[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 45 (Monday, March 9, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11437-11438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5963]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. GP98-20-000]


Union Pacific Resources Company; Notice of Offer of Settlement 
and Call for the Protection of Rights Pending Adjudication or 
Settlement

March 3, 1998.
    Take notice that on February 24, 1998, Union Pacific Resources 
Company (UPRC), alleging compliance with the Commission's January 28, 
1998 Order Clarifying Procedures (82 FERC para. 61,059), filed; an 
offer of settlement with the Commission, and called for the protection 
of its rights pending adjudication or settlement, with respect to 
UPRC's Kansas ad valorem tax refund obligation to Northern Natural Gas 
Company (Northern Natural), identified in the Statement of Refunds Due 
filed by Northern Natural in Docket No. RP98-39-000. UPRC's pleading is 
on file with the Commission and, except for UPRC's confidential offer 
of settlement, is open to public inspection.
    UPRC contends that the Commission has established a procedure to 
follow, under 18 CFR 385.602 of the Commission's regulations, when 
informal settlement or reconciliation efforts fail, and that it has 
complied with the requisites of that Section. UPRC suggests that a 
Settlement Judge be appointed, that UPRC's refund obligation to 
Northern Natural be held in abeyance and that interest be tolled, on 
the basis that UPRC has a constitutional and statutory right to a 
hearing before it may be deprived of property, i.e., the 1983-1988 
Kansas ad valorem tax reimbursement dollars that UPRC previously 
collected from

[[Page 11438]]

Northern Natural. UPRC further alleges that it made a settlement offer 
to Northern Natural, and that Northern Natural rejected that offer.
    UPRC also requests a full and fair hearing, and claims that there 
are contested issues of material fact (measurable in dollars) on which 
Northern Natural and UPRC disagree. UPRC further argues that these 
issues must be adjudicated. UPRC's alleged issues of material fact 
include:
    (1) the amount of dollars of revenue UPRC collected for the sale of 
its gas in each relevant time period;
    (2) how much (if any) of the dollars UPRC collected were in excess 
of the maximum lawful price (MLP) in each relevant time period;
    (3) how much (if any) of the excess dollars collected by UPRC were 
actually paid by customers of interstate pipelines through the 
pipeline's PGA process, i.e., how much were the pipeline's customers 
overcharged; and
    (4) assuming that part of the refund amount is interest, then when 
did the interstate pipeline customers begin paying a fraction of the 
amounts determined to be in excess of the MLP, which UPRC contends will 
govern the amount of interest owned.
    UPRC's pleading includes its claim that it has complied with the 
Commission's orders requiring a statement of its basic principles for 
rejecting Northern Natural's refund claim, and UPRC's privileged and 
confidential offer of settlement to Northern Natural (UPRC's Attachment 
A). UPRC also provides its own assessment as to how to compute the 
correct refund amount.
    The procedural rules governing settlements are set forth in Section 
385.602 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure. Under 
Section 385.602(f), any person wishing to make comments with respect to 
an offer of settlement must do so not later than 20 days after the date 
the settlement offer was filed. Reply comments must be filed not later 
than 30 days after the date the settlement offer was filed. 
Accordingly, any person desiring to file comments with respect to 
UPRC's offer of settlement should file with the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, by 
March 16, 1998, in accordance with the requirements of the Commission's 
Rules of Practice and Procedure [18 CFR 385.602(f)].
David P. Boergers,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-5963 Filed 3-6-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M