission affirms this decision.
4. Abandonment Authority
23. New § 157.210 permits companies
to rely on blanket certificate authority to
‘‘acquire, construct, modify, replace,
and operate natural gas mainline
facilities, including compression and
looping’’; revised § 157.216(b)(2)
provides for the abandonment of such
facilities. INGAA asks whether the
abandonment provisions of revised
§ 157.216(b)(2) are limited to those
facilities that will be put in place under
new § 157.210, or whether the
abandonment provisions also apply to
mainline facilities that are already in
place.
24. The Commission believes the
blanket certificate program’s
§§ 157.216(b), (c), and (d) requirements
for the abandonment of mainline,
storage, LNG, and synthetic gas
facilities, which include obtaining the
written consent of any customer that
received service through the facility
during the previous 12 months, provide
adequate safeguards to ensure ‘‘that the
15 71 FR 36276 at 36279–80 (June 26, 2006); FERC
Stats. & Regs. ¶ 32,606 at 32,877, P 29–30 (2006).

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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 10, 2007 / Rules and Regulations
present or future public convenience or
necessity permit such abandonment,’’ as
mandated by NGA section 7(b).
Consequently, the Commission clarifies
that facilities that were constructed
under case-specific authorization, but
that could now qualify for authorization
under the current blanket certificate
program criteria, may be abandoned
pursuant to the provisions
§ 157.216(b).16 Note that in considering
whether previously constructed
facilities might qualify for authorization
under the current blanket certificate
program criteria, the facilities must have
been installed subsequent to the
Commission’s implementation of the
blanket certificate program and the
facilities’ original cost must have met
the § 157.208 project cost cap in effect
at the time of their construction.

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5. Annual Report
25. The Final Rule directs companies
to include certain additional
information in the annual report
summarizing the previous year’s blanket
certificate activities. INGAA notes that
the revised reporting requirements of
§ 157.208(e) apply to ‘‘each facility
completed during the calendar year,’’
and is concerned that this could require
companies to include the additional
information specified in the Final Rule
in the annual report covering projects
commenced or completed in 2006.
INGAA complains it would be
unreasonable to include such projects,
since companies had no notice that the
additional information specified in the
Final Rule would need to be provided
in the annual report covering 2006
projects. INGAA contends that gathering
the newly specified information would
be impractical, as such information is
‘‘scattered, was never compiled or has
not been retained in a form that is easily
pulled together for the filing.’’ 17
Therefore, INGAA requests the
regulations be clarified or revised so as
to apply prospectively only to projects
begun after the effective date of the rule
on January 2, 2007.
26. The Commission observes, as it
did in response to comments objecting
to the burden of reporting the additional
information, that companies are already
required to report the information in
question. Consequently, setting out the
information in an annual report should
not constitute any hardship.
16 See Revision of Existing Regulations Under the
Natural Gas Act, Order No. 603–A, 64 FR 54522 at
54533–34 (Oct. 7, 1999), FERC Stats. & Regs.
¶ 31,081 at 30,936 (1999), in which a similar
approach was adopted with respect to automatic
abandonments under 19 CFR 157.216(a).
17 INGAA’s Request for Rehearing and
Clarification at 16 (Nov. 20, 2006).

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Nevertheless, the Commission accepts
INGAA contention that companies may
not have the required information
readily available with respect to projects
completed or initiated in 2006.
Therefore, the Commission clarifies the
applicability of the reporting
requirement as requested, and specifies
that the annual report’s inclusion of the
information described in § 157.208(e)
will apply prospectively to projects
begun on or after January 2, 2007, and
will not apply retrospectively to projects
underway before this date.
27. The Final Rule added § 157.207(c),
which stated that the annual report
should include information on storage
facility remediation and maintenance
activities qualifying for automatic
authorization under § 157.213(a), but
neglected to further describe the
information to be included in the
annual report. The Commission will
correct the oversight here, as well as
clarify that all activities undertaken
pursuant to the new §§ 157.210,
157.212, and 157.213 are to be included
in the annual report described in
§ 157.207.
28. New § 157.207(c) will be removed,
and instead § 157.207(a), which lists
activities to be included in the annual
report, will be modified to cover
activities subject to the expanded
blanket certificate authority, and will
require that each new facility authorized
by §§ 157.208, 157.210, 157.212, or
157.213, companies provide the
information specified in § 157.208(e).
The reporting requirements for the
expanded blanket certificate activities
will duplicate those for the existing
blanket certificate activities, whereby
the annual report includes the
information described in
§ 157.208(e)(1)–(5) for automatic
authorization projects and includes the
information described in § 157.208(e)(3)
for prior notice projects. To accomplish
this, § 157.208(e) will be modified to
include a reference to facilities
completed during the calendar year
pursuant to §§ 157.210, 157.212, and
157.213.
D. Landowner Notification
29. In response to a query regarding
the manner in which notification of a
proposed blanket certificate project is to
be presented to landowners, the
Commission will modify
§§ 157.203(d)(1) and (2) to clarify that
landowner notification be in writing.
30. New §§ 157.203(d)(1)(iii)(C) and
(D) direct a company to instruct
landowners that if they are not satisfied,
they ‘‘should’’ contact the company or
Commission Hotline. This instruction
will be altered from ‘‘should’’ to ‘‘may,’’

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37435

to stress that such contact is an option,
not an obligation, on the part of
landowners. To ensure landowners
understand how to contact the
Commission’s Enforcement Hotline, and
to ensure that the contact information is
up to date, § 157.203(d)(1)(iii)(D) will be
modified to direct a company to provide
the Commission’s Enforcement Hotline
at the current telephone number and email address in its notification.
III. Information Collection Statement
31. The Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) regulations require that
OMB approve certain information
collection requirements imposed by an
agency.18 The Final Rule’s revisions to
the information collection requirements
for blanket certificate projects were
approved under OMB Control Nos.
1902–0128 and 1902–0060. While this
rule clarifies aspects of the existing
information collection requirements for
the blanket certificate program, it does
not add to these requirements.
Accordingly, a copy of this final rule
will be sent to OMB for informational
purposes only.
IV. Document Availability
32. In addition to publishing the full
text of this document in the Federal
Register, the Commission provides all
interested persons an opportunity to
view and print the contents of this
document via the Internet through
FERC’s Web site (http://www.ferc.gov)
and in FERC’s Public Reference Room
during normal business hours (8:30 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First
Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC
20426. User assistance is available for
FERC’s Web site during normal business
hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time,
Monday to Friday) from FERC’s Online
Support at 202–502–6652, toll free at 1–
866–208–3676, or by e-mail at
ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, and from
the Public Reference Room at 202–502–
8371, TTY at 202–502–8659, or by email at public.referenceroom@ferc.gov.
V. Effective Date 19
33. The amendments in this final rule
are effective August 9, 2007, except that
the amendment to § 157.206 (b)(5)(i) is
effective November 7, 2007. Requests for
clarification are granted and denied, and
requests for rehearing are denied,
effective August 9, 2007. The request for
rehearing with respect to the
measurement of compressor noise is
granted, effective November 7, 2007.
18 5 CFR 1320.11.
19 The provisions of 5 U.S.C. 801 regarding
Congressional review of rulemaking, do not apply
to this order on rehearing, since it clarifies agency
procedure and practice.

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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 10, 2007 / Rules and Regulations

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 157

§ 157.207

Administrative practice and
procedure, Natural gas, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.

*

By the Commission.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
■ In consideration of the foregoing, the

§ 157.208

Commission amends part 157, Chapter I,
Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as
follows:
PART 157—APPLICATIONS FOR
CERTIFICATES OF PUBLIC
CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY AND
FOR ORDERS PERMITTING AND
APPROVING ABANDONMENT UNDER
SECTION 7 OF THE NATURAL GAS
ACT
■ 1. The authority citation for part 157

continues to read as follows:
§ 157.203

[Amended]

Standard conditions.

*

*
*
*
*
(b) * * *
(5)(i) The noise attributable to any
new compressor station, compression
added to an existing station, or any
modification, upgrade or update of an
existing station, must not exceed a daynight level (Ldn) of 55 dBA at any preexisting noise-sensitive area (such as
schools, hospitals, or residences).
*
*
*
*
*
■ 4. In § 157.207: Paragraph (c) is
removed; paragraphs (d), (e), (f), (g), (h),
and (i) are redesignated, respectively, as
paragraphs (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h);
and paragraph (a) is revised to read as
follows:

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Food and Drug Administration
21 CFR Part 520
Oral Dosage Form New Animal Drugs;
Deracoxib
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration,

HHS.

■ a. In paragraph (e), in the first

ACTION: Final rule.

sentence, after the phrase ‘‘pursuant to
paragraph (a) of this section,’’ the phrase
‘‘and § 157.213(a),’’ is added; and
■ b. In paragraph (e), in the second
sentence, after the phrase ‘‘pursuant to
paragraph (b) of this section,’’ the
phrase ‘‘and §§ 157.210, 157.212, and
157.213(b),’’ is added.

§ 157.213
facilities.

after the phrase ‘‘unless the company
makes a good faith effort to notify,’’ the
phrase ‘‘in writing’’ is added;
■ b. In paragraph (d)(1)(iii)(C), ‘‘should’’
is removed and the word ‘‘may’’ is
inserted in its place;
■ c. In paragraph (d)(1)(iii)(D), ‘‘should’’
is removed and the word ‘‘may’’ is
inserted in its place;
■ d. In paragraph (d)(1)(iii)(D),
immediately before the period that
concludes the sentence, the phrase ‘‘at
the current telephone number and email address, which is to be provided in
the notification’’ is added; and
■ e. In paragraph (d)(2), immediately
after the phrase ‘‘the company shall
make a good faith effort to notify,’’ the
phrase ‘‘in writing’’ is added.
■ 3. In § 157.206, paragraph (b)(5)(i) is
revised to read as follows:

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES

■ 5. In § 157.208:

introductory text of paragraph (c) are
revised to read as follows:

■ 2. In § 157.203:
■ a. In paragraph (d)(1), immediately

§ 157.206

[Amended]

■ 6. In § 157.213, paragraph (b) and the

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717–717w.

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General reporting requirements.

*
*
*
*
(a) For each new facility authorized
by §§ 157.208, 157.210, 157.212, or
157.213, the information specified in
§ 157.208(e);
*
*
*
*
*

Underground storage field

*

*
*
*
*
(b) Prior Notice. Subject to the notice
requirements of §§ 157.205(b) and
157.208(c), the certificate holder is
authorized to acquire, construct,
modify, replace, and operate natural gas
underground storage facilities, provided
the storage facility’s certificated
physical parameters—including total
inventory, reservoir pressure, reservoir
and buffer boundaries, and certificated
capacity remain unchanged—and
provided compliance with
environmental and safety provisions is
not affected. The cost of a project may
not exceed the cost limitation provided
in column 2 of Table I in § 157.208(d).
the certificate holder must not segment
projects in order to meet this cost
limitation.
(c) Contents of request. In addition to
the requirements of §§ 157.206(b) and
157.208(c), requests for activities
authorized under paragraph (b) of this
section must contain, to the extent
necessary to demonstrate that the
proposed project will not alter a storage
reservoir’s total inventory, reservoir
pressure, reservoir or buffer boundaries,
or certificated capacity:
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. E7–12560 Filed 7–9–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) is amending the
animal drug regulations to reflect
approval of a supplemental new animal
drug application (NADA) filed by
Novartis Animal Health US, Inc. The
supplemental NADA provides for the
addition of a 75-milligram size
deracoxib tablet which is used for the
control of pain and inflammation in
dogs.
DATES: This rule is effective July 10,

2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Melanie R. Berson, Center for Veterinary
Medicine (HFV–110), Food and Drug
Administration, 7500 Standish Pl.,
Rockville, MD 20855, 301–827–7540, email: melanie.berson@fda.hhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Novartis
Animal Health US, Inc., 3200 Northline
Ave., suite 300, Greensboro, NC 27408,
filed a supplement to NADA 141–203
that provides for the addition of a 75milligram size of DERAMAXX
(deracoxib) Chewable Tablets, used for
the control of pain and inflammation in
dogs. The supplemental NADA is
approved as of June 13, 2007, and the
regulations are amended in 21 CFR
520.538 to reflect the approval.
In accordance with the freedom of
information provisions of 21 CFR part
20 and 21 CFR 514.11(e)(2)(ii), a
summary of safety and effectiveness
data and information submitted to
support approval of this application
may be seen in the Division of Dockets
Management (HFA–305), Food and Drug
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm.
1061, Rockville, MD 20852, between 9
a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through
Friday.
The agency has determined under 21
CFR 25.33(a)(1) that this action is of a
type that does not individually or
cumulatively have a significant effect on
the human environment. Therefore,
neither an environmental assessment
nor an environmental impact statement
is required.
This rule does not meet the definition
of ‘‘rule’’ in 5 U.S.C. 804(3)(A) because
it is a rule of ‘‘particular applicability.’’

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/agency%3Aferc%3A73ce15f92cfb6fc7. Public record. Not legal advice.