[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 200 (Friday, October 16, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55715-55716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26726]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

18 CFR Part 380

[Docket No. RM98-17-000]


Landowner Notification, Residential Area Designation, and Other 
Environmental Filing Requirements; Notice of Technical Conference 
September 30, 1998.

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Technical Conference.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) intends 
to hold a staff technical conference on December 9, 1998, at 9:00 AM, 
in the Commission Meeting Room, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC, 
to address its concerns regarding its present landowner notification 
policies and its present environmental designation of residential 
areas.

DATES: Comments are due November 16, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to: Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
John S. Leiss, Office of Pipeline Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, D.C. 20426, (202) 208-
1106
Carolyn Van Der Jagt, Office of the General Counsel, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE,. Washington, DC 20426 
(202) 208-2246.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In addition to publishing the full text of 
this document in the Federal Register, the Commission also provides all 
interested persons an opportunity to inspect or copy the contents of 
this document during normal business hours in the Public Reference Room 
at 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426.
    The Commission Issuance Posting System (CIPS) provides access to 
the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission. CIPS can be 
accessed via Internet through FERC's Homepage (http://www.ferc.fed.us) 
using the CIPS Link or the Energy Information Online icon. The full 
text of this document will be available on CIPS in ASCII and 
WordPerfect 6.1 format. CIPS is also available through the Commission's 
electronic bulletin board service at no charge to the user and may be 
accessed using a personal computer with a modem by dialing 202-208-
1397, if dialing locally, or 1-800-856-3920, if dialing long distance. 
To access CIPS, set your communications software to 19200, 14400, 
12000, 9600, 7200, 4800, 2400, or 1200 bps, full duplex, no parity, 8 
data bits and 1 stop bit. User assistance is available at 202-208-2474 
or by E-mail to [email protected].
    This document is also available through the Commission's Records 
and Information Management System (RIMS), an electronic storage and 
retrieval system of documents submitted to and issued by the Commission 
after November 16, 1981. Documents from November 1995 to the present 
can be viewed and printed. RIMS is available in the Public Reference 
Room or remotely via Internet through FERC's Homepage using the RIMS 
link or the Energy Information Online icon. User assistance is 
available at 202-208-2222, or by E-mail to [email protected].
    Finally, the complete text on diskette in WordPerfect format may be 
purchased from the Commission's copy contractor, RVJ International, 
Inc. RVJ International, Inc., is located in the Public Reference Room 
at 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.

    In the matter of: Landowner Notification, Residential Area 
Designation, and Environmental Filing Requirements; Docket No. RM98-
17-000.

Notice of Technical Conference

September 30, 1998.
    In Docket No. RM98-9-000, which is being issued concurrently with 
this notice of technical conference, the Commission, among other 
things, proposes to amend, consolidate, and clarify its current 
environmental filing requirements for applications for certificates of 
public convenience and necessity to construct pipeline facilities. 
These requirements are necessary for the Commission to comply with the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).1 The 
Commission believes that revising its existing regulations will lead to 
more complete applications and to an expedited environmental review 
process.
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    \1\ 42 U.S.C. 4321. Specifically, NEPA requires that federal 
agencies carefully weigh the potential environmental impact of all 
their decisions and consult with federal and state agencies and the 
public on serious environmental questions.
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    However, in addition to the changes proposed in Docket No. RM98-9-
000, the Commission is interested in examining its existing landowner 
notification policies and designation of residential areas. It is 
concerned that its current regulations are not adequate to provide the 
general public and potentially affected landowners with sufficient 
opportunity for participation in the Commission's certificate process. 
Increased public interest in several recently filed certificate 
applications

[[Page 55716]]

suggests that the Commission should review its existing 
procedures.2
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    \2\ For example, in the pending Independence Pipeline Company 
proceeding in Docket No. CP97-315-000, the Commission has received 
in excess of 6,500 correspondences from concerned citizens.
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    To open the process to the affected public, the Commission is 
contemplating requiring that companies proposing a pipeline project 
provide notification to the affected public prior to filing an 
application with the Commission. For projects that do not require prior 
notification to the Commission, we believe that the affected landowners 
should be notified within a reasonable time prior to construction, to 
reduce the potential for complaints that landowners were not aware of 
the project. The Commission believes that early notification of a 
proposed project will provide the public with a better opportunity to 
participate in the proceeding.
    We note that in a letter dated September 16, 1998, the Interstate 
Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) also acknowledges the 
concern over the landowner notification issue. In the letter, it 
proposes a solution to the landowner notification problem which, among 
other things, requires that the owner of record of property affected by 
a pipeline project be notified of the project by certified mail. We 
invite INGAA to present its proposal at the December 9, 1998 technical 
conference. Additionally, we invite any other interested party to 
present proposals at the technical conference.
    The Commission is also considering some other changes to its 
regulations which it feels may require expanded landowner notification 
to ensure fairness for both the company and landowners. For example, 
the Commission is considering expanding the definition of eligible 
facility under section 157.202(b)(2) of its regulations to include 
injection and withdrawal wells which do not alter the capacity of an 
existing, certificated underground storage field. That change would 
allow the addition of minor facilities designed to enhance existing 
storage operations without case specific Commission review and 
approval. However, the Commission is concerned about whether and how 
the pipeline should be required to acquire consent from the landowner 
prior to beginning construction.
    The Commission would also like to revise section 2.55(b)(iii) and 
(iv) of its regulations to allow the use of additional temporary work 
space for replacement facilities. However, once again, the Commission 
is concerned about how the pipeline should acquire landowner consent to 
use the additional space as well as providing for appropriate 
environmental safeguards.
    Additionally, the Commission believes it is necessary to designate 
residential areas as sensitive environmental areas defined under 
section 157.202(b)(11).3 This change would bring the status 
of residential areas in our regulations more in line with the existing 
treatment of these areas as noise sensitive areas (section 
157.206(d)(5)), as well as Commission practice to weigh project impact 
on residential areas in the same way as the more traditional natural 
resource areas, such as, for example, endangered species habitats, 
historical places, wetlands, and designated wilderness areas.
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    \3\ Section 157.206(d)(4) of the Commission's regulations 
provides: ``Any transaction authorized under a blanket certificate 
shall not have a significant impact on a sensitive environmental 
area.''
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    Finally the Commission is interested in obtaining comment on the 
need to apply the same erosion control and stream and wetland crossing 
mitigation measures it applies to filings under Subpart A of Part 157 
to Subpart F blanket projects. This would provide more uniform 
treatment of natural gas projects whether or not they are actually 
reviewed by the Commission prior to construction.
    In the past the Commission has used working groups to develop 
proposals for improving upon the Commission's regulations.4 
Here, the Commission is also considering using the negotiated 
rulemaking procedure under the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990 
5 as an alternative to its traditional rulemaking process. 
That act establishes a framework for conducting a negotiated rulemaking 
and encourages agencies to use negotiated rulemaking to enhance the 
rulemaking process. Negotiations would be conducted by a committee 
chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.6 The 
committee would include a Commission representative and would be 
assisted by a neutral facilitator. The goal of the committee would be 
to reach consensus on the language or issues involved in the rule. If 
consensus is reached, the Commission undertakes to use the consensus as 
the basis of the proposed rule.
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    \4\ See Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural 
Gas Pipelines, 60 FR 55,504 (Nov. 1, 1995), 73 FERC para. 61,104 
(Oct. 25, 1995).
    \5\ 5 U.S.C. 561-569.
    \6\ 5 U.S.C. App. 2.
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    The purpose of the staff technical conference is to discuss 
potential changes to the Commission's regulations in the above 
mentioned areas and to address the appropriateness of using working 
groups or negotiated rulemaking for these changes. Additionally, the 
Commission may entertain and discuss at the staff technical conference 
suggestions concerning other areas of its environmental review process.
    The Commission invites all interested persons to submit written 
comments on these topics. Additionally, any persons wishing to make 
comments or presentations at the conference should submit a request for 
time and the topic(s) they want to address. The original and 14 copies 
of such comments and requests must be received by the Commission before 
5:00 p.m., November 16, 1998. Comments should be submitted to the 
Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE., Washington DC 20426 and should refer to Docket No. 
RM98-17-000. Commenters also can submit comments on computer diskette 
in WordPerfect 6.1 or lower format or in ASCII format, with the name of 
the filer and Docket No. RM98-17-000 on the outside of the diskette.
    All comments will be placed in the Commission's public files and 
will be available for inspection in the Commission's Public Reference 
room at 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, during regular 
business hours. Additionally, comments can be viewed and printed 
remotely via the Internet through FERC's Homepage using the RIMS link 
or the Energy Information Online icon. User assistance is available at 
202-208-2222, or by E-mail to [email protected].

    By direction of the Commission.
David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-26726 Filed 10-15-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P