[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 53 (Monday, March 20, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14747-14750]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-6745]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. CP95-217-000, et al.]


Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation, et al.; Natural Gas 
Certificate Filings

March 10, 1995.
    Take notice that the following filings have been made with the 
Commission: [[Page 14748]] 

1. Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation

[Docket No. CP95-217-000]

    Take notice that on February 22, 1995, Columbia Gas Transmission 
Corporation (Columbia), 1700 MacCorkle Avenue, SE., Charleston, West 
Virginia 25314, filed in Docket No. CP95-217-000 an application 
pursuant to Sections 7(b) and 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act for 
permission and approval to abandon a portion of a pipeline located in 
Gilmer, Lewis and Doddridge Counties, West Virginia, and to construct 
and operate replacement facilities, all as more fully set forth in the 
application on file with the Commission and open to public inspection.
    Columbia proposes to replace a deteriorating portion of Line 1740, 
totaling approximately 17.2 miles of 16-, and 20-inch pipeline, with 
five sections of 20-inch pipeline totaling approximately 17.5 miles. 
Columbia states that the involved portion of Line 1740 (6.45 miles of 
16-inch and 10.75 miles of 20-inch pipeline) was constructed in 
1947,1 and should be replaced to enable Columbia to continue to 
maintain safe and reliable service to its existing customers at current 
levels. Columbia describes the pipe to be abandoned as beginning in 
Gilmer County at the Barbarow Valve Setting, just south of County Route 
2/2, and proceeding northeast and terminating in Doddridge County near 
Long Run just south of County Route 38/4.

    \1\See 6 FPC 627 (1947).
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    Columbia explains that, to the extent that 16-inch pipe is being 
replaced by 20-inch pipe, the 20-inch pipe is being utilized to provide 
a continuous pipe size for efficient maintenance. Columbia further 
explains that a singularly sized line would minimize the number of pig 
launchers and receivers necessary to pig the line. Columbia estimates 
that its proposal would permit it to avoid incurring an expense of 
approximately $250,000 to install pig launchers and receivers to 
accommodate the pigging of different diameter pipelines as opposed to a 
continuous 20-inch pipeline. The estimated cost of the proposed 
construction is $16,700,000.
    Columbia states that the proposal would result in an increase in 
pipeline capacity of approximately 28,200 Dekatherms per day at the 
suction side of the Smithfield Compressor Station which would diminish 
to zero with distance from that point due to other system constraints. 
Columbia does not request authorization for any new or additional 
service and states that any additional capacity made available by the 
replacement pipe would be posted in accordance with applicable tariffs.
    Comment date: March 31, 1995, in accordance with Standard Paragraph 
F at the end of this notice.

2. Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company

[Docket No. CP95-235-000]

    Take notice that on March 2, 1995, Williston Basin Interstate 
Pipeline Company (Williston), 200 North Third Street, Suite 300, 
Bismarck, North Dakota 58501 filed an application pursuant to Section 
7(b) of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission's 
Regulations requesting permission and approval to abandon certain 
facilities (and related services) located on its pipeline system in 
Custer, Powder River, Stillwater and Carbon Counties, Montana; Burke 
and Divide Counties, North Dakota; Harding County, South Dakota; and 
Park, Hot Springs and Big Horn Counties, Wyoming, all as a result of 
the sale of property to Interenergy Corporation (Interenergy), all as 
more fully set forth in the application on file with the Commission and 
open to public inspection.
    Williston seeks authorization to abandon by sale to Interenergy 
gathering facilities, certain facilities functionalized as 
transmission, and related land rights and services, associated with its 
existing operations. Williston states that Interenergy is currently 
conducting negotiations for replacement service agreements with 
Williston's existing gathering customers. Williston states that the 
total allocated net book value of the gathering facilities to be sold 
is $5,100,924; and, the total net book value of the transmission 
facilities to be sold is $626,550, as of January 1, 1995. Williston has 
indicated that Interenergy has filed concurrently a petition that the 
Commission declare the subject facilities exempt from jurisdiction 
pursuant to Section 1(b) of the Natural Gas Act.
    Comment date: March 31, 1995, in accordance with Standard Paragraph 
F at the end of this notice.

3. Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company

[Docket No. CP95-236-000]

    Take notice that on March 2, 1995, Williston Basin Interstate 
Pipeline Company (Williston), 200 North Third Street, Suite 300, 
Bismarck, North Dakota 58501 filed an application for a certificate of 
public convenience and necessity pursuant to Section 7(c) of the 
Natural Gas Act. The application requests authority to transfer from 
the gathering function to the transmission function the Frannie-Deaver 
meter station; a portion of the Elk Basin to South Elk Basin gathering 
line; the Hiland Plant meter station; and, the Perry Gas meter station, 
all as more fully set forth in the application which is on file with 
the Commission and open to public inspection.
    Williston states that the above-referenced facilities were either 
purchased or constructed by Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., now MDU 
Resources Group, Inc., the parent of Centennial Energy Holdings, Inc., 
Williston's parent. Williston states that as a result of an extensive 
review and examination of its plant accounting records for gathering 
facilities and/or to rationalize the facilities which are to remain 
with Williston after receipt of the necessary abandonment authority 
sought for certain facilities and services in a companion 
application,2 Williston has determined that certain facilities 
classified as gathering should be classified as transmission.

    \2\Filed March 2, 1995, in Docket No. CP95-235-000.
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    Comment date: March 31, 1995, in accordance with Standard Paragraph 
F at the end of this notice.

4. Interenergy Corporation

[Docket No. CP95-239-000]

    Take notice that on March 2, 1995, Interenergy Corporation 
(Interenergy) 1700 Broadway, Suite 1150, Denver, Colorado 80202 filed a 
petition for declaratory order requesting that the Commission declare 
that facilities to be acquired from Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline 
Company (Williston) are gathering facilities exempt from Commission 
jurisdiction under Section 1(b) of the Natural Gas Act, all as more 
fully set forth in the application which is on file with the Commission 
and open to public inspection.
    Interenergy states it is engaged in the gathering and marketing of 
natural gas. Interenergy states that it has agreed to purchase3 
from Williston certain facilities located on Williston's pipeline 
system in Custer, Powder River, Stillwater and Carbon Counties, 
Montana; Burke and Divide Counties, North Dakota; Harding County, South 
Dakota; and Park, Hot Springs and Big Horn Counties, Wyoming. Subject 
to the Commission's grant of Interenergy's Petition, Interenergy 
intends to operate the facilities to points of interconnection with 
Williston for transportation to markets. It is also indicated that 
Williston has sought [[Page 14749]] authorization to abandon these 
facilities.4

    \3\Purchase and sales agreement dated January 3, 1995, as 
amended.
    \4\Filed March 2, 1995, in Docket No. CP95-235-000.
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    Interenergy states that the facilities, which consist of pipeline 
totalling approximately 211 miles, separation and dehydration 
equipment, field compressors and associated facilities (including 
wellhead metering stations), display the characteristics the Commission 
has historically held to be indicative of gathering. Interenergy states 
that facilities will be used to perform services in the production area 
prior to transportation in interstate commerce. It states that through 
the facilities it will offer gathering, treating, dehydrating and 
compression services to producers and shippers seeking such services 
and will provide such services on an open-access, non-discriminatory 
basis.
    Comment date: March 31, 1995, in accordance with the first 
paragraph of Standard Paragraph F at the end of this notice.
5. Parker & Parsley Gas Processing Company

[Docket No. CP95-244-000]

    Take notice that on March 6, 1995, Parker & Parsley Gas Processing 
Co. (Parker & Parsley) 303 West Wall Avenue, Suite 101, Midland, Texas 
79701, filed a petition for a declaratory order in Docket No. CP95-244-
000 requesting that the Commission declare that certain facilities 
Parker & Parsley proposes to acquire from CNG Transmission Corporation 
(CNGT) are gathering facilities exempt from Commission jurisdiction 
under Section 1(b) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), and that Parker & 
Parsley's ownership and operation of those facilities will not subject 
Parker & Parsley to Commission jurisdiction under the NGA, all as more 
fully set forth in the petition which is on file with the Commission 
and open to public inspection.
    Parker & Parsley states that it has agreed to purchase 
approximately 352 miles of various sized pipelines, ranging in length 
from approximately 12 feet to approximately 17 miles, with 
approximately 95 percent of the lines no more than 5 miles in length. 
Parker & Parsley explains that while CNGT is seeking abandonment of 322 
miles of pipeline, Parker & Parsley seeks an order from the Commission 
declaring to be non-jurisdictional gathering facilities: (1) The 322 
miles of pipeline CNGT is seeking to abandon, plus (2) an additional 30 
miles of pipeline to be conveyed to Parker & Parsley by CNGT. Parker & 
Parsley states that the Commission authorized the abandonment of the 30 
miles of pipeline in Docket No. CP91-554-000.
    CNGT has, concurrently herewith, filed a related abandonment 
application in Docket No. CP95-245-000.
    Comment date: March 31, 1995, in accordance with Standard Paragraph 
F at the end of this notice.

6. CNG Transmission Corporation

[Docket No. CP95-245-000]

    Take notice that on March 6, 1995, CNG Transmission Corporation 
(CNGT), 445 Main Street, Clarksburg, West Virginia 26301, filed in 
Docket No. CP95-245-000 an application pursuant to Section 7(b) of the 
Natural Gas Act for permission and approval to abandon 322 miles of 
various diameter pipeline by sale to Parker & Parsley Development, LP, 
(Parker & Parsley) or an affiliate, and to abandon an exchange service 
between CNGT and Equitrans Inc. (Equitrans), all as more fully set 
forth in the application on file with the Commission and open to public 
inspection.
    Specifically, CNGT proposes to abandon by sale, 322 miles of 
pipeline ranging in diameter from 2 to 18 inches, and minor amounts of 
20 and 30 inch line located in Harrison, Marion, Marshall, Monongalia, 
Doddridge, Wetzel, and Tyler Counties, West Virginia. All of CNGT's 
interest in the facilities were transferred to Consolidated Gas 
Transmission Corporation (now CNGT) from its predecessor, Consolidated 
Gas Supply Corporation (now Hope Gas, Inc.)) effective January 1, 1984. 
The transfer and classification of assets was approved by the 
Commission in Docket No. CP80-346-000 on December 20, 1983 (25 FERC 
para.61,397). All of the lines make up a discrete gathering system 
feeding the Hastings extraction plant. The system is characterized by a 
web-like configuration of gathering lines and approximately 106 third 
party transport meters and 160 CNGT wells are located on this system. 
The CNGT wells are also being sold to Parker & Parsley.
    Parker & Parsley Gas Processing Co. has, concurrently herewith, 
filed a Petition for Declaratory Order Disclaiming Jurisdiction in 
Docket No. CP95-244-000.
    The exchange service CNGT seek to abandon with Equitrans is under a 
February 9, 1972 exchange agreement on file as CNGT's Rate Schedule X-
9.
    Comment date: March 31, 1995, in accordance with Standard Paragraph 
F at the end of this notice.

7. Koch Gateway Pipeline Company

[Docket No. CP95-246-000]

    Take notice that on March 7, 1995, Koch Gateway Pipeline Company 
(KGPC), 600 Travis Street, Houston, Texas 77002, filed in Docket No. 
CP95-246-000, an abbreviated application pursuant to Section 7(b) of 
the Natural Gas Act for an order granting permission and approval to 
abandon certain natural gas facilities, all as more fully set forth in 
the application which is on file with the Commission and open to public 
inspection.
    In its application, KGPC proposes to abandon by sale to Western Gas 
Resources Storage, Inc. (Western) an offsystem gathering line, 
designated as Katy Field FPL No. 1 (Katy Line), located in Waller 
County, Texas. The Katy Line, consisting of 1.23 miles of 10-inch 
pipeline including all valves and appurtenances, connects an Exxon 
Corp. gasoline plant with a 30-inch Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company 
transmission line. KGPC states that it sold the Katy Line to Excel 
Resources, Inc. (Excel) for $110,000 on April 1, 1994 but that Excel 
assigned all of its contractual rights and obligations under the sales 
agreement with KGPC to Western.
    Comment date: March 31, 1995, in accordance with Standard Paragraph 
F at the end of this notice.

8. Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company

[Docket No. CP95-247-000]

    Take notice that on March 7, 1995, Williston Basin Interstate 
Pipeline Company (Williston Basin), Suite 300, 200 North Third Street, 
Bismarck, North Dakota 58501, filed in Docket No. CP95-247-000 a 
request pursuant to Sections 157.205 and 157.211 of the Commission's 
Regulations under the Natural Gas Act (18 CFR 157.205, 157.211) for 
authorization to construct and operate a new metering station and 
associated appurtenant facilities under Williston Basin's blanket 
certificate issued in Docket No. CP83-1-000 pursuant to Section 7 of 
the Natural Gas Act, all as more fully set forth in the request that is 
on file with the Commission and open to public inspection.
    Williston Basin proposes to construct and operate a new metering 
station and associated appurtenant facilities to provide deliveries of 
up to 6,500 Mcf per day of gas to Conoco, Inc. The facilities will be 
located in Burke County, North Dakota.
    Comment date: April 24, 1995, in accordance with Standard Paragraph 
G at the end of this notice. [[Page 14750]] 

9. NorAm Gas Transmission Company

[Docket No. CP95-249-000]

    Take notice that on March 8, 1995, NorAm Gas Transmission Company 
(NGT), 1600 Smith Street, Houston, Texas 77002, filed in Docket No. 
CP95-249-000 a request pursuant to Sections 157.205 and 157.211 of the 
Commission's Regulations under the Natural Gas Act (18 CFR 157.205 and 
157.211) for authorization to construct and operate a new delivery tap 
on NGT's Line BT-14 in Yell County, Arkansas, under NGT's blanket 
certificate issued in Docket Nos. CP82-384-000 and CP82-384-001, 
pursuant to Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act, all as more fully set 
forth in the request that is on file with the Commission and open to 
public inspection.
    NGT proposes to construct and operate a new 2-inch rural domestic 
tap for delivery of natural gas to ARKLA, a division of NorAm Energy 
Corp. for redelivery to its customer, Bessie Jo Meers. The tap will be 
located in Section 35, Township 7 North, Range 21 West, Yell County, 
Arkansas and approximately 85 MMBtu annually and 1 MMBtu per day are 
estimated to be delivered through the tap. NGT states that the 
estimated cost of construction is $2,700 and ARKLA will reimburse NGT 
for all construction costs. NGT further states that the volumes to be 
delivered are within ARKLA's certificated entitlement and NGT's tariff 
does not prohibit the addition of new delivery points.
    Comment date: April 24, 1995, in accordance with Standard Paragraph 
G 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, DC 
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.
    G. Any person or the Commission's staff may, within 45 days after 
issuance of the instant notice by the Commission, file pursuant to Rule 
214 of the Commission's Procedural Rules (18 CFR 385.214) a motion to 
intervene or notice of intervention and pursuant to Section 157.205 of 
the Regulations under the Natural Gas Act (18 CFR 157.205) a protest to 
the request. If no protest is filed within the time allowed therefor, 
the proposed activity shall be deemed to be authorized effective the 
day after the time allowed for filing a protest. If a protest is filed 
and not withdrawn within 30 days after the time allowed for filing a 
protest, the instant request shall be treated as an application for 
authorization pursuant to Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act.
Lois D. Cashell
Secretary
[FR Doc. 95-6745 Filed 3-17-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P