[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 47 (Friday, March 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12345-12346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3446]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP06-71-000, CP06-72-000 and CP06-73-000]


Carolina Gas Transmission Corporation, SCG Pipeline, Inc., South 
Carolina Pipeline Corporation; Notice of Joint Application and Offer of 
Settlement

March 3, 2006.
    Take notice that on February 28, 2006, SCG Pipeline, Inc. (SCG) and 
South Carolina Pipeline Corporation (SCPC), for themselves and on 
behalf of Carolina Gas Transmission Corporation (Carolina Gas) 
(collectively applicants), 1426 Main Street, Columbia, South Carolina 
29201, filed a Joint Application and Offer of Settlement. The 
applicants request under section 7 of the Natural Gas Act certain 
Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity authorizing facilities 
acquisition and operation, approval for the provision of interstate 
natural gas transportation services, approval of an abandonment, and 
related blanket certificates. The applicants request that the 
Commission grant these approvals and certificates no later than July 
31, 2006, so that Carolina Gas can commence operations as an interstate 
pipeline subject to the Commission's jurisdiction in time for the 2006-
2007 winter season.
    These filings are on file with Commission and open to public 
inspection. They may be viewed on the Web at http://www.ferc.gov using 
the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three 
digits in the docket number field to access the document. There is also 
an ``eSubscription'' link on the Web site that enables subscribers to 
receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed 
docket(s). For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected] or toll free at (866) 208-3676, or TTY, 
contact (202) 502-8659.
    Any questions regarding the applications and Offer of Settlement 
should be directed to Ryan C. Leahy, Manager of Transportation 
Services, South Carolina Pipeline Corporation, 105 New Way Road, 
Columbia, SC 29223, Phone: (803) 217-7377.
    The applicants are requesting certificates and other authorizations 
necessary to permit: (1) The merger of SCG into SCPC to form a single, 
integrated interstate pipeline, subject to Commission jurisdiction 
[Carolina Gas]; (2) the operation of such interstate pipeline by 
Carolina Gas, the entity to be formed as a result of the merger; (3) 
the provision of jurisdictional services by Carolina Gas pursuant to 
the initial rates and FERC Gas Tariff proposed in the settlement and 
applications; and (4) the abandonment, by merger, of SCG's FERC-
certificated facilities and the cancellation of SCG's FERC Gas Tariff, 
and any other authorizations granted to SCG by the Commission. The 
applicants also request that the Commission grant Carolina Gas a 
blanket certificate authorizing Carolina Gas to transport gas on behalf 
of others pursuant to subpart G, section 284.221 of the Commission's 
regulations; and a blanket certificate authorizing certain construction 
and operation of facilities and abandonment under NGA section 7 
pursuant to subpart F, sections 157.201-218 of the Commission's 
regulations.
    Importantly, pursuant to sections 385.207(a)(5) and 385.602, the 
applicants also include an Offer of Settlement for the Commission's 
acceptance of a Stipulation and Agreement, which is a negotiated 
resolution of the matters arising in connection with the applicants' 
requests for certificate and abandonment authority. The applicants say 
that the terms and conditions of the settlement are the product of 
substantial inter-customer negotiation and compromise, as well as 
negotiation and compromise between the applicants and their customers. 
They say that the settlement reflects an overall balancing of the 
various competing interests among customers and among applicants and 
the various customer constituencies.
    Docket No. CP06-71-000 is assigned to the requests to authorize 
facilities acquisition and operation, for approval for the provision of 
interstate natural gas transportation services, for approval of 
abandonment by SCG Pipeline, Inc. Docket No. CP06-72-000 is assigned to 
the part 157, subpart F blanket certificate request and Docket No. 
CP06-73-000 is assigned to the part 284, subpart G blanket certificate 
request. The Offer of Settlement encompasses and is related to all 
three dockets.
    The applicants say that upon Commission approval of the 
authorizations they request, SCG, currently an interstate pipeline 
regulated by the FERC, will merge into SCPC, currently a non-FERC 
jurisdictional intrastate pipeline. SCPC intrastate services will end 
on the merger effective date. SCPC will relinquish its Hinshaw 
exemption, become subject to the Commission's jurisdiction over 
interstate pipelines, and change its name to Carolina Gas Transmission 
Corporation. Following the merger, the resulting entity, Carolina Gas, 
will own and operate all of the facilities that were owned and operated 
by SCG and SCPC at the time of the merger.
    The applicants says that the resulting Carolina Gas pipeline will 
be a reticulated web-like system providing open access, unbundled, firm 
and interruptible transportation services and interruptible parking and 
lending service for interstate gas markets. Carolina Gas will transport 
gas supplies received from the Southern Natural Gas Company and 
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation pipelines, which access 
various gas supply regions including the Gulf Coast, north Louisiana 
and north Texas, as well as LNG supplied at Elba Island, Georgia. They 
say that the Carolina Gas system will increase natural gas supply 
diversity and competition in and beyond the southeastern United States 
and provide much needed interstate infrastructure without the delay, 
uncertainty and environmental disturbances inherent in a new 
construction project.
    Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this filing must 
file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of

[[Page 12346]]

the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and 
385.214). Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining 
the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make 
protestants parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a 
party must file a notice of intervention or motion to intervene, as 
appropriate. Comments, interventions and protests to the applications 
must be filed on or before the comment date.
    Also in this proceeding, initial comments to the Offer of 
Settlement must be filed on or before the comment date, and reply 
comments on the Offer of Settlement, if desired, must be filed on or 
before the reply comment date. Anyone filing an initial or reply 
comments on the settlement, motions to intervene or protests must serve 
a copy of those documents on the applicants. However, on or before the 
reply comment date, it is not necessary to serve comments, motions to 
intervene or protests on persons other than the applicants.
    The Commission encourages electronic submission of comments, 
protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the ``eFiling'' link 
at http://www.ferc.gov. Persons unable to file electronically should 
submit an original and 14 copies of the comments, protest or 
intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First 
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
    Comment Date: March 31, 2006.
    Reply Comment Date: April 10, 2006.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-3446 Filed 3-9-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P