[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 82 (Tuesday, April 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 23513]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08973]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP18-39-000]


Questar Southern Trails Pipeline Company; Notice of Extension of 
Time Request

    Take notice that on April 17, 2020, Questar Southern Trails 
Pipeline Company (Questar) requested that the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (Commission) grant an extension of time, until May 9, 2022, 
to complete its Southern Trail Pipeline Abandonment Project (Project) 
authorized in the May 9, 2018 Order Approving Abandonment (May 2018 
Order).\1\ The May 2018 Order required Questar to abandon, within two 
years of the order date, all of its certificated facilities dedicated 
to providing jurisdictional transportation services (Questar Southern 
Trails Facilities) located in California, Arizona, Utah, and New 
Mexico, in part by sale to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) 
and in part by abandonment-in-place.
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    \1\ Questar Southern Trails Pipeline Company, 163 FERC 62,086 
(2018).
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    Questar states that Phase 1 of the two-phased implementation plan, 
filed on May 23, 2019, was completed on June 29, 2019. Questar asserts 
that in Phase 2 of the Project, Questar will conclude the Asset 
Purchase Agreement with the NTUA. Upon closing the transaction, Questar 
will simultaneously abandon by sale the remaining facilities detailed 
in the application and abandon its NGA Section 7(c) certificate, the 
Questar FERC Gas Tariff, and all transportation services. Questar 
affirms that it and the NTUA continue to diligently seek the consents 
necessary to finalize the transaction; however, all the necessary 
consents have not yet been obtained, and as a result, Questar is unable 
to complete abandonment within the 2-year time frame designated in the 
Order.
    This notice establishes a 15-calendar day intervention and comment 
period deadline. Any person wishing to comment on the extension motion 
may do so. No reply comments or answers will be considered. If you wish 
to obtain legal status by becoming a party to the proceedings for this 
request, you should, on or before the comment date stated below, file 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 Natural Gas Act (18 CFR 157.10). 
However, only motions to intervene from entities that were party to the 
underlying proceeding will be accepted.
    As a matter of practice, the Commission itself generally acts on 
requests for extensions of time to complete construction for NGA 
facilities when such requests are contested before order issuance. For 
those extension requests that are contested,\2\ the Commission acting 
as a whole will aim to issue an order acting on the request within 45 
days.\3\ The Commission will address all arguments relating to whether 
the applicant has demonstrated there is good cause to grant the 
extension. The Commission will not consider arguments that re-litigate 
the issuance of the certificate order, including whether the Commission 
properly found the project to be in the public convenience and 
necessity and whether the Commission's environmental analysis for the 
certificate complied with the National Environmental Policy Act.\4\ At 
the time a pipeline requests an extension of time, orders on 
certificates of public convenience and necessity are final and the 
Commission will not re-litigate their issuance. The OEP Director, or 
his or her designee, will act on all of those extension requests that 
are uncontested.
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    \2\ Contested proceedings are those where an intervenor disputes 
any material issue of the filing. 18 CFR 385.2201(c)(1) (2019).
    \3\ Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, 170 FERC 61,144, at P 40 
(2020).
    \4\ Similarly, the Commission will not re-litigate the issuance 
of an NGA section 3 authorization, including whether a proposed 
project is not inconsistent with the public interest and whether the 
Commission's environmental analysis for the permit order complied 
with NEPA.
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    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/or print the contents of this document via the 
internet through the Commission's Home Page (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. At this time, 
the Commission has suspended access to Commission's Public Reference 
Room, due to the proclamation declaring a National Emergency concerning 
the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), issued by the President on 
March 13, 2020. For assistance, contact FERC at 
[email protected] or call toll-free, (886) 208-3676 or TYY, 
(202) 502-8659.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings 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 three copies of the protest or intervention to 
the Federal Energy regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20426.
    Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 7, 2020.

    Dated: April 22, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-08973 Filed 4-27-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P