Annual Charge Filing Procedures for Natural Gas Pipelines, 19409-19413 [2013-07078]
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 62 / Monday, April 1, 2013 / Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
18 CFR Part 154
[Docket No. RM12–14–000; Order No. 776]
Annual Charge Filing Procedures for
Natural Gas Pipelines
I. Background
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Energy.
ACTION: Final rule.
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AGENCY:
SUMMARY: In this Final Rule, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission or FERC) is amending its
regulations to revise the filing
requirements for natural gas pipelines
that choose to recover Commissionassessed annual charges through an
annual charge adjustment (ACA) clause.
Currently, natural gas pipelines utilizing
an ACA clause must make an annual
tariff filing to reflect a revised ACA unit
charge authorized by the Commission
for that fiscal year. To reduce the
regulatory burden on these pipelines,
the Commission will eliminate this
annual filing requirement. In its place,
the Commission will require natural gas
pipelines utilizing an ACA clause to
incorporate the Commission-authorized
annual charge unit rate by reference to
that rate, as published on the
Commission’s Web site located at
https://www.ferc.gov.
DATES: This rule will become effective
May 31, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Adam Bednarczyk (Technical Issues),
888 First Street NE., Washington, DC
20426, (202) 502–6444,
Adam.Bednarczyk@ferc.gov. Michelle
A. Davis (Legal Issues), 888 First Street
NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–
8687, Michelle.Davis2@ferc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Before Commissioners: Jon
Wellinghoff, Chairman; Philip D.
Moeller, John R. Norris, Cheryl A.
LaFleur, and Tony Clark.
Issued March 21, 2013.
1. In this Final Rule, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission or FERC) is amending its
regulations at 18 CFR 154.402 to revise
the filing requirements for natural gas
pipelines that choose to recover
Commission-assessed annual charges
through an annual charge adjustment
(ACA) clause. Currently, natural gas
pipelines utilizing an ACA clause must
make an annual tariff filing to reflect a
revised ACA unit charge authorized by
the Commission for that fiscal year. To
reduce the regulatory burden on these
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pipelines, the Commission will
eliminate this annual filing requirement.
In its place, the Commission will
require natural gas pipelines utilizing an
ACA clause to incorporate the
Commission-authorized annual charge
unit rate by reference to that rate, as
published on the Commission’s Web
site located at https://www.ferc.gov.
A. Commission Regulations
2. The Commission is required to
‘‘assess and collect fees and annual
charges in any fiscal year in amounts
equal to all of the costs incurred by the
Commission in that fiscal year.’’ 1 To
accomplish this, the Commission
created the annual charges program,
which is designed to recover the costs
of administering the natural gas, oil, and
electric programs by calculating the
costs of each program, net of filing fees,
and properly allocating them among the
three programs.2 This proceeding
applies only to the recovery of annual
charges assessed to entities in the
natural gas program.
3. The provisions governing the
assessment of annual charges are
codified in Part 382 of the Commission’s
regulations.3 In brief, after the
Commission calculates the costs of
administering the natural gas regulatory
program,4 it assesses those costs to
natural gas pipeline companies
(Pipelines).5 Each Pipeline is assessed a
1 See Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, Public
Law 99–509, Title III, Subtitle E, Sec. 3401, 1986
U.S. Code Cong. & Ad. News (100 Stat.) 1874, 1890–
91 (codified at 42 U.S.C. 7178 (2012)).
2 Annual Charges Under the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1986, Order No. 472, FERC
Stats & Regs. ¶ 30,746, clarified by, Order No.
472–A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,750, order on reh’g,
Order No. 472–B, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,767
(1987), order on reh’g, Order No. 472–C, 42 FERC
¶ 61,013 (1988).
3 18 CFR part 382 (2012).
4 Id. at 382.102(d) (defining the ‘‘natural gas
regulatory program’’ as the Commission’s regulation
of the natural gas industry under the Natural Gas
Act; Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978; Alaska Natural
Gas Transportation Act; Public Utility Regulatory
Policies Act; Department of Energy Organization
Act; Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act; Energy
Security Act; Regulatory Flexibility Act; Crude Oil
Windfall Profit Tax Act; National Environmental
Policy Act; National Historic Preservation Act).
5 For the purposes of this proceeding, we use the
term natural gas pipeline company (Pipeline) as it
is defined in 18 CFR 382.102(a) (2012): ‘‘any
person: (1) Engaged in natural gas sales for resale
or natural gas transportation subject to the
jurisdiction of the Commission under the Natural
Gas Act whose sales for resale and transportation
exceed 200,000 Mcf at 14.73 psi (60 °F) in any of
the three calendar years immediately preceding the
fiscal year for which the Commission is assessing
annual charges; and (2) Not engaged solely in ‘‘first
sales’’ of natural gas as that term is defined in
section 2(21) of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978;
and (3) To whom the Commission has not issued
a Natural Gas Act Section 7(f) declaration; and (4)
Not holding a limited jurisdiction certificate.’’
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19409
proportional share of the Commission’s
costs of administering the natural gas
program. That proportional share is
based on the proportion of the total gas
subject to Commission regulation which
was sold and transported by each
company in the immediately preceding
calendar year to the sum of the gas
subject to the Commission regulation
which was sold and transported in the
immediately preceding calendar year by
all natural gas pipeline companies being
assessed annual charges.6 For example,
if a Pipeline sold and transported 10
percent of the total gas subject to the
Commission’s regulations, that Pipeline
would be assessed 10 percent of the
costs of the natural gas regulatory
program in the form of an annual
charge.
4. Pipelines are entitled to recover
these annual charges from their
customers, and they have two options
for doing so. First, upon Commission
approval, a Pipeline may adjust its rates
annually to recover the annual charges
through an ACA clause.7 Second, a
Pipeline may seek to recover its annual
charges through its general
transportation rates.8 This proceeding
proposes to modify only the first
method, i.e., recovery of annual charges
through an ACA clause, as it is widely
used among Pipelines.
5. Order No. 472 recognized that
although the Commission generally
disfavors the use of tracking
mechanisms, it is appropriate that
Pipelines be permitted to pass through
these annual charges directly to
customers.9 Accordingly, the
Commission provided Pipelines an
option of passing along the annual
charges to customers through a
surcharge to their transportation rates
reflected in an ACA clause.10 The
Commission’s requirements for
Pipelines that choose to utilize an ACA
clause are codified in section 154.402 of
the Commission’s regulations.11 The
ACA clause must be filed with the
Commission and indicate the amount of
annual charges to be flowed through per
unit of energy sold or transported (ACA
unit charge). The ACA unit charge will
be specified by the Commission at the
time the Commission calculates the
annual charge bills. A company must
reflect the ACA unit charge in each of
its rate schedules applicable to sales or
transportation deliveries. The company
6 18
CFR 382.202 (2012).
at 154.402.
8 Order No. 472, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,746 at
30,629.
9 Id.
10 Id.
11 18 CFR 154.402 (2012).
7 Id.
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must apply the ACA unit charge to the
usage component of rate schedules with
two-part rates. A company may recover
annual charges through an ACA unit
charge only if its rates do not otherwise
reflect the costs of annual charges
assessed by the Commission under
§ 382.106(a) of this chapter. The
applicable annual charge, required by
§ 382.103 of this chapter, must be paid
before the company applies the ACA
unit charge.12
6. Pipelines that seek to recover
annual charges through an ACA clause
must file a tariff record containing a
statement that the company is collecting
an ACA per unit charge, as approved by
the Commission, applicable to all the
pipeline’s sales and transportation rate
schedules, the per unit charge of the
ACA, the proposed effective date of the
tariff change (30 days after the filing of
the tariff sheet or section, unless a
shorter period is specifically requested
in a waiver petition and approved), and
a statement that the pipeline will not
recover any annual charges recorded in
FERC Account 928 in a proceeding
under subpart D of [part 154 of the
Commission’s regulations].13
Additionally, the Commission
requires these Pipelines to file revised
tariff records to reflect changes to the
ACA unit charge authorized by the
Commission each fiscal year.14
7. Each year the Commission sets the
ACA unit charge for the natural gas
program in July.15 Pipelines that wish to
begin collecting the ACA unit charge on
the first day of the fiscal year are
required to file revised tariff records
reflecting changes in the ACA unit
charge by September 1 of each year, to
be effective October 1 of that year.16 So
long as the Pipeline has paid its annual
charge to the Commission, the
Commission will accept the tariff
records, and they will go into effect on
October 1. To the extent that the ACA
unit charge remains the same from one
year to the next, existing Pipelines that
already reflect that ACA unit charge in
their tariffs need not make a filing for
that year. This annual process is
12 Id.
at 154.402(a).
at 154.402(b).
14 Id. at 154.402(c).
15 The Commission publishes this change via a
notice entitled, ‘‘FY [Year] Gas Annual Charges
Correction for Annual Charges Unit Charge,’’ which
is available on the Commission’s Web site, located
at https://www.ferc.gov.
16 See 18 CFR 382.102(i) (2012) (defining ‘‘fiscal
year’’ as the twelve-month period that begins on the
first day of October and ends on the last day of
September); see also id. at 154.402(b)(3) (requiring
the proposed effective date of the tariff change
revising the ACA unit charge to be 30 days after the
date the change is filed, unless a shorter period is
specifically requested in a waiver petition and
approved).
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13 Id.
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designed to ensure that Pipelines collect
charges for the entire fiscal year, as
defined in Part 382 of the Commission’s
regulations.
8. In 2011, the Commission received
145 filings to reflect the annual change
in the ACA unit charge. In years in
which the ACA unit charge does not
change, there are fewer filings.
However, some Pipelines, such as those
that have recently gone into service and
have been billed an annual charge, are
still permitted to submit a filing to the
Commission in order to pass along the
annual charge to their customers.
B. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(NOPR)
9. On October 18, 2012, the
Commission issued a NOPR proposing
to eliminate the ACA unit charge filing
requirement set forth in Part 154 of the
Commission’s regulations. The
Commission received comments in
support of the NOPR from the American
Gas Association, Spectra Entities,
Interstate Natural Gas Association of
America (INGAA) and KO Transmission
Company. In addition to INGAA’s
comments in support of the NOPR,
INGAA proposes a minor modification
to the NOPR to eliminate unnecessary
confusion and to reduce the filing
burden on pipelines. Specifically,
INGAA proposes requiring pipelines to
submit compliance filings 30 or 60 days
prior to the proposed October 1, 2013,
effective date of this Final Rule.17
II. Discussion
10. In an effort to reduce the
regulatory burden associated with
annual tariff filings to reflect the current
year’s ACA unit charge, the Commission
will eliminate the annual filing
requirement for Pipelines utilizing an
ACA clause. In its place, the
Commission will require Pipelines
utilizing an ACA clause to incorporate
the Commission-authorized ACA unit
rate by reference to that rate, as
published on the Commission’s Web
site. Accordingly, Pipelines that wish to
continue utilizing an ACA clause will
be required to make a one-time tariff
revision that incorporates the ACA unit
charge published on the Commission’s
Web site into the Pipeline’s tariff as the
ACA unit charge for the relevant fiscal
year.18
11. The Commission is aware that in
addition to the basic statutory
requirement that all rates and charges be
17 See
INGAA Comments at 2–3.
18 CFR 382.102(i) (2012) (defining ‘‘fiscal
year’’ as the twelve-month period that begins on the
first day of October and ends on the last day of
September).
18 See
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on file with the Commission,19 the filing
requirements associated with the annual
revisions to the ACA unit charge serve
important practical functions. First, the
annual tariff filing (and the
Commission’s acceptance of that filing)
establishes an effective date upon which
the Pipeline is entitled to begin
collecting that fiscal year’s ACA unit
charge. Second, the annual filing
provides the Commission with an
opportunity to ensure that the Pipeline
has actually paid the annual charge that
it seeks to recover from customers.20
12. Because the annual filing
requirement will be eliminated under
the reforms set forth in this Final Rule,
the Commission will require Pipelines
utilizing an ACA clause to incorporate
by reference into their tariffs the ACA
unit charge specified in the annual
notice issued by the Commission
entitled ‘‘FY [Year] Gas Annual Charges
Correction for Annual Charges Unit
Charge.’’ This ACA unit charge shall be
effective on the first day of October
following issuance of this notice and
shall extend to the last day of September
the following year (i.e., the duration of
the fiscal year). However, the ACA unit
charge shall only be incorporated by
reference into the Pipeline’s tariff, and
thereby assessed to shippers, if the
Pipeline has paid its annual assessment,
as reflected on a new notice, entitled
‘‘Payment Status of Pipeline Billings—
FY [Year],’’ that the Commission will
issue each year. This notice will identify
the Pipelines that have been assessed
annual charges for a fiscal year and
indicate whether they have paid their
charges and are, therefore, authorized to
recover the ACA unit charge from
shippers. The Commission will issue
the ‘‘Payment Status of Pipeline
Billings—FY [Year]’’ notice on the last
business day of the fiscal year, and
provide updates as necessary. All of the
documents can be found on the Annual
Charges page of the Natural Gas section
of the Commission’s Web site, located at
https://www.ferc.gov.
13. We emphasize that the only thing
changed by this Final Rule is the filing
requirement for those Pipelines that
utilize an ACA clause. This Final Rule
does not prevent Pipelines from
continuing to recover annual charges
assessed by the Commission through
their transportation rates, as established
in a general rate case. Nor does this
Final Rule modify how the Commission
calculates the costs of the natural gas
19 15
U.S.C. 717c (2006).
No. 472, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,746 at
30,629–30 (explaining that Pipelines may only
collect those annual charges that they have already
paid to the Commission).
20 Order
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regulatory program or how the ACA unit
charge is calculated or assessed.
14. We are taking this action as part
of our commitment to continually
review our regulations and eliminate
those requirements that impose an
unnecessary burden on regulated
entities. We find that requiring
Pipelines to incorporate the ACA unit
charge by reference to the notices
published on the Commission’s Web
site will retain all of the transparency
and consumer safeguards embodied in
the Commission’s existing regulations.
However, it will eliminate
approximately 145 filings each year,
thereby reducing the regulatory burden
on the Pipelines and the Commission.
III. Compliance
15. This Final Rule requires Pipelines
to implement the changes set forth
herein in time for the 2014 fiscal year.
Accordingly, the Commission will
require each Pipeline utilizing an ACA
clause to make a one-time compliance
filing revising its tariff to incorporate by
reference the ACA unit charge
published on the Commission’s Web
site, as discussed above. In order to give
Pipelines subject to these modifications
adequate time to implement these
changes, this compliance filing will be
due 60 days before the required effective
date of October 1, 2013.
IV. Information Collection Statement
16. The Office of Management and
Budget’s (OMB) regulations require
approval of certain information
collection requirements imposed by
agency rules.21 Upon approval of a
collection of information, OMB will
assign an OMB control number and an
expiration date. Respondents subject to
the filing requirements of a rule will not
be penalized for failing to respond to
this collection of information unless the
collection of information displays a
valid OMB control number.
17. The Commission sought
comments on its burden estimates
associated with adoption of the NOPR
proposals. In response to the NOPR, no
comments were filed addressing the
reporting burden estimates imposed by
these requirements. Therefore the
19411
Commission will use the same estimates
in this Final Rule.
18. The following FERC–542 reporting
requirements contained in this Final
Rule are being submitted to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review under section 507(d) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44
U.S.C. 3507(d). The burden estimates
reflect the time necessary for
respondents to update their tariffs
according to this Final Rule.
Additionally, these estimates highlight
reductions to the burden since
respondents will no longer have to file
ACA charge tariff adjustments. More
specifically, the Commission estimates
it will require eight hours per response
to make the ‘‘one-time’’ (during the first
year only) compliance tariff changes set
forth in this Final Rule to place the new
tariff language into effect. However, in
each year (including the 1st year), the
Commission also estimates that filers
will see a two-hour reduction in burden
per response from no longer filing ACA
charge tariff adjustments. The following
table displays the estimated annual
burden hour impact of the Final Rule.
Number of
respondents
Number of
responses per
respondent per
year
Total number
of responses
per year
Addition of
average burden
hours per response
Reduction of
average burden
hours per response
Net average
burden hours
per response
Estimated total
annual burden
(A)
FERC–542 in the
final rule in
RM12–14
(B)
(A) * (B) = (C)
(D)
(E)
(D) + (E) = (F)
(C) * (F)
0 ........................
+8
+1160
145
+8 (Compliance
Filing).
0 ........................
¥2 (ACA filing)
¥2
¥290
........................
...........................
...........................
+6
+870
145
0 ........................
¥2 (ACA filing)
¥2
¥290
145
0 ........................
¥2 (ACA filing)
¥2
¥290
........................
...........................
...........................
........................
+290
Year 1 ................
145
Year 1 ................
145
Year 1 SUBTOTAL.
........................
Year 2 ................
145
Year 3 ................
145
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NET TOTAL
........................
1 Compliance
Filing.
1 Avoided ACA
filing.
...........................
1 Avoided ACA
filing.
1 Avoided ACA
Filing.
...........................
To understand the burden estimates
above, reference the following equation:
Year 1 + Year 2 + Year 3 → +870 hours
¥ 290 hours ¥ 290 hours = +290
hours
The net total additional annual
burden associated with this Final Rule
over Years 1–3 period is 290 hours.
Thus, the average additional annual
burden for Years 1–3 is 97 hours (290
hours ÷ 3 years = 97 hours per year).
Further, the Commission estimates that
each respondent (on average) should
experience a decrease to the annual
21 5
CFR 1320.11 (2012).
cost figures are derived by multiplying the
total hours to prepare a response (hours) by an
22 The
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burden (of 2 hours per year) due to the
avoidance of the ACA filing.
Information Collection Costs: The
Commission seeks comments on the
costs to comply with these
requirements. It has projected the
average cost for all respondents to be the
following: 22
• One-time total cost in Year 1 of
$51,330 (870 hours * $59/hour)
• Avoided cost per year (starting in
Year 1) of $17,110 (290 hours * $59/
hour)
Title: FERC–542, Gas Pipeline Rates:
Rate Tracking.
Action: One-time filing and reduced
future filings.
OMB Control Number: 1902–0070.
Respondents: Natural Gas Pipelines.
Frequency of Responses: One-time
implementation and future reduction in
number of responses.
Necessity of Information: The
proposals in this Final Rule would, if
implemented, result in a net reduction
of annual burden of interstate natural
hourly wage estimate of $59 (a composite estimate
that includes legal, technical and support staff
wages and benefits obtained from the Bureau of
Labor Statistic data at https://bls.gov/oes/current/
naics3_221000.htm and https://www.bls.gov/
news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).
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gas pipelines, starting with the fifth year
and in each year thereafter.
Internal Review: The Commission has
reviewed the requirements pertaining to
the modification of the Commission’s
regulations and made a preliminary
determination that the revisions are
necessary to reduce the burden imposed
by the Commission on the natural gas
industry. The Commission has assured
itself, by means of its internal review,
that there is specific, objective support
for the burden estimates associated with
the information requirements.
19. Interested persons may obtain
information on the reporting
requirements by contacting the
following: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20426 [Attention: Ellen
Brown, Office of the Executive Director,
email: DataClearance@ferc.gov, phone:
(202) 502–8663, fax: (202) 273–0873].
20. Comments concerning the
collection of information and the
associated burden estimate, should be
sent to the Commission in this docket
and to the Office of Management and
Budget, Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC
20503 [Attention: Desk Officer for the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
telephone: (202) 395–4638, fax: (202)
395–4718]. For security reasons,
comments to OMB should be submitted
by email to:
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov.
Comments submitted to OMB should
include Docket Number RM12–14–000
and OMB Control Number 1902–0070.
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V. Environmental Analysis
21. The Commission is required to
prepare an Environmental Assessment
or an Environmental Impact Statement
for any action that may have a
significant adverse effect on the human
environment.23 The Commission has
categorically excluded certain actions
from these requirements as not having a
significant effect on the human
environment.24 The actions set forth
here fall within categorical exclusions
in the Commission’s regulations for
rules that are clarifying, corrective, or
procedural, for information gathering,
analysis, and dissemination, and for
sales, exchange, and transportation of
natural gas that requires no construction
of facilities.25 Therefore, an
environmental assessment is
23 Regulations Implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Order No. 486,
FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,783 (1987).
24 18 CFR 380.4 (2012).
25 See id. at 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5),
380.4(a)(27).
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unnecessary and has not been prepared
as part of this Final Rule.
VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act
22. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of
1980 (RFA) 26 generally requires a
description and analysis of final rules
that will have significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The RFA mandates
consideration of regulatory alternatives
that accomplish the stated objectives of
a Final Rule and that minimize any
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
The Small Business Administration’s
(SBA) Office of Size Standards develops
the numerical definition of a small
business.27 The SBA has established a
size standard for pipelines transporting
natural gas, stating that a firm is small
if its annual receipts are less than $25.5
million.28
23. The regulations set forth here
impose requirements only on interstate
pipelines, the majority of which are not
small businesses. Most companies
regulated by the Commission do not fall
within the RFA’s definition of a small
entity. Approximately 145 entities
would be potential respondents subject
to data collection FERC–545 reporting
requirements. Nearly all of these entities
are large entities. For the year 2011 (the
most recent year for which information
is available), only 15 companies not
affiliated with larger companies had
annual revenues of less than $25.5
million. Moreover, these requirements
are designed to benefit all customers,
including small businesses. The
Commission estimates that the one-time
cost per small entity is $354.29 In the
future, small entities should see a cost
savings related to avoiding an annual
ACA charge adjustment filing. The
Commission does not consider the
estimated $354 impact per entity to be
significant. Accordingly, pursuant to
§ 605(b) of the RFA, the Commission
certifies that this Final Rule should not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities.
VII. Document Availability
24. 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/or print the contents of this
document via the Internet through
FERC’s Home Page (https://www.ferc.gov)
and in FERC’s Public Reference Room
26 5
U.S.C. 601–612 (2000).
CFR 121.101 (2012).
28 Id. at subsection 486.
29 This number is derived by multiplying the
hourly figure (6) by the cost per hour ($59). 6 hrs
* $59/hr = $354.
27 13
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during normal business hours (8:30 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First
Street NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC
20426.
25. From FERC’s Home Page on the
Internet, this information is available on
eLibrary. The full text of this document
is available on eLibrary in PDF and
Microsoft Word format for viewing,
printing, and/or downloading. To access
this document in eLibrary, type the
docket number excluding the last three
digits of this document in the docket
number field.
26. User assistance is available for
eLibrary and the FERC’s Web site during
normal business hours from FERC
Online Support at 202–502–6652 (toll
free at 1–866–208–3676) or email at
ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the
Public Reference Room at (202) 502–
8371, TTY (202) 502–8659. Email the
Public Reference Room at
public.referenceroom@ferc.gov.
VIII. Effective Date and Congressional
Notification
27. These regulations are effective
May 31, 2013. The Commission has
determined, with the concurrence of the
Administrator of the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs of
OMB, that this rule is not a ‘‘major rule’’
as defined in section 351 of the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996.
List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 154
Natural gas, Pipelines, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
By the Commission.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
In consideration of the foregoing, the
Commission amends Part 154, Chapter I,
Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as
follows:
PART 154–RATE SCHEDULES AND
TARIFFS
1. The authority citation for part 154
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717–717w; 31 U.S.C.
9701; 42 U.S.C. 7102–7352.
2. In § 154.402, revise paragraphs (a)
and (b) to read as follows:
■
§ 154.402
ACA expenditures.
(a) Requirements. Upon approval by
the Commission, a natural gas pipeline
company may adjust its rates, annually,
to recover from its customers annual
charges assessed by the Commission
under part 382 of this chapter pursuant
to an annual charge adjustment clause
(ACA clause). Prior to the start of each
fiscal year, the Commission will post on
E:\FR\FM\01APR1.SGM
01APR1
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 62 / Monday, April 1, 2013 / Rules and Regulations
its Web site the amount of annual
charges to be flowed through per unit of
energy sold or transported (ACA unit
charge) for that fiscal year. A company’s
ACA clause must be filed with the
Commission and must incorporate by
reference the ACA unit charge for the
upcoming fiscal year as posted on the
Commission’s Web site. A company
must incorporate by reference the ACA
unit charge posted on the Commission’s
Web site in each of its rate schedules
applicable to sales or transportation
deliveries. The company must apply the
ACA unit charge posted on the
Commission’s Web site to the usage
component of rate schedules with twopart rates. A company may recover
annual charges through an ACA unit
charge only if its rates do not otherwise
reflect the costs of annual charges
assessed by the Commission under
§ 382.106(a) of this chapter. The
applicable annual charge, required by
§ 382.103 of this chapter, must be paid
before the company applies the ACA
unit charge. Upon payment to the
Commission of its annual charges, the
ACA unit charge for that fiscal year will
be incorporated by reference into the
company’s tariff, effective throughout
that fiscal year.
(b) Application for rate treatment
authorization. A company seeking
authorization to use an ACA unit charge
must file with the Commission a
separate ACA tariff record containing:
(1) A statement that the company is
collecting an ACA unit charge, as
calculated by the Commission,
applicable to all the pipeline’s sales and
transportation rate schedules,
(2) A statement that the ACA unit
charge, as revised annually and posted
on the Commission’s Web site, is
incorporated by reference into the
company’s tariff,
(3) For companies with existing ACA
clauses, a proposed effective date of the
tariff change of October 1 of the fiscal
year; for companies seeking to utilize an
ACA clause after October 1 of the fiscal
year, a proposed effective date 30 days
after the filing of the tariff record, unless
a shorter period is specifically requested
in a waiver petition and approved), and
(4) A statement that the pipeline will
not recover any annual charges recorded
in FERC Account 928 in a proceeding
under subpart D of this part.
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 2013–07078 Filed 3–29–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
VerDate Mar<15>2010
13:26 Mar 29, 2013
Jkt 229001
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
21 CFR Part 73
[Docket Nos. FDA–2011–C–0344 and FDA–
2011–C–0463]
Listing of Color Additives Exempt
From Certification; Reactive Blue 246
and Reactive Blue 247 Copolymers
AGENCY:
Food and Drug Administration,
HHS.
ACTION:
Final rule.
SUMMARY: The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA or we) is
amending the color additive regulations
to provide for the safe use of additional
copolymers of 1,4-bis[4-(2methacryloxyethyl)phenylamino]
anthraquinone (C.I. Reactive Blue 246)
and copolymers of 1,4-bis[(2hydroxyethyl)amino]-9,10anthracenedione bis(2-methyl-2propenoic)ester (C.I. Reactive Blue 247)
as color additives in contact lenses. This
action is in response to two color
additive petitions (CAPs) filed by
CooperVision, Inc.
DATES: This rule is effective May 2,
2013. See section VII for related
information on the filing of objections.
Submit either electronic or written
objections and requests for a hearing by
May 1, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit either
electronic or written objections and
requests for a hearing, identified by
Docket No. FDA–2011–C–0344 (C.I.
Reactive Blue 246) or FDA–2011–C–
0463 (C.I. Reactive Blue 247), by any of
the following methods:
Electronic Submissions
Submit electronic objections in the
following ways:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Written Submissions
Submit written objections in the
following ways:
• Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for
paper or CD–ROM submissions):
Division of Dockets Management (HFA–
305), Food and Drug Administration,
5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville,
MD 20852.
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the Agency name and the
appropriate docket number (FDA–2011–
C–0344 for C.I. Reactive Blue 246 or
FDA–2011–C–0463 for C.I. Reactive
Blue 247) for this rulemaking. All
objections received will be posted
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
19413
without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. For
detailed instructions on submitting
objections, see the ‘‘Objections’’ heading
of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section.
Docket: For access to the dockets to
read background documents or
objections received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov and insert the
docket numbers, found in brackets in
the heading of this document, into the
‘‘Search’’ box and follow the prompts
and/or go to the Division of Dockets
Management, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm.
1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Regarding CAP 1C0291 (C.I. Reactive
Blue 246): Judith Kidwell, Center for
Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
(HFS–265), Food and Drug
Administration, 5100 Paint Branch
Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740–3835,
240–402–1071.
Regarding CAP 1C0292 (C.I. Reactive
Blue 247): Teresa Croce, Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS–
265), Food and Drug Administration,
5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park,
MD 20740–3835, 240–402–1281.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
In a notice published in the Federal
Register of June 28, 2011 (76 FR 37690),
we announced that CooperVision, Inc.,
6150 Stoneridge Mall Rd., suite 370,
Pleasanton, CA 94588 (petitioner) had
filed two color additive petitions (CAP
1C0291 and CAP 1C0292). The petitions
proposed to amend the color additive
regulations in 21 CFR part 73, subpart
D, Medical Devices, to provide for the
safe use of additional copolymers of 1,4bis[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-9,10anthracenedione bis(2-methyl-2propenoic)ester (C.I. Reactive Blue 247)
and additional copolymers of 1,4-bis[4(2-methacryloxyethyl)phenylamino]
anthraquinone (C.I. Reactive Blue 246)
as color additives in contact lenses. The
color additives are produced by
copolymerizing the reactive dyes with
various vinyl and/or acrylic monomers
such that the dyes are bound covalently
and cross-linked in the resulting
polymer matrix.1
1 According to the International Union of Pure
and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), a vinyl polymer
is prepared from a monomer containing the vinyl
group –CH=CH2. Acrylic polymers are one subclass
of vinyl polymers; however, not all acrylic
polymers (e.g., methacrylic polymers) are vinyl
polymers using the IUPAC definition (Ref. 1). The
term ‘‘vinyl and/or acrylic monomers’’ includes
monomers that form vinyl polymers, monomers that
form acrylic polymers (e.g., acrylate, methacylate,
acrylamide, etc.), or any combination thereof.
E:\FR\FM\01APR1.SGM
01APR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 62 (Monday, April 1, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19409-19413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07078]
[[Page 19409]]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
18 CFR Part 154
[Docket No. RM12-14-000; Order No. 776]
Annual Charge Filing Procedures for Natural Gas Pipelines
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Energy.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In this Final Rule, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission or FERC) is amending its regulations to revise the filing
requirements for natural gas pipelines that choose to recover
Commission-assessed annual charges through an annual charge adjustment
(ACA) clause. Currently, natural gas pipelines utilizing an ACA clause
must make an annual tariff filing to reflect a revised ACA unit charge
authorized by the Commission for that fiscal year. To reduce the
regulatory burden on these pipelines, the Commission will eliminate
this annual filing requirement. In its place, the Commission will
require natural gas pipelines utilizing an ACA clause to incorporate
the Commission-authorized annual charge unit rate by reference to that
rate, as published on the Commission's Web site located at https://www.ferc.gov.
DATES: This rule will become effective May 31, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Bednarczyk (Technical Issues),
888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-6444,
Adam.Bednarczyk@ferc.gov. Michelle A. Davis (Legal Issues), 888 First
Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8687,
Michelle.Davis2@ferc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Before Commissioners: Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman; Philip D. Moeller,
John R. Norris, Cheryl A. LaFleur, and Tony Clark.
Issued March 21, 2013.
1. In this Final Rule, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission or FERC) is amending its regulations at 18 CFR 154.402 to
revise the filing requirements for natural gas pipelines that choose to
recover Commission-assessed annual charges through an annual charge
adjustment (ACA) clause. Currently, natural gas pipelines utilizing an
ACA clause must make an annual tariff filing to reflect a revised ACA
unit charge authorized by the Commission for that fiscal year. To
reduce the regulatory burden on these pipelines, the Commission will
eliminate this annual filing requirement. In its place, the Commission
will require natural gas pipelines utilizing an ACA clause to
incorporate the Commission-authorized annual charge unit rate by
reference to that rate, as published on the Commission's Web site
located at https://www.ferc.gov.
I. Background
A. Commission Regulations
2. The Commission is required to ``assess and collect fees and
annual charges in any fiscal year in amounts equal to all of the costs
incurred by the Commission in that fiscal year.'' \1\ To accomplish
this, the Commission created the annual charges program, which is
designed to recover the costs of administering the natural gas, oil,
and electric programs by calculating the costs of each program, net of
filing fees, and properly allocating them among the three programs.\2\
This proceeding applies only to the recovery of annual charges assessed
to entities in the natural gas program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, Public Law 99-509,
Title III, Subtitle E, Sec. 3401, 1986 U.S. Code Cong. & Ad. News
(100 Stat.) 1874, 1890-91 (codified at 42 U.S.C. 7178 (2012)).
\2\ Annual Charges Under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
of 1986, Order No. 472, FERC Stats & Regs. ] 30,746, clarified by,
Order No. 472-A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 30,750, order on reh'g, Order
No. 472-B, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 30,767 (1987), order on reh'g,
Order No. 472-C, 42 FERC ] 61,013 (1988).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. The provisions governing the assessment of annual charges are
codified in Part 382 of the Commission's regulations.\3\ In brief,
after the Commission calculates the costs of administering the natural
gas regulatory program,\4\ it assesses those costs to natural gas
pipeline companies (Pipelines).\5\ Each Pipeline is assessed a
proportional share of the Commission's costs of administering the
natural gas program. That proportional share is based on the proportion
of the total gas subject to Commission regulation which was sold and
transported by each company in the immediately preceding calendar year
to the sum of the gas subject to the Commission regulation which was
sold and transported in the immediately preceding calendar year by all
natural gas pipeline companies being assessed annual charges.\6\ For
example, if a Pipeline sold and transported 10 percent of the total gas
subject to the Commission's regulations, that Pipeline would be
assessed 10 percent of the costs of the natural gas regulatory program
in the form of an annual charge.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ 18 CFR part 382 (2012).
\4\ Id. at 382.102(d) (defining the ``natural gas regulatory
program'' as the Commission's regulation of the natural gas industry
under the Natural Gas Act; Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978; Alaska
Natural Gas Transportation Act; Public Utility Regulatory Policies
Act; Department of Energy Organization Act; Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act; Energy Security Act; Regulatory Flexibility Act; Crude
Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act; National Environmental Policy Act;
National Historic Preservation Act).
\5\ For the purposes of this proceeding, we use the term natural
gas pipeline company (Pipeline) as it is defined in 18 CFR
382.102(a) (2012): ``any person: (1) Engaged in natural gas sales
for resale or natural gas transportation subject to the jurisdiction
of the Commission under the Natural Gas Act whose sales for resale
and transportation exceed 200,000 Mcf at 14.73 psi (60 [deg]F) in
any of the three calendar years immediately preceding the fiscal
year for which the Commission is assessing annual charges; and (2)
Not engaged solely in ``first sales'' of natural gas as that term is
defined in section 2(21) of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978; and
(3) To whom the Commission has not issued a Natural Gas Act Section
7(f) declaration; and (4) Not holding a limited jurisdiction
certificate.''
\6\ 18 CFR 382.202 (2012).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Pipelines are entitled to recover these annual charges from
their customers, and they have two options for doing so. First, upon
Commission approval, a Pipeline may adjust its rates annually to
recover the annual charges through an ACA clause.\7\ Second, a Pipeline
may seek to recover its annual charges through its general
transportation rates.\8\ This proceeding proposes to modify only the
first method, i.e., recovery of annual charges through an ACA clause,
as it is widely used among Pipelines.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Id. at 154.402.
\8\ Order No. 472, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 30,746 at 30,629.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Order No. 472 recognized that although the Commission generally
disfavors the use of tracking mechanisms, it is appropriate that
Pipelines be permitted to pass through these annual charges directly to
customers.\9\ Accordingly, the Commission provided Pipelines an option
of passing along the annual charges to customers through a surcharge to
their transportation rates reflected in an ACA clause.\10\ The
Commission's requirements for Pipelines that choose to utilize an ACA
clause are codified in section 154.402 of the Commission's
regulations.\11\ The ACA clause must be filed with the Commission and
indicate the amount of annual charges to be flowed through per unit of
energy sold or transported (ACA unit charge). The ACA unit charge will
be specified by the Commission at the time the Commission calculates
the annual charge bills. A company must reflect the ACA unit charge in
each of its rate schedules applicable to sales or transportation
deliveries. The company
[[Page 19410]]
must apply the ACA unit charge to the usage component of rate schedules
with two-part rates. A company may recover annual charges through an
ACA unit charge only if its rates do not otherwise reflect the costs of
annual charges assessed by the Commission under Sec. 382.106(a) of
this chapter. The applicable annual charge, required by Sec. 382.103
of this chapter, must be paid before the company applies the ACA unit
charge.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ Id.
\10\ Id.
\11\ 18 CFR 154.402 (2012).
\12\ Id. at 154.402(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Pipelines that seek to recover annual charges through an ACA
clause must file a tariff record containing a statement that the
company is collecting an ACA per unit charge, as approved by the
Commission, applicable to all the pipeline's sales and transportation
rate schedules, the per unit charge of the ACA, the proposed effective
date of the tariff change (30 days after the filing of the tariff sheet
or section, unless a shorter period is specifically requested in a
waiver petition and approved), and a statement that the pipeline will
not recover any annual charges recorded in FERC Account 928 in a
proceeding under subpart D of [part 154 of the Commission's
regulations].\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ Id. at 154.402(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additionally, the Commission requires these Pipelines to file
revised tariff records to reflect changes to the ACA unit charge
authorized by the Commission each fiscal year.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ Id. at 154.402(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Each year the Commission sets the ACA unit charge for the
natural gas program in July.\15\ Pipelines that wish to begin
collecting the ACA unit charge on the first day of the fiscal year are
required to file revised tariff records reflecting changes in the ACA
unit charge by September 1 of each year, to be effective October 1 of
that year.\16\ So long as the Pipeline has paid its annual charge to
the Commission, the Commission will accept the tariff records, and they
will go into effect on October 1. To the extent that the ACA unit
charge remains the same from one year to the next, existing Pipelines
that already reflect that ACA unit charge in their tariffs need not
make a filing for that year. This annual process is designed to ensure
that Pipelines collect charges for the entire fiscal year, as defined
in Part 382 of the Commission's regulations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ The Commission publishes this change via a notice entitled,
``FY [Year] Gas Annual Charges Correction for Annual Charges Unit
Charge,'' which is available on the Commission's Web site, located
at https://www.ferc.gov.
\16\ See 18 CFR 382.102(i) (2012) (defining ``fiscal year'' as
the twelve-month period that begins on the first day of October and
ends on the last day of September); see also id. at 154.402(b)(3)
(requiring the proposed effective date of the tariff change revising
the ACA unit charge to be 30 days after the date the change is
filed, unless a shorter period is specifically requested in a waiver
petition and approved).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. In 2011, the Commission received 145 filings to reflect the
annual change in the ACA unit charge. In years in which the ACA unit
charge does not change, there are fewer filings. However, some
Pipelines, such as those that have recently gone into service and have
been billed an annual charge, are still permitted to submit a filing to
the Commission in order to pass along the annual charge to their
customers.
B. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR)
9. On October 18, 2012, the Commission issued a NOPR proposing to
eliminate the ACA unit charge filing requirement set forth in Part 154
of the Commission's regulations. The Commission received comments in
support of the NOPR from the American Gas Association, Spectra
Entities, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) and KO
Transmission Company. In addition to INGAA's comments in support of the
NOPR, INGAA proposes a minor modification to the NOPR to eliminate
unnecessary confusion and to reduce the filing burden on pipelines.
Specifically, INGAA proposes requiring pipelines to submit compliance
filings 30 or 60 days prior to the proposed October 1, 2013, effective
date of this Final Rule.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ See INGAA Comments at 2-3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Discussion
10. In an effort to reduce the regulatory burden associated with
annual tariff filings to reflect the current year's ACA unit charge,
the Commission will eliminate the annual filing requirement for
Pipelines utilizing an ACA clause. In its place, the Commission will
require Pipelines utilizing an ACA clause to incorporate the
Commission-authorized ACA unit rate by reference to that rate, as
published on the Commission's Web site. Accordingly, Pipelines that
wish to continue utilizing an ACA clause will be required to make a
one-time tariff revision that incorporates the ACA unit charge
published on the Commission's Web site into the Pipeline's tariff as
the ACA unit charge for the relevant fiscal year.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\ See 18 CFR 382.102(i) (2012) (defining ``fiscal year'' as
the twelve-month period that begins on the first day of October and
ends on the last day of September).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. The Commission is aware that in addition to the basic statutory
requirement that all rates and charges be on file with the
Commission,\19\ the filing requirements associated with the annual
revisions to the ACA unit charge serve important practical functions.
First, the annual tariff filing (and the Commission's acceptance of
that filing) establishes an effective date upon which the Pipeline is
entitled to begin collecting that fiscal year's ACA unit charge.
Second, the annual filing provides the Commission with an opportunity
to ensure that the Pipeline has actually paid the annual charge that it
seeks to recover from customers.\20\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\ 15 U.S.C. 717c (2006).
\20\ Order No. 472, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 30,746 at 30,629-30
(explaining that Pipelines may only collect those annual charges
that they have already paid to the Commission).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Because the annual filing requirement will be eliminated under
the reforms set forth in this Final Rule, the Commission will require
Pipelines utilizing an ACA clause to incorporate by reference into
their tariffs the ACA unit charge specified in the annual notice issued
by the Commission entitled ``FY [Year] Gas Annual Charges Correction
for Annual Charges Unit Charge.'' This ACA unit charge shall be
effective on the first day of October following issuance of this notice
and shall extend to the last day of September the following year (i.e.,
the duration of the fiscal year). However, the ACA unit charge shall
only be incorporated by reference into the Pipeline's tariff, and
thereby assessed to shippers, if the Pipeline has paid its annual
assessment, as reflected on a new notice, entitled ``Payment Status of
Pipeline Billings--FY [Year],'' that the Commission will issue each
year. This notice will identify the Pipelines that have been assessed
annual charges for a fiscal year and indicate whether they have paid
their charges and are, therefore, authorized to recover the ACA unit
charge from shippers. The Commission will issue the ``Payment Status of
Pipeline Billings--FY [Year]'' notice on the last business day of the
fiscal year, and provide updates as necessary. All of the documents can
be found on the Annual Charges page of the Natural Gas section of the
Commission's Web site, located at https://www.ferc.gov.
13. We emphasize that the only thing changed by this Final Rule is
the filing requirement for those Pipelines that utilize an ACA clause.
This Final Rule does not prevent Pipelines from continuing to recover
annual charges assessed by the Commission through their transportation
rates, as established in a general rate case. Nor does this Final Rule
modify how the Commission calculates the costs of the natural gas
[[Page 19411]]
regulatory program or how the ACA unit charge is calculated or
assessed.
14. We are taking this action as part of our commitment to
continually review our regulations and eliminate those requirements
that impose an unnecessary burden on regulated entities. We find that
requiring Pipelines to incorporate the ACA unit charge by reference to
the notices published on the Commission's Web site will retain all of
the transparency and consumer safeguards embodied in the Commission's
existing regulations. However, it will eliminate approximately 145
filings each year, thereby reducing the regulatory burden on the
Pipelines and the Commission.
III. Compliance
15. This Final Rule requires Pipelines to implement the changes set
forth herein in time for the 2014 fiscal year. Accordingly, the
Commission will require each Pipeline utilizing an ACA clause to make a
one-time compliance filing revising its tariff to incorporate by
reference the ACA unit charge published on the Commission's Web site,
as discussed above. In order to give Pipelines subject to these
modifications adequate time to implement these changes, this compliance
filing will be due 60 days before the required effective date of
October 1, 2013.
IV. Information Collection Statement
16. The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) regulations require
approval of certain information collection requirements imposed by
agency rules.\21\ Upon approval of a collection of information, OMB
will assign an OMB control number and an expiration date. Respondents
subject to the filing requirements of a rule will not be penalized for
failing to respond to this collection of information unless the
collection of information displays a valid OMB control number.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\21\ 5 CFR 1320.11 (2012).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. The Commission sought comments on its burden estimates
associated with adoption of the NOPR proposals. In response to the
NOPR, no comments were filed addressing the reporting burden estimates
imposed by these requirements. Therefore the Commission will use the
same estimates in this Final Rule.
18. The following FERC-542 reporting requirements contained in this
Final Rule are being submitted to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review under section 507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507(d). The burden estimates reflect the time
necessary for respondents to update their tariffs according to this
Final Rule. Additionally, these estimates highlight reductions to the
burden since respondents will no longer have to file ACA charge tariff
adjustments. More specifically, the Commission estimates it will
require eight hours per response to make the ``one-time'' (during the
first year only) compliance tariff changes set forth in this Final Rule
to place the new tariff language into effect. However, in each year
(including the 1st year), the Commission also estimates that filers
will see a two-hour reduction in burden per response from no longer
filing ACA charge tariff adjustments. The following table displays the
estimated annual burden hour impact of the Final Rule.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Addition of Reduction of
FERC-542 in the final rule in Number of responses per Total number average burden average burden Net average Estimated
RM12-14 respondents respondent per of responses hours per hours per burden hours total annual
year per year response response per response burden
(A) (B).............. (A) * (B) = (D).............. (E).............. (D) + (E) = (C) * (F)
(C) (F)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year 1......................... 145 1 Compliance 145 +8 (Compliance 0................ +8 +1160
Filing. Filing).
Year 1......................... 145 1 Avoided ACA 145 0................ -2 (ACA filing).. -2 -290
filing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year 1 SUBTOTAL................ .............. ................. .............. ................. ................. +6 +870
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year 2......................... 145 1 Avoided ACA 145 0................ -2 (ACA filing).. -2 -290
filing.
Year 3......................... 145 1 Avoided ACA 145 0................ -2 (ACA filing).. -2 -290
Filing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NET TOTAL.................. .............. ................. .............. ................. ................. .............. +290
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To understand the burden estimates above, reference the following
equation:
Year 1 + Year 2 + Year 3 [rarr] +870 hours - 290 hours - 290 hours =
+290 hours
The net total additional annual burden associated with this Final
Rule over Years 1-3 period is 290 hours. Thus, the average additional
annual burden for Years 1-3 is 97 hours (290 hours / 3 years = 97 hours
per year). Further, the Commission estimates that each respondent (on
average) should experience a decrease to the annual burden (of 2 hours
per year) due to the avoidance of the ACA filing.
Information Collection Costs: The Commission seeks comments on the
costs to comply with these requirements. It has projected the average
cost for all respondents to be the following: \22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\ The cost figures are derived by multiplying the total hours
to prepare a response (hours) by an hourly wage estimate of $59 (a
composite estimate that includes legal, technical and support staff
wages and benefits obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistic data
at https://bls.gov/oes/current/naics3_221000.htm and https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
One-time total cost in Year 1 of $51,330 (870 hours * $59/
hour)
Avoided cost per year (starting in Year 1) of $17,110 (290
hours * $59/hour)
Title: FERC-542, Gas Pipeline Rates: Rate Tracking.
Action: One-time filing and reduced future filings.
OMB Control Number: 1902-0070.
Respondents: Natural Gas Pipelines.
Frequency of Responses: One-time implementation and future
reduction in number of responses.
Necessity of Information: The proposals in this Final Rule would,
if implemented, result in a net reduction of annual burden of
interstate natural
[[Page 19412]]
gas pipelines, starting with the fifth year and in each year
thereafter.
Internal Review: The Commission has reviewed the requirements
pertaining to the modification of the Commission's regulations and made
a preliminary determination that the revisions are necessary to reduce
the burden imposed by the Commission on the natural gas industry. The
Commission has assured itself, by means of its internal review, that
there is specific, objective support for the burden estimates
associated with the information requirements.
19. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting
requirements by contacting the following: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426 [Attention:
Ellen Brown, Office of the Executive Director, email:
DataClearance@ferc.gov, phone: (202) 502-8663, fax: (202) 273-0873].
20. Comments concerning the collection of information and the
associated burden estimate, should be sent to the Commission in this
docket and to the Office of Management and Budget, Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC 20503 [Attention:
Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, telephone:
(202) 395-4638, fax: (202) 395-4718]. For security reasons, comments to
OMB should be submitted by email to: oira_submission@omb.eop.gov.
Comments submitted to OMB should include Docket Number RM12-14-000 and
OMB Control Number 1902-0070.
V. Environmental Analysis
21. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental
Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may
have a significant adverse effect on the human environment.\23\ The
Commission has categorically excluded certain actions from these
requirements as not having a significant effect on the human
environment.\24\ The actions set forth here fall within categorical
exclusions in the Commission's regulations for rules that are
clarifying, corrective, or procedural, for information gathering,
analysis, and dissemination, and for sales, exchange, and
transportation of natural gas that requires no construction of
facilities.\25\ Therefore, an environmental assessment is unnecessary
and has not been prepared as part of this Final Rule.
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\23\ Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, Order No. 486, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 30,783 (1987).
\24\ 18 CFR 380.4 (2012).
\25\ See id. at 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5), 380.4(a)(27).
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VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act
22. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) \26\ generally
requires a description and analysis of final rules that will have
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The RFA mandates consideration of regulatory alternatives that
accomplish the stated objectives of a Final Rule and that minimize any
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Size Standards
develops the numerical definition of a small business.\27\ The SBA has
established a size standard for pipelines transporting natural gas,
stating that a firm is small if its annual receipts are less than $25.5
million.\28\
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\26\ 5 U.S.C. 601-612 (2000).
\27\ 13 CFR 121.101 (2012).
\28\ Id. at subsection 486.
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23. The regulations set forth here impose requirements only on
interstate pipelines, the majority of which are not small businesses.
Most companies regulated by the Commission do not fall within the RFA's
definition of a small entity. Approximately 145 entities would be
potential respondents subject to data collection FERC-545 reporting
requirements. Nearly all of these entities are large entities. For the
year 2011 (the most recent year for which information is available),
only 15 companies not affiliated with larger companies had annual
revenues of less than $25.5 million. Moreover, these requirements are
designed to benefit all customers, including small businesses. The
Commission estimates that the one-time cost per small entity is
$354.\29\ In the future, small entities should see a cost savings
related to avoiding an annual ACA charge adjustment filing. The
Commission does not consider the estimated $354 impact per entity to be
significant. Accordingly, pursuant to Sec. 605(b) of the RFA, the
Commission certifies that this Final Rule should not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
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\29\ This number is derived by multiplying the hourly figure (6)
by the cost per hour ($59). 6 hrs * $59/hr = $354.
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VII. Document Availability
24. 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/or print the contents of this document via the
Internet through FERC's Home Page (https://www.ferc.gov) and in FERC's
Public Reference Room during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC
20426.
25. From FERC's Home Page on the Internet, this information is
available on eLibrary. The full text of this document is available on
eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, printing, and/or
downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type the docket
number excluding the last three digits of this document in the docket
number field.
26. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the FERC's Web
site during normal business hours from FERC Online Support at 202-502-
6652 (toll free at 1-866-208-3676) or email at
ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the Public Reference Room at (202) 502-
8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. Email the Public Reference Room at
public.referenceroom@ferc.gov.
VIII. Effective Date and Congressional Notification
27. These regulations are effective May 31, 2013. The Commission
has determined, with the concurrence of the Administrator of the Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, that this rule is not a
``major rule'' as defined in section 351 of the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.
List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 154
Natural gas, Pipelines, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
By the Commission.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission amends Part 154,
Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows:
PART 154-RATE SCHEDULES AND TARIFFS
0
1. The authority citation for part 154 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717-717w; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7102-
7352.
0
2. In Sec. 154.402, revise paragraphs (a) and (b) to read as follows:
Sec. 154.402 ACA expenditures.
(a) Requirements. Upon approval by the Commission, a natural gas
pipeline company may adjust its rates, annually, to recover from its
customers annual charges assessed by the Commission under part 382 of
this chapter pursuant to an annual charge adjustment clause (ACA
clause). Prior to the start of each fiscal year, the Commission will
post on
[[Page 19413]]
its Web site the amount of annual charges to be flowed through per unit
of energy sold or transported (ACA unit charge) for that fiscal year. A
company's ACA clause must be filed with the Commission and must
incorporate by reference the ACA unit charge for the upcoming fiscal
year as posted on the Commission's Web site. A company must incorporate
by reference the ACA unit charge posted on the Commission's Web site in
each of its rate schedules applicable to sales or transportation
deliveries. The company must apply the ACA unit charge posted on the
Commission's Web site to the usage component of rate schedules with
two-part rates. A company may recover annual charges through an ACA
unit charge only if its rates do not otherwise reflect the costs of
annual charges assessed by the Commission under Sec. 382.106(a) of
this chapter. The applicable annual charge, required by Sec. 382.103
of this chapter, must be paid before the company applies the ACA unit
charge. Upon payment to the Commission of its annual charges, the ACA
unit charge for that fiscal year will be incorporated by reference into
the company's tariff, effective throughout that fiscal year.
(b) Application for rate treatment authorization. A company seeking
authorization to use an ACA unit charge must file with the Commission a
separate ACA tariff record containing:
(1) A statement that the company is collecting an ACA unit charge,
as calculated by the Commission, applicable to all the pipeline's sales
and transportation rate schedules,
(2) A statement that the ACA unit charge, as revised annually and
posted on the Commission's Web site, is incorporated by reference into
the company's tariff,
(3) For companies with existing ACA clauses, a proposed effective
date of the tariff change of October 1 of the fiscal year; for
companies seeking to utilize an ACA clause after October 1 of the
fiscal year, a proposed effective date 30 days after the filing of the
tariff record, unless a shorter period is specifically requested in a
waiver petition and approved), and
(4) A statement that the pipeline will not recover any annual
charges recorded in FERC Account 928 in a proceeding under subpart D of
this part.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2013-07078 Filed 3-29-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
