[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 125 (Friday, June 29, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35669-35672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-12557]



[[Page 35669]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 157

[Docket No. RM07-17-000]


Revisions to Landowner Notification and Blanket Certificate 
Regulations

June 22, 2007.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: On October 19, 2006, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(Commission) issued a Final Rule amending its regulations to expand the 
scope and scale of activities that may be undertaken pursuant to 
blanket certificate authority and clarifying that existing Commission 
policies permit natural gas companies to charge different rates to 
different classes of customers.\1\ The Commission proposes to further 
amend its regulations to modify the landowner notification requirements 
and require a noise survey following the completion of projects 
involving compressor facilities undertaken pursuant to blanket 
certificate authority. The proposed regulatory revisions should enhance 
public participation in the Commission's consideration of proposed 
projects and ensure that compressor projects completed under blanket 
certificate authority will not have a significant adverse environmental 
impact.
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    \1\ Order No. 686, 71 FR 63680 (October 31, 2006), FERC Stats & 
Regs ] 31,231 (2006); Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) 71 FR 
36276 (June 26, 2006), FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 32,606 (2006). An order 
on rehearing and clarification of the Final Rule in Docket No. RM06-
7-001 is issued contemporaneously with this NOPR. 119 FERC ] 61,303 
(2007).

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DATES: Comments are due July 30, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. RM07-17-
000, by one of the following methods:
    Agency Web site: http://ferc.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments via the eFiling link found in the Comment 
Procedures section of the Preamble.
    Mail: Commenters unable to file comments electronically must mail 
or hand deliver an original and 14 copies of their comments to: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Secretary, 888 First 
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. Refer to the Comment Procedures 
section of the preamble for additional information on how to file paper 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gordon Wagner, Office of the General 
Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, [email protected], (202) 502-8947.
    Michael McGehee, Office of Energy Projects, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, 
[email protected], (202) 502-8962.
    Lonnie Lister, Office of Energy Projects, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, 
[email protected], (202) 502-8587.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    1. On October 19, 2006, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(Commission) issued a Final Rule amending its Part 157, Subpart F, 
regulations to expand the scope and scale of activities that may be 
undertaken pursuant to blanket certificate authority and clarifying 
that existing Commission policies permit natural gas companies to 
charge different rates to different classes of customers.\2\ The 
Commission proposes to further amend its Part 157 regulations to modify 
the landowner notification requirements and require a noise survey 
following the completion of projects involving compressor facilities 
undertaken pursuant to blanket certificate authority. The proposed 
regulatory revisions are expected to enhance public participation in 
the Commission's consideration of proposed projects and ensure that 
compressor projects completed under blanket certificate authority will 
not have a significant adverse environmental impact.
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    \2\ Order No. 686, 71 FR 63680 (October 31, 2006), FERC Stats & 
Regs ] 31,231 (2006); Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) 71 FR 
36276 (June 26, 2006), FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 32,606 (2006). An order 
on rehearing and clarification of the Final Rule in Docket No. RM06-
7-000 is issued contemporaneously with this NOPR. 119 FERC ] 61,303 
(2007).
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II. Background

    2. The blanket certificate program relies on the presumption that 
any project permitted under blanket certificate authority will not have 
a significant adverse environmental impact. The Commission ensures that 
this is the case by restricting blanket certificate authority to 
certain types of facilities and to individual projects that can comply 
with a cost cap and the environmental requirements specified in Sec.  
157.206(b). Prior to the Final Rule's increase in the per project cost 
cap \3\ and the expansion of blanket certificate authority to cover 
compressor facilities that alter mainline capacity, blanket certificate 
authority was restricted to a limited set of compression facilities, 
e.g., compressors on lateral pipelines, compressors installed 
temporarily, replacement compressors that could not qualify under Sec.  
2.55(b), and compressors needed to restore service lost due to sudden 
unforeseen damage to a mainline.
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    \3\ The Final Rule increased the blanket certificate project 
cost limits from $8,200,000 to $9,600,000 for automatic 
authorization projects and from $22,700,000 to $27,400,000 for prior 
notice projects.
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    3. A compressor project under the blanket certificate program is 
not subject to the same scrutiny and procedural safeguards that apply 
to a compressor project subject to case-specific NGA section 7 
certificate authority. This is most pronounced with respect to a 
project that qualifies for automatic authorization under the blanket 
certificate regulations, in which case the Commission may remain 
unaware of the project's construction until a company submits an annual 
report of projects completed under automatic blanket certificate 
authority pursuant to Sec.  157.207. Thus, in contrast to a proposal 
for case-specific certificate authority, for a project subject to 
blanket certificate authority, the Commission and public are not 
assured the same opportunity to assess aspects of the project such as 
what constitutes a noise sensitive area (NSA),\4\ the prospective uses 
of property proximate to a compressor facility, habitat impacts on non-
residential areas, whether a particular area has a heightened noise 
sensitivity that would merit a limit of less than 55 decibels (dBA), or 
the cumulative impacts resulting from modifying or expanding existing 
compressor facilities.
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    \4\ In the case of a blanket certificate compressor project, the 
blanket certificate holder, rather than the Commission, determines 
what constitutes a potentially affected NSA.
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    4. As a result, whereas an individual assessment can be undertaken 
for each proposed case-specific compressor project in order to 
establish a noise level appropriate to the particular site, this is not 
the case for blanket certificate compressor projects. The more cursory 
standard of review necessary to expedite projects under the blanket 
certificate program, in conjunction with the expansion of the blanket 
certificate program, prompted the Commission to impose a stricter 
standard on the noise produced by blanket certificate compressor 
facilities. As proposed in

[[Page 35670]]

the NOPR and implemented in the Final Rule,\5\ the Commission stated 
that going forward, all compressor facilities constructed pursuant to 
blanket certificate authority must meet the standard day-night level 
(Ldn) limit of 55 dBA at the boundary of the compressor 
site. However, as discussed in the order on rehearing of the Final Rule 
issued contemporaneously with this NOPR,\6\ the Commission is returning 
to the noise limit in place prior to the Final Rule, which requires 
that compressor facilities installed under blanket certificate 
authority be no louder than an Ldn of 55 dBA at any existing 
pre-existing NSA.
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    \5\ The revised blanket certificate regulations became effective 
on January 2, 2007.
    \6\ See note 1.
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III. Proposed Regulatory Revisions

A. Landowner Notification

    5. Currently, a natural gas company that seeks to undertake a 
compressor project must notify all landowners with a residence within 
one-half mile of proposed compressors or their enclosures.\7\ The 
Commission is concerned that this existing landowner notification 
requirement fails to capture all potentially affected landowners, 
because a compressor project could go forward without any notification 
to nearby landowners without a residence on their property. To 
guarantee that land use issues--including existing non-residential uses 
as well as future uses of undeveloped land--are adequately considered, 
the Commission proposes to revise Sec.  157.6(d)(2)(iii), which defines 
``affected landowners'' as: Owners of property interests, as noted in 
the most recent county/city tax records as receiving the tax notice, 
whose property, ``[c]ontains a residence within one-half mile of 
proposed compressors or their enclosures.'' The Commission proposes to 
omit the qualification that the property contain a residence to ensure 
that all landowners within one-half mile of a compressor site receive 
notice prior to construction, regardless of whether there is a 
residence on their property, and regardless of whether construction is 
undertaken pursuant to blanket or case-specific certificate 
authorization.\8\
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    \7\ See the landowner notification requirements, 18 CFR 
157.203(d)(1) and (2), and the definition of affected landowners, 18 
CFR 157.6(d)(2)(iii).
    \8\ This proposed revision of the 18 CFR 157.6(d)(2)(iii) 
notification condition will also apply to landowners within one-half 
mile of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities.
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B. Noise Survey

    6. To verify compliance with the compressor noise limit, the 
Commission proposes to add a new Sec.  157.206(b)(5)(ii) that will 
require a company installing compressor facilities under blanket 
certificate authority to submit a noise survey within 60 days of 
placing new facilities in service to demonstrate that noise 
attributable to the operation of the company's new compressor 
facilities does not exceed an Ldn of 55 dBA at any 
preexisting NSA.\9\ A noise survey measures the noise at selected 
locations to quantify the existing noise environment by using a sound 
level meter, a dosimeter, or an integrating sound level meter over a 
specified timeframe.
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    \9\ The existing 18 CFR 157.206(b)(5)(ii) describing noise 
attributable to drilling activities will remain unchanged, but will 
be redesignated as 18 CFR 157.206(b)(5)(iii).
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    7. The Commission concludes the above-described procedural 
modifications are necessary and sufficient to retain the expedited 
authorization available for blanket certificate projects while 
guaranteeing that compressor activities subject to the expanded blanket 
certificate program will not have significant adverse environmental 
impacts.\10\ The Commission invites comments on these proposed 
regulatory revisions.
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    \10\ Currently, companies must conduct and submit a noise survey 
for compressor projects completed under case-specific certificate 
authority. The proposed new 18 CFR 157.206(b)(5)(ii) would extend 
this same requirement to compressor projects completed under blanket 
certificate authority. Note that in the order on rehearing in Docket 
No. RM06-7-001 the Commission similarly seeks to harmonize 
requirements that apply to case-specific and blanket certificate 
compressor projects. See note 1.
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IV. Information Collection Statement

    8. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations require 
that OMB approve certain reporting, record keeping, and public 
disclosure requirements (collections of information) imposed by an 
agency.\11\ Therefore, the Commission is providing notice of its 
proposed information collections to OMB for review in accordance with 
section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.\12\ Upon 
approval of a collection of information, OMB will assign an OMB control 
number and an expiration date. The only entities affected by this rule 
would be the natural gas companies under the Commission's jurisdiction.
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    \11\ 5 CFR 1320.11.
    \12\ 44 U.S.C. 3507(d).
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    9. FERC-537, ``Gas Pipeline Certificates: Construction, Acquisition 
and Abandonment,'' identifies the Commission's information collections 
relating to Part 157 of its regulations, which apply to natural gas 
facilities for which authorization under NGA section 7 is required, and 
includes all blanket certificate projects.
    10. The proposed revisions to the Commission's regulations, as 
contained in the NOPR, and the resulting change in collections of 
information burdens, are as follows. Natural gas companies seeking to 
construct, add to, or modify compressor or LNG facilities must provide 
notice to all landowners within one-half mile of the boundary of the 
project site. Currently, gas companies undertaking such activities are 
required to provide notice to landowners within one-half mile of the 
boundary of the project site only if there is a residence on their 
property.
    11. This proposed revision should have little impact on companies' 
notice procedures. Currently, companies are compelled to identify all 
landowners of record within one-half mile of the project site, and then 
notify the subset of landowners with a residence on their property. In 
addition, as applicable, a company is also required to provide the 
names and addresses of affected landowners to the Commission as part of 
Resource Report 1--General Project Description.\13\ Extending the 
notice requirement to all landowners should require a nominal 
additional effort. In fact, it may be the case that distinguishing 
properties with residences from those without is more burdensome than 
simply notifying all identified landowners. In view of this, the 
Commission expects the time and cost to notify non-residential 
landowners will prove to be de minimis.
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    \13\ See 18 CFR 380, Appendix A.
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    12. The Noise Control Act of 1972 established the requirement that 
all federal agencies administer their programs to promote an 
environment free of noise that jeopardizes public health and 
welfare.\14\ In 1974, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, acting 
to execute its responsibility to coordinate federal research and 
activities related to noise control, identified an Ldn of 55 
dBA as necessary to protect against speech interference and sleep 
disturbance for residential, educational, and healthcare NSAs.
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    \14\ 42 U.S.C. 4901, et seq.
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    13. The Commission proposes that a company installing compressor 
facilities under blanket certificate authority submit a noise survey 
within 60 days of placing new facilities in service to demonstrate that 
the noise attributable to the operation of the company's compressors 
does not exceed an Ldn of 55 dBA at pre-existing NSAs. The 
Commission does not view this proposal as substantially modifying 
natural gas companies' existing obligations, since

[[Page 35671]]

the proposed submission of a noise survey simply provides verification 
of compliance with the existing noise requirement. This proposed noise 
survey requirement already applies to compressor projects subject to 
case-specific NGA section 7 certificate authority.\15\
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    \15\ The potential cost savings to the industry that may be 
realized by enabling projects previously permitted only under case-
specific authority to proceed under the expanded blanket certificate 
program were discussed in the Final Rule. With respect to the 
proposed noise survey, the Commission notes that case-specific 
projects require a noise survey both before and after construction. 
Thus, to some extent, the relatively minor cost of conducting a 
post-construction noise survey for a blanket certificate project 
will be offset by the benefit of not having to also conduct a noise 
survey before construction, as would be necessary for a case-
specific certificate project.
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    14. The Commission estimates it will require 32 hours to complete a 
noise survey, and expects the aggregate impact of the proposal to be 
modest, given that in 2006, two blanket certificate compressor projects 
were completed. For the purpose of estimating burden hours, the 
Commission anticipates five such projects in the future.

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                                                                  Number of
               Data collection                   Number of        responses/    Number of hours    Total annual
                                                respondents        filings       per  response        hours
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FERC-537 (Part 157).........................               5                5               32              160
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    Information Collection Costs: The above reflects the total 
reporting burden associated with the proposed broadening of the 
landowner notification requirement. Because of the regional differences 
and the various staffing levels that will be involved in preparing the 
documentation (legal, technical, and support) the Commission is using 
an hourly rate of $150 to estimate the costs for filing and other 
administrative processes (reviewing instructions, searching data 
sources, completing and transmitting the collection of information). 
The estimated cost is anticipated to be $3,360 per project, for a total 
of $24,000.
    Title: FERC-537.
    Action: Proposed Data Collection.
    OMB Control Nos.: 1902-0060 and 1902-0128.
    Respondents: Natural gas pipeline companies.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Necessity of Information: Submission of the information is 
necessary for the Commission to carry out its NGA statutory 
responsibilities and meet the Commission's objectives of expediting 
appropriate infrastructure development to ensure sufficient energy 
supplies while addressing landowner and environmental concerns fairly.
    15. The Commission requests comments on the accuracy of the burden 
estimates, how the quality, quantity, and clarity of the information to 
be collected might be enhanced, and any suggested methods for 
minimizing the respondent's burden. Interested persons may obtain 
information on the reporting requirements or submit comments by 
contacting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, 
NE., Washington, DC 20426 (Attention: Michael Miller, Office of the 
Executive Director, 202-502-8415 or e-mail [email protected]). 
Comments may also be sent to the Office of Management and Budget 
(Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
fax: 202-395-7285 or e-mail: [email protected]).

V. Environmental Analysis

    16. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental 
Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for any 
action that may have a significant adverse effect on the human 
environment.\16\ In promulgating the blanket certificate program in 
1982, the Commission prepared an EA in which it determined that, 
subject to compliance with the standard environmental conditions, 
projects under the blanket program would not have a significant 
environmental impact. As a result, the Commission determined that 
automatic authorization projects would be categorically excluded from 
the need for an EA or EIS under Sec.  380.4 of the Commission's 
regulations. However, the Commission specified that prior notice 
projects should be subject to an environmental review to ensure each 
individual project would be environmentally benign, a requirement 
applicable to compression projects that would expand mainline capacity 
newly permitted under blanket certificate authority as a result of the 
Final Rule.
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    \16\ Order No. 486, Regulations Implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & 
Regs., Regulations Preambles 1986-1990 ] 30,783 (1987).
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    17. As discussed herein, the Commission is proposing to expand 
landowner notification and require the submission of a post-project 
noise survey for blanket certificate activities involving compressor 
facilities. Therefore, this proposed rule does not constitute a major 
federal action that may have a significant adverse effect on the human 
environment.

VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis

    18. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) \17\ generally 
requires a description and analysis of proposed regulations that will 
have significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The Commission is not required to make such an analysis if 
proposed regulations would not have such an effect.\18\ Under the 
industry standards used for purposes of the RFA, a natural gas pipeline 
company qualifies as ``a small entity'' if it has annual revenues of 
$6.5 million or less. Most companies regulated by the Commission do not 
fall within the RFA's definition of a small entity.\19\
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    \17\ 5 U.S.C. 601-612.
    \18\ 5 U.S.C. 605(b) (2000).
    \19\ 5 U.S.C. 601(3), citing to section 3 of the Small Business 
Act, 15 U.S.C. 623 (2000). Section 3 of the Small Business Act 
defines a ``small-business concern'' as a business which is 
independently owned and operated and which is not dominant in its 
field of operation.
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    19. The procedural modifications proposed herein should have no 
significant economic impact on those entities--be they large or small--
subject to the Commission's regulatory jurisdiction under NGA section 3 
or 7, and no significant economic impact on state agencies. 
Accordingly, the Commission certifies that these proposed regulations, 
if promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.

VII. Public Comments

    20. The Commission invites interested persons to submit comments on 
the matters and issues proposed in this notice to be adopted, including 
any related matters or alternative proposals that commenters may wish 
to discuss. Comments are due by July 30, 2007. Comments must refer to 
Docket No. RM07-17-000, and must include the commenter's name and 
address, and if applicable, the organization represented. Comments may 
be filed either in electronic or paper format. The

[[Page 35672]]

Commission encourages electronic filing.
    21. Comments may be filed electronically via the eFiling link on 
the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov. The Commission 
accepts most standard word processing formats and requests commenters 
to submit comments in a text-searchable format rather than a scanned 
image format. Commenters filing electronically do not need to make a 
paper filing. Commenters unable to file comments electronically must 
send an original and 14 copies of their comments to: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, Office of the Secretary, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426.
    22. All comments will be placed in the Commission's public files 
and may be viewed, printed, or downloaded remotely as described in the 
Document Availability section below. Commenters on this proposal are 
not required to serve copies of their comments on other commenters.

VIII. Document Availability

    23. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and print the contents of this document via the 
Internet through FERC's Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) and in FERC's 
Public Reference Room during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426. 
User assistance is available for FERC's Web site during normal business 
hours from FERC's Online Support at 202-502-6652, toll free at 1-866-
208-3676, or by e-mail at [email protected], and from the 
Public Reference Room at 202-502-8371, TTY at 202-502-8659, or by e-
mail at [email protected].

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 157

    Administrative practice and procedure, Natural gas, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    By direction of the Commission.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.

    In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission proposes to amend 
part 157, Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows:

PART 157--APPLICATIONS FOR CERTIFICATES OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE AND 
NECESSITY AND FOR ORDERS PERMITTING AND APPROVING ABANDONMENT UNDER 
SECTION 7 OF THE NATURAL GAS ACT

    1. The authority citation for part 157 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717-717w.

    2. In Sec.  157.6, paragraph (d)(2)(iii) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec.  157.6  Applications; general requirements.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (iii) Is within one-half mile of proposed compressors or their 
enclosures or LNG facilities; or
* * * * *
    3. In Sec.  157.206, paragraph (b)(5)(ii) is redesignated as 
paragraph (b)(5)(iii) and a new paragraph (b)(5)(ii) is added, to read 
as follows:


Sec.  157.206  Standard conditions.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (5) * * *
    (ii) For each new compressor station, compressor addition, or 
modification to an existing compressor, the blanket certificate holder 
must file a noise survey with the Secretary no later than 60 days after 
the activity is complete and the compressor facility is placed in 
service. If the noise attributable to the operation of the facility at 
full load exceeds an Ldn of 55 dBA at any nearby noise-
sensitive areas, the blanket certificate holder shall file a report on 
what changes are needed and must put in place additional noise controls 
to meet the 55 dBA level within 1 year of the in-service date. The 
blanket certificate holder must confirm compliance with this 
requirement by filing a subsequent noise survey with the Secretary no 
later than 60 days after installation of the additional noise controls.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. E7-12557 Filed 6-28-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P