Pipeline Safety: Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility User Fee, 58045-58046 [2017-26485]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 235 / Friday, December 8, 2017 / Notices Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and printing in the Commission’s Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All comments received will be posted without change. Persons submitting comments are cautioned that we do not redact or edit personal identifying information from comment submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR–BX–2017–052 and should be submitted on or before December 29, 2017. For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.17 Eduardo A. Aleman, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. 2017–26448 Filed 12–7–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD [Docket No. AB 6 (Sub-No. 497X)] sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES BNSF Railway Company— Abandonment Exemption—in Benton County, Minn. BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F– Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 1.75-mile line of railroad located between milepost 0.0 and milepost 1.75 in Benton County, Minn. (the Line).1 The Line traverses United States Postal Zip Code 56379. BNSF has certified that: (1) No local or overhead freight rail traffic has traveled over the Line since July 2015; (2) no formal complaint filed by a user of a rail service on the Line (or by a state or local government entity acting on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the Line is either 17 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). originally filed, the verified notice indicated that the Line is in Stearns County, Minn. On December 4, 2017, BNSF filed a correction (including an updated map) indicating that the Line is located in Benton County, Minn., a short distance north and east of Stearns County. According to BNSF, its notice is correct in all other respects. 1 As VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:38 Dec 07, 2017 Jkt 244001 pending with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or with any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of a complainant within the two-year period; and (3) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been met.2 As a condition to this exemption, any employee adversely affected by the abandonment shall be protected under Oregon Short Line Railroad— Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & Ammon, in Bingham & Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979). To address whether this condition adequately protects affected employees, a petition for partial revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) must be filed. Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be effective on January 9, 2018, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,3 formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),4 and interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by December 18, 2017. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by December 28, 2017, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423–0001.5 A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to Karl Morell, Karl Morell & Associates, 440 1st Street NW., Suite 440, Washington, DC 20001. If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio. 2 BNSF’s December 4 correction indicates that the St. Cloud Times, where notice of the proposed abandonment was published, is a newspaper of general circulation in Benton County. BNSF also states that it will serve a copy of the Environmental Report on the Administrator for Benton County, Minn. 3 The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) in its independent investigation) cannot be made before the exemption’s effective date. See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any request for a stay should be filed as soon as possible so that the Board may take appropriate action before the exemption’s effective date. 4 Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is currently set at $1,800. See Regulations Governing Fees for Servs. Performed in Connection with Licensing & Related Servs.—2017 Update, EP 542 (Sub-No. 25), slip op. App. C at 20 (STB served July 28, 2017). 5 BNSF states that the Line may be suitable for other public purposes and that there are 18.60 acres on the Line of which 0.02 acres are reversionary. PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 58045 BNSF has filed a combined environmental and historic report that addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by December 15, 2017. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to OEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423–0001) or by calling OEA at (202) 245–0305. Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay Service at (800) 877–8339. Comments on environmental and historic preservation matters must be filed within 15 days after the EA becomes available to the public. Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or trail use/rail banking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent decision. Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), BNSF shall file a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the Line. If consummation has not been effected by BNSF’s filing of a notice of consummation by December 7, 2018, and there are no legal or regulatory barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically expire. Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at WWW.STB.GOV. Decided: December 5, 2017. By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of Proceedings. Jeffrey Herzig, Clearance Clerk. [FR Doc. 2017–26515 Filed 12–7–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4915–01–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket No. PHMSA–2017–0129] Pipeline Safety: Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility User Fee Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Notice of agency action and request for comment. AGENCY: On August 16, 2017, the Office of Management and Budget approved the collection of calendar year (CY) 2017 Underground Natural Gas Storage (UNGS) Facility Annual Reports. This notice includes a PHMSA SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\08DEN1.SGM 08DEN1 58046 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 235 / Friday, December 8, 2017 / Notices proposal to use CY 2017 annual report data in the user fee rate structure for both fiscal year (FY) 2018 and 2019. DATES: PHMSA invites interested persons to comment on the underground natural gas storage facility data collection described in this notice by January 8, 2018. ADDRESSES: Comments should reference Docket No. PHMSA–2017–0129. Comments may be submitted in the following ways: • E-Gov Web site: https:// www.regulations.gov. This site allows the public to enter comments on any Federal Register notice issued by any agency. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. • Fax: 1–202–493–2251. • Mail: Docket Management System, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12–140, Washington, DC 20590. Hand Delivery: DOT Docket Management System, Room W12–140, on the ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. Instructions: Identify the docket number PHMSA–2017–0129 at the beginning of your comments. If you submit your comments by mail, submit two copies. If you wish to receive confirmation that PHMSA has received your comments, include a selfaddressed stamped postcard. Internet users may submit comments at https:// www.regulations.gov. sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Note: Comments will be posted without changes or edits to https:// www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act Statement below for additional information. Privacy Act Statement Anyone may search the electronic form of all comments received for any of our dockets. You may review the DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19476), or visit https:// dms.dot.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Crystal Stewart by telephone at 202– 366–1524, by fax at 202–366–4566, by email at Crystal.Stewart@dot.gov, or by mail at U.S. Department of Transportation, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., PHP–2, Washington, DC 20590–0001. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA) VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:38 Dec 07, 2017 Jkt 244001 (Pub. L. 99–272, sec. 7005), codified at 49 U.S.C. 60301, authorizes the assessment and collection of user fees to fund the pipeline safety activities conducted under Chapter 601 of Title 49. COBRA requires that the Secretary of Transportation establish a schedule of fees for pipeline usage, bearing a reasonable relationship to miles of pipeline, volume-miles, revenues, or an appropriate combination thereof. In particular, the Secretary must take into account the allocation of departmental resources in establishing the schedule.1 In accordance with COBRA, PHMSA also assesses user fees on operators of liquefied natural gas facilities as defined in 49 CFR part 193 and UNGS facilities as defined in 49 CFR part 192. On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114–183) (PIPES Act of 2016). Section 12 of the PIPES Act of 2016 mandates PHMSA to issue regulations for underground natural gas storage facilities, impose user fees on operators of these facilities, and prescribe procedures to collect those fees. Section 2 of the PIPES Act of 2016 authorizes $8 million per year to be appropriated from those fees for each of FYs 2017 through 2019 for the newly established UNGS Facility Safety Account in the Pipeline Safety Fund. PHMSA is prohibited from collecting a user fee unless the expenditure of such fee is provided in advance in an appropriations act. If Congress appropriates funds to this account for FY 2018 and 2019, PHMSA will collect these fees from the operators of the facilities. For FY 2017 UNGS facility user fee billing, PHMSA used Energy Information Agency data to develop the UNGS facility user fee rate structure. On August 16, 2017, the Office of Management and Budget approved the collection of CY 2017 UNGS Annual Reports. The CY 2017 Annual Reports are due March 15, 2018. (82 FR 45946; Oct. 2, 2017.) PHMSA expects to start accepting UNGS Annual Reports in the PHMSA Portal (https:// portal.phmsa.dot.gov/portal) no later than February 15, 2018. During the FY 2018 user fee process, PHMSA will use CY 2016 annual report data for gas transmission pipelines, hazardous liquid pipelines, and liquefied natural gas facilities. Using CY 2016 data ensures adequate time to verify annual report data quality and still be able to send user fee assessments promptly after appropriation. If Congress appropriates UNGS funds for FY 2018 and 2019, PHMSA will use the CY 2017 UNGS annual report data to develop the UNGS user fee rate structure for both FY 2018 and 2019. Specifically, PHMSA will use the number of injection/withdraw wells (section C7 of the UNGS annual report) and monitoring/observation wells (section C8 of the UNGS annual report) in the rate structure. PHMSA proposes the following steps for developing the user fee rate structure. PHMSA will sum the number of wells from sections C7 and C8 of the UNGS annual report for each operator. The operator well counts will be parsed into 10 tiers. The lowest values will be in tier 1 and the highest values in tier 10. The minimum and maximum well counts for each tier will be selected to place an equal number of operators in each tier. The tier fee structure is designed to place a larger share of the user fee on operators with higher well counts. The following percentages of the total user fee would be billed to each tier: Tier 1 ............................................ 2 ............................................ 3 ............................................ 4 ............................................ 5 ............................................ 6 ............................................ 7 ............................................ 8 ............................................ 9 ............................................ 10 .......................................... Frm 00100 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 9990 2 4 5 6 8 10 12 13 15 25 PHMSA will not know the total amount of user fees until Congress completes appropriation for FY 2018. Since PHMSA does not currently have data on the number of wells in UNGS facilities, we can provide neither tier boundaries nor fee per tier. Issued in Washington, DC, on December 1, 2017, under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.97. Alan K. Mayberry, Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety. [FR Doc. 2017–26485 Filed 12–7–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 1 Pipeline user fee assessments under COBRA were upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Skinner v. Mid-America Pipeline Co., 490 U.S. 212 (1989). PO 00000 Percentage of total E:\FR\FM\08DEN1.SGM 08DEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 235 (Friday, December 8, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58045-58046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26485]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2017-0129]


Pipeline Safety: Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility User 
Fee

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of agency action and request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On August 16, 2017, the Office of Management and Budget 
approved the collection of calendar year (CY) 2017 Underground Natural 
Gas Storage (UNGS) Facility Annual Reports. This notice includes a 
PHMSA

[[Page 58046]]

proposal to use CY 2017 annual report data in the user fee rate 
structure for both fiscal year (FY) 2018 and 2019.

DATES: PHMSA invites interested persons to comment on the underground 
natural gas storage facility data collection described in this notice 
by January 8, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Comments should reference Docket No. PHMSA-2017-0129. 
Comments may be submitted in the following ways:
     E-Gov Web site: https://www.regulations.gov. This site 
allows the public to enter comments on any Federal Register notice 
issued by any agency. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management System, U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590.
    Hand Delivery: DOT Docket Management System, Room W12-140, on the 
ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 
except federal holidays.
    Instructions: Identify the docket number PHMSA-2017-0129 at the 
beginning of your comments. If you submit your comments by mail, submit 
two copies. If you wish to receive confirmation that PHMSA has received 
your comments, include a self-addressed stamped postcard. Internet 
users may submit comments at https://www.regulations.gov.

    Note: Comments will be posted without changes or edits to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. 
Please see the Privacy Act Statement below for additional 
information.

Privacy Act Statement

    Anyone may search the electronic form of all comments received for 
any of our dockets. You may review the DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement in the Federal Register published April 11, 2000 (65 FR 
19476), or visit https://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Crystal Stewart by telephone at 202-
366-1524, by fax at 202-366-4566, by email at [email protected], 
or by mail at U.S. Department of Transportation, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE., PHP-2, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA) 
(Pub. L. 99-272, sec. 7005), codified at 49 U.S.C. 60301, authorizes 
the assessment and collection of user fees to fund the pipeline safety 
activities conducted under Chapter 601 of Title 49. COBRA requires that 
the Secretary of Transportation establish a schedule of fees for 
pipeline usage, bearing a reasonable relationship to miles of pipeline, 
volume-miles, revenues, or an appropriate combination thereof. In 
particular, the Secretary must take into account the allocation of 
departmental resources in establishing the schedule.\1\ In accordance 
with COBRA, PHMSA also assesses user fees on operators of liquefied 
natural gas facilities as defined in 49 CFR part 193 and UNGS 
facilities as defined in 49 CFR part 192.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Pipeline user fee assessments under COBRA were upheld by the 
U.S. Supreme Court in Skinner v. Mid-America Pipeline Co., 490 U.S. 
212 (1989).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Protecting 
our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 (Pub. 
L. 114-183) (PIPES Act of 2016). Section 12 of the PIPES Act of 2016 
mandates PHMSA to issue regulations for underground natural gas storage 
facilities, impose user fees on operators of these facilities, and 
prescribe procedures to collect those fees. Section 2 of the PIPES Act 
of 2016 authorizes $8 million per year to be appropriated from those 
fees for each of FYs 2017 through 2019 for the newly established UNGS 
Facility Safety Account in the Pipeline Safety Fund. PHMSA is 
prohibited from collecting a user fee unless the expenditure of such 
fee is provided in advance in an appropriations act. If Congress 
appropriates funds to this account for FY 2018 and 2019, PHMSA will 
collect these fees from the operators of the facilities.
    For FY 2017 UNGS facility user fee billing, PHMSA used Energy 
Information Agency data to develop the UNGS facility user fee rate 
structure. On August 16, 2017, the Office of Management and Budget 
approved the collection of CY 2017 UNGS Annual Reports. The CY 2017 
Annual Reports are due March 15, 2018. (82 FR 45946; Oct. 2, 2017.) 
PHMSA expects to start accepting UNGS Annual Reports in the PHMSA 
Portal (https://portal.phmsa.dot.gov/portal) no later than February 15, 
2018.
    During the FY 2018 user fee process, PHMSA will use CY 2016 annual 
report data for gas transmission pipelines, hazardous liquid pipelines, 
and liquefied natural gas facilities. Using CY 2016 data ensures 
adequate time to verify annual report data quality and still be able to 
send user fee assessments promptly after appropriation. If Congress 
appropriates UNGS funds for FY 2018 and 2019, PHMSA will use the CY 
2017 UNGS annual report data to develop the UNGS user fee rate 
structure for both FY 2018 and 2019. Specifically, PHMSA will use the 
number of injection/withdraw wells (section C7 of the UNGS annual 
report) and monitoring/observation wells (section C8 of the UNGS annual 
report) in the rate structure.
    PHMSA proposes the following steps for developing the user fee rate 
structure. PHMSA will sum the number of wells from sections C7 and C8 
of the UNGS annual report for each operator. The operator well counts 
will be parsed into 10 tiers. The lowest values will be in tier 1 and 
the highest values in tier 10. The minimum and maximum well counts for 
each tier will be selected to place an equal number of operators in 
each tier. The tier fee structure is designed to place a larger share 
of the user fee on operators with higher well counts. The following 
percentages of the total user fee would be billed to each tier:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Percentage of
                          Tier                                 total
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................................               2
2.......................................................               4
3.......................................................               5
4.......................................................               6
5.......................................................               8
6.......................................................              10
7.......................................................              12
8.......................................................              13
9.......................................................              15
10......................................................              25
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    PHMSA will not know the total amount of user fees until Congress 
completes appropriation for FY 2018. Since PHMSA does not currently 
have data on the number of wells in UNGS facilities, we can provide 
neither tier boundaries nor fee per tier.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 1, 2017, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2017-26485 Filed 12-7-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P

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