[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 241 (Friday, December 16, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-30923]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 16, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. CP94-577-001, et al.]

 

Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, et al.; Natural Gas 
Certificate Filings

December 8, 1994.
    Take notice that the following filings have been made with the 
Commission:

1. Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America

[Docket No. CP94-577-001]

    Take notice that on November 30, 1994, Natural Gas Pipeline Company 
of America (Applicant), 701 East 22nd Street, Lombard, Illinois, 60148, 
filed an amendment to its application in Docket No. CP94-577-000 
pursuant to Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act, and Subpart A of part 
157 of the Commission's Regulations. The Applicant is amending its 
original Application to eliminate certain abandonment and construction 
activity.
    Applicant now requests authority to abandon the following:
    (1) one 12,000 HP engine at intermediate Compressor Station 196 in 
Otoe County, Nebraska;
    (2) one 12,000 HP engine at intermediate Compressor Station 198 in 
Marion County, Iowa.
    Applicant also seeks authority to construct and operate the 
following:
    (1) 3.16 miles of 36-inch loop in Edwards county, Kansas;
    (2) 10.64 miles of 36-inch pipeline loop in Jefferson County, 
Nebraska;
    (3) one 5,500 HP compressor at Compressor Station 102 in Beaver, 
County, Oklahoma;
    (4) one 14,500 HP compressor (by retrofitting an existing 12,000 HP 
engine to 14,500 HP) at Compressor Station 196;
    (5) one 14,500 HP compressor (by means of retrofitting an existing 
12,000 HP engine to 14,500 HP at Compressor Station 198.
    The total cost of this construction is Sec. 32,757,000.
    Comment date: December 29, 1994, in accordance with Standard 
Paragraph F at the end of this notice.

2. Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America

[Docket No. CP95-107-000]

    Take notice that on December 1, 1994, Natural Gas Pipeline Company 
of America (Natural), 701 East 22nd Street, Lombard, Illinois 60148, 
filed, in Docket No. CP95-107-000, an application pursuant to Section 
7(b) of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission's 
Regulations for permission and approval to abandon, effective February 
28, 1995, a total maximum daily withdrawal quantity of 31,817 Mcf of 
firm storage services for its eleven remaining customers under Rate 
Schedule MS-1, and for authority to terminate and cancel Rate Schedule 
MS-1, all as more fully set forth in the application which is on file 
with the Commission and open to public inspection.
    Natural states that the Rate Schedule MS-1 storage service 
agreements between Natural and its customers dated March 17, 1975, were 
authorized in Docket No. CP75-274-000. Natural asserts that in May and 
August, 1993, it surveyed its remaining eleven storage customers under 
Rate Schedule MS-1, and each one elected to cancel its storage service 
under that schedule as of February 28, 1995. Natural notes the eleven 
customers are as follows: Associated Natural Gas Company--50 Mcf/d; 
Illinois Power Company--2,000 Mcf/d; Iowa Electric Light and Power 
Company--1,476 Mcf/d; Iowa Southern Utilities Company--265 Mcf/d; 
Midwest Gas--505 Mcf/d; City of Nashville, Illinois--41 Mcf/d; North 
Shore Gas Company--3,412 Mcf/d; The Peoples Gas Light and Coke 
Company--23,849 Mcf/d; Peoples Natural Gas Company (Utilicorp, United 
Inc.)--94 Mcf/d; The City of Spearville, Kansas--9 Mcf/d; and United 
Cities Gas Company--116 Mcf/d. Natural relates that the total amount to 
be abandoned for these customers is 31,817 Mcf/d.
    Natural states that it does not propose to abandon any facilities 
pursuant to this application. Natural requests an effective date of 
February 28, 1995, which would coincide with the proposed termination 
date of ANR Pipeline Company's (ANR) related transportation and storage 
agreement with Natural under ANR's Rate Schedule X-60, upon which 
Natural's Rate Schedule MS-1 depends. Natural says that with the 
abandonment of the 31,817 Mcf/d, it will no longer have any services 
under Rate Schedule MS-1, and therefore, it additionally seeks 
authorization to terminate and cancel its Rate Schedule MS-1, effective 
February 28, 1995.
    Comment date: December 29, 1994, in accordance with Standard 
Paragraph F at the end of this notice.

3. Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America

[Docket No. CP95-110-000]

    Take notice that on December 2, 1994, Natural Gas Pipeline Company 
of America (Natural), 701 East 22nd Street, Lombard, Illinois 60148, 
filed, in Docket No. CP95-110-000, an application pursuant to Section 
7(b) of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission's 
Regulations for permission and approval to abandon, effective February 
28, 1995, a total maximum daily withdrawal quantity of 124,648 Mcf of 
firm storage services for its ten remaining customers under Rate 
Schedule MS-2, and for authority to terminate and cancel Rate Schedule 
MS-2, all as more fully set forth in the application which is on file 
with the Commission and open to public inspection.
    Natural states that the Rate Schedule MS-2 storage service 
agreements between Natural and its customers were authorized in Docket 
Nos. CP70-119-000, CP72-33-000, and CP72-43-000. Natural asserts that 
in May and August, 1993, it surveyed its remaining ten storage 
customers under Rate Schedule MS-2, and each one elected to cancel its 
storage service under that schedule as of February 28, 1995. Natural 
notes the ten customers are as follows: Associated Natural Gas 
Company--197 Mcf/d; Interstate Power Company--2,776 Mcf/d; Iowa-
Illinois Gas and Electric Company--3,848 Mcf/d; Midwest Gas--449 Mcf/d; 
The City of Nebraska City, Nebraska--110 Mcf/d; North Shore Gas 
Company--6,657 Mcf/d; Northern Illinois Gas Company--33,876 Mcf/d; 
Northern Indiana Public Service Company--29,391 Mcf/d; The Peoples Gas 
Light and Coke Company--46,053 Mcf/d; and Wisconsin Southern Gas 
Company, Inc. (Wisconsin Natural Gas Company)--1,291 Mcf/d. Natural 
relates that the total amount to be abandoned for these customers is 
124,648 Mcf/d.
    Natural states that it does not propose to abandon any facilities 
pursuant to this application. Natural requests an effective date of 
February 28, 1995, which would coincide with the proposed termination 
date of ANR Pipeline Company's (ANR) related transportation and storage 
agreement with Natural under ANR's Rate Schedule X-14, upon which 
Natural's Rate Schedule MS-2 storage service depends. Natural says that 
with the abandonment of the 124,648 Mcf/d, it will no longer have any 
services under Rate Schedule MS-2, and therefore, it additionally seeks 
authorization to terminate and cancel its Rate Schedule MS-2, effective 
February 28, 1995.
    Comment date: December 29, 1994, in accordance with Standard 
Paragraph F at the end of this notice.

4. Transwestern Gathering Company

[Docket No. CP95-112-000]

    Take notice that on December 5, 1994, Transwestern Gathering 
Company (TGC), P.O. Box 1188, Houston, Texas 77251-1188, filed in 
Docket No. CP95-112-000 a petition under Rule 207 of the Commission's 
Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.207) for an order declaring 
that upon the completion of the acquisition by TGC of certain gathering 
and processing facilities from Transwestern Pipeline Company 
(Transwestern), such facilities will be exempt from the Commission's 
jurisdiction.1
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    \1\On November 14, 1994, Transwestern filed an application in 
Docket No. CP95-70-000 for the abandonment of the facilities that 
are the subject of this petition. Given the commonality of the facts 
and issues and the interrelationship of Transwestern's application 
and this petition, TGC requests that the application and petition be 
consolidated.
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    TGC states that the gathering facilities are located in Clark 
County, Kansas; Beaver, Comanche, Custer, Ellis, Harper, Roger Mills 
and Woodward Counties, Oklahoma; Cimmaron, Crane, Gray, Hansford, 
Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Loving, Ochiltree, Pecos, Reeves, 
Roberts, Sherman, Ward and Winkler Counties, Texas, and Eddy, Lea, 
Roosevelt, and Chaves Counties, New Mexico. TGC states that the 
facilities to be transferred are contained in 51 Transwestern systems 
and are described in detail in Exhibit T of Transwestern's application, 
which exhibit is incorporated herein by reference.
    TGC states that it will offer gathering, dehydrating and 
compression services to producers and shippers seeking such services 
and will provide such services on a basis that is not unduly 
discriminatory. In addition, TGC contends that it will be enabled to 
compete with the numerous other non-jurisdictional gatherers and 
processors of gas in the States of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New 
Mexico upon granting of the petition.
    It is stated that the gathering facilities TGC will acquire perform 
services in the production area prior to transportation in interstate 
commerce. TGC contends that these facilities and services are within 
the production and gathering exemption of the Natural Gas Act (NGA). As 
a result, they should be declared wholly exempt from the Commission's 
NGA jurisdiction.
    TGC states that the Commission has already disclaimed jurisdiction 
over gathering facilities which have been spun down to interstate 
pipeline companies' non-regulated affiliates in several cases.2 
TGC seeks a disclaimer of jurisdiction as to the gathering facilities 
from the Commission similar to that in Mid-Louisiana and Arkla 
Gathering Services.
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    \2\TGC cites Mid-Louisiana Gas Company and Fairbanks Gathering 
Company, 67 FERC  61,225 (1994); Arkla Gathering Services Company, 
67 FERC  61,257 (1994), CNG Transmission Corporation, 67 FERC  
61,330 (1994) and KN Energy, Inc. and KN Interstate Gas Transmission 
Company, 65 FERC  61,168 (1994), where the Commission concluded 
that systems which qualify as gathering systems under the primary 
function test will be exempt from Commission jurisdiction after they 
are transferred to an interstate pipeline affiliate.
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    According to TGC, the Commission, in determining whether facilities 
are exempt production and gathering facilities, has relied upon the 
primary function test described in Farmland Industries, Inc., 23 FERC  
61,063 (1983) and Amerada Hess Corporation, et al., 52 FERC  61,268 
(1990) and 67 FERC  61,254 (1994). Under the primary function test, 
TGC states that the Commission considers the length and diameter of a 
facility, the extension of the facility beyond the central point in the 
field, the geographical configuration of the facility, the location of 
processing plants and compressors, the location of wells along all or 
part of the facility and the operating pressure of the facility.
    TGC argues that the Commission has also indicated that the criteria 
in Farmland are not exclusive, and that other criteria, including the 
purpose, location and operation of the facility, the general business 
activity of the owner and whether the jurisdictional determination is 
consistent with the objectives of the NGA or Natural Gas Policy Act of 
1978 (NGPA), may well be considered.3 Additionally, TGC contends 
that the Commission, in reaching its determination on the primary 
function of the facilities, has indicated that it will weigh all the 
relevant factors and a determination of gathering does not require a 
finding that all the criteria point in the same direction.4
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    \3\See Amerada Hess Corporation, 52 FERC  61,268 at 61,987, 
n.6.
    \4\Amerada Hess Corporation, 52 FERC  61,268 at 61,991.
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    TGC submits that, in general, there is an overall total of 
approximately 1,795.13 miles of pipeline segments which will be 
transferred to TGC with diameters ranging from 2 to 20 inches. It is 
stated that approximately 3.97 miles (0.002 percent) are 2 inches in 
diameter; 1.12 miles (0.001 percent) are 3 inches in diameter; 765.81 
(43 percent) are 4 inches in diameter; 413 miles (23 percent) are 6 
inches in diameter; 217 miles (12 percent) are 8 inches in diameter; 
245 miles (14 percent) are 10 inches in diameter; 61 miles (3 percent) 
are 12 inches in diameter; 71 miles (4 percent) are 16 inches in 
diameter; and 17 miles (one percent) are 20 inches in diameter. TGC 
states that the lengths and diameters of the facilities are consistent 
with a gathering determination.
    According to TGC, the central point in the field test, in general, 
is not applicable to the facilities involved here. This is because, as 
a rule, the facilities exhibit characteristics which exempt them from 
the application of the test. However, even if the test were applied to 
the facilities, the central point would be the points where all gas 
collected along the facilities is delivered for transmission into one 
of Transwestern's transmission lines. TGC states that since the 
gathering facilities are all upstream of the central points on each of 
Transwestern's systems, application of the central point in the field 
test would support a finding that the primary function of the 
facilities is gathering.
    TGC states that the Commission has indicated that gathering systems 
commonly fall into three types of configurations: (1) web-like; (2) 
short and small in diameter; and (3) backbone or spine-like. It is 
stated that the short, small diameter lines connect wells or fields 
directly to mainline transmission or other ``backbone'' gathering 
systems, and that the backbone structures are generally longer and 
larger in diameter with numerous feeder lines interconnected along 
their length. TGC contends that the facilities to be transferred by 
Transwestern all exhibit configurations which are typical of gathering 
systems.
    TGC submits that there are a total of 80 compressor units with a 
total of 60,696 horsepower (hp) located on the facilities. It is stated 
that 26 percent of the units have less than 300 hp; 14 percent have 
between 300 and 700 hp; 20 percent have between 700 and 999 hp; 30 
percent have between 1,000 and 1,199 hp and 10 percent have more than 
1,200 hp. TGC states that all of the compressor units being transferred 
by Transwestern are incidental to the gathering function because they 
are either compressors used to boost low pressure gas to pressures 
which enable the gas to be moved to the next compressor station or used 
to boost gas to pressures which enable the gas to enter one of 
Transwestern's transmission lines. Thus, TGC concludes that the primary 
function of compression on the facilities is consistent with a finding 
of gathering.
    According to TGC, a total of eight treater plants, which treat gas 
prior to its transmission to ensure that the gas is pipeline quality, 
will be transferred by Transwestern. As such, TGC argues that the 
primary function of the plants is entirely consistent with a finding 
that the facilities are gathering.
    TGC contends that there are approximately 2,979 wells located along 
the length of the facilities to be transferred by Transwestern. Of the 
42 systems containing facilities to be transferred, TGC states that 3 
have 200 or more wells connected to them; 6 have between 100 and 199 
wells connected to them; 10 have between 50 and 99 wells; 13 have 
between 16 and 49 wells and 10 have fewer than 16 wells. It is stated 
that all the lines leading to the wells have very small diameters, 
usually consisting of 4-inch diameter pipe. TGC submits that 
application of this criterion supports the conclusion that the 
facilities in question perform a gathering function.
    TGC states that the operating pressures of the lines range from 25 
psig to 950 psig. It is stated that, where the operating pressures tend 
toward the higher range, such pressures are necessary to enable the gas 
to enter Transwestern's transmission system. TGC states that the 
operating pressures of the segments being transferred by Transwestern 
are consistent with the operating pressures of other systems which the 
Commission has found to be gathering.
    Once the facilities are transferred by Transwestern, TGC submits 
that they will be owned and operated by an entity engaged in the 
gathering of natural gas as a business. TGC states that it will be 
competing with other similar entities in the Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas 
and New Mexico production areas.
    While each of the Farmland criteria need not be met for each of the 
facilities to be found gathering, TGC argues that it has demonstrated 
that, on the whole, the primary function test has been met with regard 
to the facilities to be transferred by Transwestern. As a result, TGC 
submits that the Commission should disclaim jurisdiction over the 
facilities and find that they perform a gathering function under 
Section 1(b) of the NGA.
    Comment date: December 29, 1995, in accordance with thie first 
paragraph of Standard Paragraph F at the end of this notice.

Standard Paragraphs

    F. Any person desiring to be heard or to make any protest with 
reference to said application should on or before the comment date, 
file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 
20426, a motion to intervene or a protest in accordance with the 
requirements of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 
CFR 385.214 or 385.211) and the Regulations under the Natural Gas Act 
(18 CFR 157.10). All protests filed with the Commission will be 
considered by it in determining the appropriate action to be taken but 
will not serve to make the protestants parties to the proceeding. Any 
person wishing to become a party to a proceeding or to participate as a 
party in any hearing therein must file a motion to intervene in 
accordance with the Commission's Rules.
    Take further notice that, pursuant to the authority contained in 
and subject to the jurisdiction conferred upon the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission by Sections 7 and 15 of the Natural Gas Act and 
the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, a hearing will be 
held without further notice before the Commission or its designee on 
this application if no motion to intervene is filed within the time 
required herein, if the Commission on its own review of the matter 
finds that a grant of the certificate and/or permission and approval 
for the proposed abandonment are required by the public convenience and 
necessity. If a motion for leave to intervene is timely filed, or if 
the Commission on its own motion believes that a formal hearing is 
required, further notice of such hearing will be duly given.
    Under the procedure herein provided for, unless otherwise advised, 
it will be unnecessary for applicant to appear or be represented at the 
hearing.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-30923 Filed 12-15-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P