[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 45 (Thursday, March 7, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10394-10395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-5438]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP01-66-001]


Egan Hub Partners, L.P.; Notice of Petition To Amend

March 1, 2002.

    Take notice that on February 20, 2002, Egan Hub Partners, L.P. 
(Egan Hub), 5400 Westheimer Court, Houston, Texas 77056-5310, filed in 
Docket No. CP01-66-001 a petition to amend the order issued June 14, 
2001, in Docket No. CP01-66-000, pursuant to section 7 (c) of the 
Natural Gas Act to construct and operate a third cavern at its existing 
storage facility in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, to provide the same level 
of storage capacity certificated in the June 14 order, all as more 
fully set forth in the petition which is on file with the Commission 
and open to public inspection. This filing may also be viewed on the 
Web at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``RIMS'' link, select ``Docket#'' 
and follow the instructions (call 202-208-2222 for assistance).
    It is stated that by order issued June 14, 2001, Egan Hub was 
authorized to increase the combined maximum operating capacity of 
Cavern Nos. I and II in the Egan Storage Facility from 15.5 Bcf to 21.0 
Bcf, thereby expanding the maximum operating capacities of each cavern 
individually from 7.75 Bcf to 10.5 Bcf; install an additional 19,130 HP 
of compression to increase the aggregate maximum average injection rate 
from 600 MMcfd to 800 MMcfd; and continue charging market-based rates 
for its storage and hub services.
    Egan Hub maintains that due to changes in the nationwide storage 
market, net storage withdrawals have steadily declined, while storage 
inventories have either remained steady or have increased. Egan Hub 
states that this has resulted in increased inventories of parked gas in 
storage facilities. Consequently, use of conventional solution mining 
or the Solution Mining Under Gas technique to expand the cavern space 
of Cavern Nos. I and II in the Egan Storage Facility can no longer 
occur at a pace necessary for Egan Hub's market requirements. 
Therefore, Egan Hub states that it has had to examine alternative means 
in order to continue the expansion authorized by the June 14 order, 
while accommodating the increased storage inventories in the Egan 
Storage Facility. Accordingly, Egan Hub requests authorization to amend 
the June 14, 2001 order to provide for the construction and operation 
of a third storage cavern at the Egan Storage Facility (Cavern No. 
III).
    Egan Hub states that the proposed Cavern No. III will be developed 
for the increment of capacity approved in the June 14 order but not yet 
constructed in the existing Cavern Nos. I and II. Egan Hub states that 
the total combined capacity of the three caverns will not exceed the 
certificated 21 Bcf, nor will the maximum capacity of any single cavern 
exceed 10.5 Bcf consistent with the June 14 order. Egan Hub maintains 
that since it does not propose to increase the certificated storage 
capacity nor the injection or withdrawal capability of the Egan Storage 
Facility, the proposal does not alter the Commission's determination 
that Egan Hub lacks significant market power and may charge market-
based rates for storage and hub services.
    Egan Hub requests waiver as to Exhibit K (cost of facilities), 
Exhibit L (financing), Exhibit N (revenues, expenses and income), and 
Exhibit O (depreciation and depletion) as required by Section 157.14 of 
the Commission's Regulations. In addition, Egan Hub requests waiver of 
Section 284.7(e) of the Commission's Regulations, which requires that 
natural gas companies providing Part 284 storage services charge 
reservation fees that recover all fixed costs based on the SFV rate 
design methodology, and the accounting and reporting requirements of 
Part 201 and Section 260.2 (Form No. 2A) which are also based on the 
presumption that cost-based rates are being charged and collected.
    Questions regarding the details of this proposed project should be 
directed to Steven E. Tillman, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Egan Hub 
Partners, L.P., P.O. Box 1642, Houston, Texas 77251-1642 at (713) 627-
5113.
    There are two ways to become involved in the Commission's review of 
this project. First, any person wishing to obtain legal status by 
becoming a party to the proceedings for this project should, on or 
before March 22, 2002, file with the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426, a motion to 
intervene 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 NGA (18 CFR 157.10). A person obtaining party 
status will be placed on the service list maintained by the Secretary 
of the Commission and will receive copies of all documents filed by the 
applicant and by all other parties. A party must submit 14 copies of 
filings made with the Commission and must mail a copy to the applicant 
and to every other party in the proceeding. Only parties to the 
proceeding can ask for court review of Commission orders in the 
proceeding.
    However, a person does not have to intervene in order to have 
comments considered. The second way to participate is by filing with 
the Secretary of the Commission, as soon as possible, an original and 
two copies of comments in support of or in opposition to this project. 
The Commission will consider these comments in determining the 
appropriate action to be taken, but the filing of a comment alone will 
not serve to make the filer a party to the proceeding. The Commission's 
rules require that persons filing comments in opposition to the project 
provide copies of their protests only to the party or parties directly 
involved in the protest.
    Persons who wish to comment only on the environmental review of 
this project should submit an original and two copies of their comments 
to the Secretary of the Commission. Environmental commenters will be 
placed on the Commission's environmental mailing list, will receive 
copies of the environmental documents, and will be notified of meetings 
associated with the Commission's environmental review process. 
Environmental commenters will not be required to serve copies of filed 
documents on all other parties. However, the non-party commenters will 
not receive copies of all documents filed by other parties or issued by 
the Commission (except for the mailing of environmental documents 
issued by the Commission) and will not have the right to seek court 
review of the Commission's final order.
    The Commission may issue a preliminary determination on non-
environmental issues prior to the completion of its review of the 
environmental aspects of the project. This preliminary determination 
typically considers such issues as the need for the project and its 
economic effect on existing customers of the applicant, on other 
pipelines in the area, and on landowners and communities. For example, 
the Commission considers the extent to which the applicant may

[[Page 10395]]

need to exercise eminent domain to obtain rights-of-way for the 
proposed project and balances that against the non-environmental 
benefits to be provided by the project. Therefore, if a person has 
comments on community and landowner impacts from this proposal, it is 
important either to file comments or to intervene as early in the 
process as possible.
    Comments, protests and interventions may be filed electronically 
via the Internet in lieu of paper. See, 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and 
the instructions on the Commission's Web site under the ``e-Filing'' 
link.
    If the Commission decides to set the petition to amend for a formal 
hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, the Commission will issue 
another notice describing that process. At the end of the Commission's 
review process, a final Commission order approving or denying a 
certificate will be issued.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-5438 Filed 3-6-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P