Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 243 / Thursday, December 17, 2020 / Notices 81949 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice informs the public that HUD has 

submitted to OMB a request for 

approval of the information collection 

described in Section A. The Federal 

Register notice that solicited public 

comment on the information collection 

for a period of 60 days was published 

on September 23, 2020 at 85 FR 59816. 

A. Overview of Information Collection 

Title of Information Collection: 

Emergency Waivers Reporting. 

OMB Approval Number: 2577–0292. 

Type of Request: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Form Numbers: HUD–5883, HUD– 

5884, HUD–5885. 

Description of the need for the 

information and proposed use: The 

purpose of this notice is to solicit public 

comment on the proposed Emergency 

Waivers Reporting. 

In response to the national COVID–19 

emergency, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, 

and Economic Security Act (CARES 

Act) was enacted on March 27, 2020. 

The Act gives the Department the ability 

to waive regulatory and statutory 

provisions that apply to Public Housing 

Agencies (PHAs). Specifically, the 

CARES Act allows the Secretary of HUD 

to ‘‘waive, or specify alternative 

requirements for, any provision of any 

statute or regulation (except for 

requirements related to fair housing, 

nondiscrimination, labor standards, and 

the environment) . . . . upon a finding 

by the Secretary that any such waivers 

or alternative requirements are 

necessary for the safe and effective 

administration of these funds . . . to 

prevent, prepare for, and respond to 

coronavirus.’’ 

HUD issued a notice detailing the 

waivers available in response to the 

COVID–19 crisis, posted on April 10, 

2020, as PIH Notice 2020–05. This 

notice states: PHAs are required to keep 

written documentation that record 

which waivers the PHA applied to their 

programs(s) and the effective dates. 

In response to presidentially declared 

Major Disaster Declarations (MDDs), 

FR–6050–N–04 is: Relief from HUD 

Public Housing and Section 8 

Requirements Available During CY2020 

and CY2021 to Public Housing Agencies 

to Assist with Recovery and Relief 

Efforts. This notice lists the specific 

waivers and relief options available for 

use by PHAs. 

No respondent is mandated to use a 

waiver but use of the waivers is 

encouraged by HUD in response to 

specific emergencies to reduce burdens 

and administrative requirements. The 

notice announcing the availability of 

waivers becomes the checklist which 

respondents use to note responses as to 

which waivers they elected to use and 

their start date. 

Estimation of the total numbers of 

hours needed to prepare the information 

collection including number of 

respondents, frequency of responses, 

and hours of response: 

Information collection Number of 

respondents 

Frequency 

of response 

Responses 

per annum 

Burden 

hour per 

response 

Annual 

burden 

hours 

Hourly cost Total 

annual cost 

HUD–5883 ................................................................... 3,800 1 3,800 1 3,800 36.86 $140,068 

HUD–5884 ................................................................... 300 1 300 1 300 36.86 11,058 

HUD–5885 ................................................................... 1,000 1 1,000 1 1,000 36.86 36,860 

Total ..................................................................... 5,100 1 5,100 1 5,100 36.86 187,986 

B. Solicitation of Public Comment 

This notice is soliciting comments 

from members of the public and affected 

parties concerning the collection of 

information described in Section A on 

the following: 

(1) Whether the proposed collection 

of information is necessary for the 

proper performance of the functions of 

the agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) The accuracy of the agency’s 

estimate of the burden of the proposed 

collection of information; 

(3) Ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and 

(4) Ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on those 

who are to respond; including through 

the use of appropriate automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of responses. 

(5) Ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on those 

who are to respond, including the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

HUD encourages interested parties to 

submit comment in response to these 

questions 

C. Authority 

Section 3507 of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35. 

Colette Pollard, 

Department Reports Management Officer, 

Office of the Chief Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27770 Filed 12–16–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[FR–6241–N–01] 

Section 8 Housing Assistance 

Payments Program—Annual 

Adjustment Factors, Fiscal Year 2021 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Policy Development and 

Research, Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD). 

ACTION: Notice of Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 

Annual Adjustment Factors (AAFs). 

SUMMARY: The United States Housing 

Act of 1937 requires that certain 

assistance contracts signed by owners 

participating in the Department’s 

Section 8 housing assistance payment 

programs provide annual adjustments to 

monthly rentals for units covered by the 

contracts. This notice announces FY 

2021 AAFs for adjustment of contract 

rents on the anniversary of those 

assistance contracts. A separate Federal 

Register notice, to be published 

following the finalization of the FY 2021 

Federal appropriations, will be used in 

the calculation of the calendar year (CY) 

2021 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) 

renewal funding for public housing 

agencies (PHAs). 

DATES: The FY 2021 AAFs are effective 

December 17, 2020. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Becky Primeaux, Director, Management 

and Operations Division, Office of 

Housing Voucher Programs, Office of 

Public and Indian Housing, 202–708– 

1380, for questions relating to the 

Project-Based Certificate and Moderate 

Rehabilitation programs (not the Single 

Room Occupancy program); Norman A. 

Suchar, Director, Office of Special 

Needs Assistance Programs, Office of 

Community Planning and Development, 

202–402–5015, for questions regarding 

the Single Room Occupancy (SRO) 

Moderate Rehabilitation program; 

Katherine Nzive, Director, OAMPO 

Program Administration Office, Office 

of Multifamily Housing, 202–402–3440, 

81950 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 243 / Thursday, December 17, 2020 / Notices 

for questions relating to all other 

Section 8 programs; and Marie Lihn, 

Economist, Program Parameters and 

Research Division, Office of Policy 

Development and Research, 202–402– 

5866, for technical information 

regarding the development of the 

schedules for specific areas or the 

methods used for calculating the AAFs. 

The mailing address for these 

individuals is: Department of Housing 

and Urban Development, 451 7th Street 

SW, Washington, DC 20410. Hearing- or 

speech-impaired persons may contact 

the Federal Information Relay Service at 

800–877–8339 (TTY). (Other than the 

‘‘800’’ TTY number, the above-listed 

telephone numbers are not toll free.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

factors are based on a formula using 

residential rent and utility cost changes 

from the most recent annual Bureau of 

Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price 

Index (CPI) survey. The FY 2020 AAFs 

were the first to use the revised BLS 

area definitions for local area CPI. The 

revised area definitions for local CPI 

reduced the number of metropolitan 

areas covered by local data from 123 

metropolitan areas (including some 

nonmetro counties) that were formerly 

in metropolitan areas to 70 metropolitan 

areas. The AAFs are applied at the 

anniversary of Housing Assistance 

Payment (HAP) contracts for which 

rents are to be adjusted using the AAF 

for those calendar months commencing 

after the effective date of this notice. 

AAFs are distinct from, and do not 

apply to the same properties as, 

Operating Cost Adjustment Factors 

(OCAFs). OCAFs are annual factors used 

to adjust rents for project-based rental 

assistance contracts issued under 

Section 8 of the United States Housing 

Act of 1937 and renewed under section 

515 or section 524 of the Multifamily 

Assisted Housing Reform and 

Affordability Act of 1997 (MAHRA). 

Tables showing AAFs will be available 

electronically from the HUD data 

information page at http://

www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ 

aaf.html. 

I. Applying AAFs to Various Section 8 

Programs 

AAFs established by this notice are 

used to adjust contract rents for units 

assisted in certain Section 8 housing 

assistance payment programs during the 

initial (i.e., pre-renewal) term of the 

HAP contract. There are two categories 

of Section 8 programs that use the 

AAFs: 

Category 1: The Section 8 New 

Construction, Substantial 

Rehabilitation, and Moderate 

Rehabilitation programs; 

Category 2: The Section 8 Loan 

Management (LM) and Property 

Disposition (PD) programs. 

Each Section 8 program category uses 

the AAFs differently. The specific 

application of the AAFs is determined 

by the law, the HAP contract, and 

appropriate program regulations or 

requirements. 

AAFs are not used in the following 

cases: 

Renewal Rents. AAFs are not used to 

determine renewal rents after expiration 

of the original Section 8 HAP contract 

(either for projects where the Section 8 

HAP contract is renewed under a 

restructuring plan adopted under 24 

CFR part 401; or renewed without 

restructuring under 24 CFR part 402). In 

general, renewal rents are established in 

accordance with the statutory provision 

in MAHRA, as amended, under which 

the HAP is renewed. After renewal, 

annual rent adjustments will be 

provided in accordance with MAHRA. 

Budget-based Rents. AAFs are not 

used for budget-based rent adjustments. 

For projects receiving Section 8 

subsidies under the LM program (24 

CFR part 886, subpart A) and for 

projects receiving Section 8 subsidies 

under the PD program (24 CFR part 886, 

subpart C), contract rents are adjusted, 

at HUD’s option, either by applying the 

AAFs or by budget-based adjustments in 

accordance with 24 CFR 886.112(b) and 

24 CFR 886.312(b). Budget-based 

adjustments are used for most Section 8/ 

202 projects. 

Housing Choice Voucher Program. 

AAFs are not used to adjust rents in the 

Tenant-Based or the Project-Based 

Voucher programs. 

II. Adjustment Procedures 

This section of the notice provides a 

broad description of procedures for 

adjusting the contract rent. Technical 

details and requirements are described 

in HUD notices H 2002–10 (Section 8 

New Construction and Substantial 

Rehabilitation, Loan Management, and 

Property Disposition) and PIH 97–57 

(Moderate Rehabilitation and ProjectBased Certificates). HUD publishes two 

separate AAF Tables, Table 1 and Table 

2. The difference between Table 1 and 

Table 2 is that each AAF in Table 2 is 

0.01 less than the corresponding AAF in 

Table 1. Where an AAF in Table 1 

would otherwise be less than 1.0, it is 

set at 1.0, as required by statute; the 

corresponding AAF in Table 2 will also 

be set at 1.0, as required by statute. 

Because of statutory and structural 

distinctions among the various Section 

8 programs, there are separate rent 

adjustment procedures for the two 

program categories: 

Category 1: Section 8 New Construction, 

Substantial Rehabilitation, and 

Moderate Rehabilitation Programs 

In the Section 8 New Construction 

and Substantial Rehabilitation 

programs, the published AAF factor is 

applied to the pre-adjustment contract 

rent. In the Section 8 Moderate 

Rehabilitation program (both the regular 

program and the single room occupancy 

program) the published AAF is applied 

to the pre-adjustment base rent. 

For Category 1 programs, the Table 1 

AAF factor is applied before 

determining comparability (rent 

reasonableness). Comparability applies 

if the pre-adjustment gross rent (preadjustment contract rent plus any 

allowance for tenant-paid utilities) is 

above the published Fair Market Rent 

(FMR). 

If the comparable rent level (plus any 

initial difference) is lower than the 

contract rent as adjusted by application 

of the Table 1 AAF, the comparable rent 

level (plus any initial difference) will be 

the new contract rent. However, the preadjustment contract rent will not be 

decreased by application of 

comparability. 

In all other cases (i.e., unless the 

contract rent is reduced by 

comparability): 

• Table 1 AAF is used for a unit 

occupied by a new family since the last 

annual contract anniversary. 

• Table 2 AAF is used for a unit 

occupied by the same family as at the 

time of the last annual contract 

anniversary. 

Category 2: Section 8 Loan Management 

Program (24 CFR Part 886, Subpart A) 

and Property Disposition Program (24 

CFR Part 886, Subpart C) 

Category 2 programs are not currently 

subject to comparability. Comparability 

will again apply if HUD establishes 

regulations for conducting 

comparability studies under 42 U.S.C. 

1437f(c)(2)(C). 

The applicable AAF is determined as 

follows: 

• Table 1 AAF is used for a unit 

occupied by a new family since the last 

annual contract anniversary. 

• Table 2 AAF is used for a unit 

occupied by the same family as at the 

time of the last annual contract 

anniversary. 

III. When To Use Reduced AAFs (From 

AAF Table 2) 

In accordance with Section 8(c)(2)(A) 

of the United States Housing Act of 

1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)(2)(A)), the AAF 

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 243 / Thursday, December 17, 2020 / Notices 81951 

1CPI indexes CUUSA103SEHA and 

CUSR0000SAH2 respectively. 2The formulas used to produce these factors can 

be found in the Annual Adjustment Factors 

overview and in the FMR documentation at 

www.HUDUSER.gov. 

is reduced by 0.01 in Section 8 

programs, for a unit occupied by the 

same family at the time of the last 

annual rent adjustment (and where the 

rent is not reduced by application of 

comparability (rent reasonableness)). 

The law provides that except for 

assistance under the certificate program, 

for any unit occupied by the same 

family at the time of the last annual 

rental adjustment, where the assistance 

contract provides for the adjustment of 

the maximum monthly rent by applying 

an annual adjustment factor and where 

the rent for a unit is otherwise eligible 

for an adjustment based on the full 

amount of the factor, 0.01 shall be 

subtracted from the amount of the 

factor, except that the factor shall not be 

reduced to less than 1.0. In the case of 

assistance under the certificate program, 

0.01 shall be subtracted from the 

amount of the annual adjustment factor 

(except that the factor shall not be 

reduced to less than 1.0), and the 

adjusted rent shall not exceed the rent 

for a comparable unassisted unit of 

similar quality, type and age in the 

market area. 42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)(2)(A). 

Legislative history for this statutory 

provision states that ‘‘the rationale [for 

lower AAFs for non-turnover units is] 

that operating costs are less if tenant 

turnover is less . . .’’ (see Department of 

Veteran Affairs and Housing and Urban 

Development, and Independent 

Agencies Appropriations for 1995, 

Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the 

Committee on Appropriations 103d 

Cong., 2d Sess. 591 (1994)). The 

Congressional Record also states the 

following: 

Because the cost to owners of turnoverrelated vacancies, maintenance, and 

marketing are lower for long-term stable 

tenants, these tenants are typically charged 

less than recent movers in the unassisted 

market. Since HUD pays the full amount of 

any rent increases for assisted tenants in 

section 8 projects and under the Certificate 

program, HUD should expect to benefit from 

this ‘tenure discount.’ Turnover is lower in 

assisted properties than in the unassisted 

market, so the effect of the current 

inconsistency with market-based rent 

increases is exacerbated. (140 Cong. Rec. 

8659, 8693 (1994)). 

IV. How To Find the AAF 

AAF Table 1 and Table 2 are posted 

on the HUD User website at http://

www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ 

aaf.html. There are two columns in each 

AAF table. The first column is used to 

adjust contract rent for rental units 

where the highest cost utility is 

included in the contract rent, i.e., where 

the owner pays for the highest cost 

utility. The second column is used 

where the highest cost utility is not 

included in the contract rent, i.e., where 

the tenant pays for the highest cost 

utility. 

The applicable AAF is selected as 

follows: 

• Determine whether Table 1 or Table 

2 is applicable. In Table 1 or Table 2, 

locate the AAF for the geographic area 

where the contract unit is located. 

• Determine whether the highest cost 

utility is or is not included in contract 

rent for the contract unit. 

• If highest cost utility is included, 

select the AAF from the column for 

‘‘Highest Cost Utility Included.’’ If 

highest cost utility is not included, 

select the AAF from the column for 

‘‘Highest Cost Utility Excluded.’’ 

V. Methodology 

AAFs are rent inflation factors. Two 

types of rent inflation factors are 

calculated for AAFs: Gross rent factors 

and shelter rent factors. The gross rent 

factor accounts for inflation in the cost 

of both the rent of the residence and the 

utilities used by the unit; the shelter 

rent factor accounts for the inflation in 

the rent of the residence but does not 

reflect any change in the cost of utilities. 

The gross rent inflation factor is 

designated as ‘‘Highest Cost Utility 

Included’’ and the shelter rent inflation 

factor is designated as ‘‘Highest Cost 

Utility Excluded.’’ 

AAFs are calculated using CPI data on 

‘‘rent of primary residence’’ and ‘‘fuels 

and utilities.’’ 1 The CPI inflation index 

for rent of primary residence measures 

the inflation of all surveyed units 

regardless of whether utilities are 

included in the rent of the unit or not. 

In other words, it measures the inflation 

of the ‘‘contract rent’’ which includes 

units with all utilities included in the 

rent, units with some utilities included 

in the rent, and units with no utilities 

included in the rent. In producing a 

gross rent inflation factor and a shelter 

rent inflation factor, HUD decomposes 

the contract rent CPI inflation factor into 

parts to represent the gross rent change 

and the shelter rent change. This is done 

by applying data from the Consumer 

Expenditure Survey (CEX) on the 

percentage of renters who pay for heat 

(a proxy for the percentage of renters 

who pay shelter rent) and, also, 

American Community Survey (ACS) 

data on the ratio of utilities to rents. For 

Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Community 

Survey (PRCS) is used to determine the 

ratio of utilities to rents, resulting in 

different AAFs for some metropolitan 

areas in Puerto Rico.2

Survey Data Used To Produce AAFs 

The rent inflation factor and fuel and 

utilities inflation factor for each large 

metropolitan area and Census region are 

based, respectively, on changes in the 

CPI index for rent of primary residence 

and the CPI index for fuels and utilities 

from 2018 to 2019. The CEX data used 

to decompose the contract rent inflation 

factor into gross rent and shelter rent 

inflation factors come from a special 

tabulation of 2019 CEX survey data 

produced for HUD. The utility-to-rent 

ratio used to produce AAFs comes from 

2018 ACS median rent and utility costs. 

Geographic Areas 

Beginning with the data collection for 

2018, BLS revised the sample for the 

CPI to be based on Core Based Statistical 

Areas (CBSAs). Previously the sample 

was based on Metropolitan Statistical 

Areas (MSAs) as defined in 1998. In 

addition, the population required to be 

designated a Class A CPI city was 

increased from 1.5 million to 2.5 

million. The following major 

metropolitan areas were eliminated 

under the new sample design: 

Pittsburgh PA, Cincinnati-Hamilton OHKY-IN, Cleveland-Akron OH, 

Milwaukee-Racine WI, Kansas City MOKS, and Portland-Salem OR-WA. With 

the change in metropolitan area 

definitions and the designation of Class 

A cities, the number of CPI cities 

declined from 28 metropolitan areas to 

23 metropolitan areas (Riverside-San 

Bernardino has been split off from the 

Los Angeles survey area). This decline 

has resulted in fewer metropolitan 

component areas receiving local CPI 

adjustments, down to 70 metropolitan 

areas and subareas (HUD Metro FMR 

Areas) from 124 metropolitan and 

nonmetropolitan areas. The 2018 CPI 

data with new metropolitan area 

definitions was first used with the FY 

2020 AAFs. There are no longer any 

nonmetropolitan areas using local CPI 

inflation factors in the U.S. This change 

did not impact Puerto Rico which 

applies an island-wide CPI to all 

metropolitan and nonmetropolitan 

areas. 

Each metropolitan area that uses a 

local CPI update factor is listed 

alphabetically in the tables and each 

HUD Metro FMR Area (HMFA) is listed 

alphabetically within its respective 

CBSA. Each AAF applies to a specific 

geographic area and to units of all 

bedroom sizes. AAFs are provided: 

• For metropolitan areas at the MSA 

or HMFA level. 

81952 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 243 / Thursday, December 17, 2020 / Notices 

• For the four Census Regions (to be 

used for those metropolitan areas that 

are not covered by a CPI city-survey and 

non-metropolitan areas). 

AAFs use the same Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

metropolitan area definitions, as revised 

by HUD, that are used for the FY 2021 

FMRs. 

Area Definitions 

To make certain that they are using 

the correct AAFs, users should refer to 

the Area Definitions Table section at 

http://www.huduser.gov/portal/ 

datasets/aaf.html. The Area Definitions 

Table lists CPI areas in alphabetical 

order by state, and the associated 

Census region is shown next to each 

state name. Areas whose AAFs are 

determined by local CPI surveys are 

listed first. All metropolitan areas with 

local CPI survey areas have separate 

AAF schedules and are shown with 

their corresponding county definitions 

or as metropolitan counties. In the six 

New England states, the listings are for 

counties or parts of counties as defined 

by towns or cities. The remaining 

counties use the CPI for the Census 

Region and are not separately listed in 

the Area Definitions Table at http://

www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ 

aaf.html. 

Puerto Rico uses its own AAFs 

calculated from the Puerto Rico CPI as 

adjusted by the PRCS, the Virgin Islands 

uses the South Region AAFs and the 

Pacific Islands use the West Region 

AAFs. 

Todd M. Richardson, 

General Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office 

of Policy Development and Research. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27708 Filed 12–16–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R2–NWRS–2020–N072; 

FVRS84510200000–20X–FF02R05000] 

Notice of Receipt of Right-of-Way 

Application for Natural Gas Pipeline 

Crossing San Bernard National Wildlife 

Refuge 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Receipt of Right-ofWay Application for Natural Gas 

Pipeline; request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service has received two applications 

for 30-year right-of-way permits from 

Baymark Pipeline LLC and South Texas 

NGL Pipeline LLC, respectively. The 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will open 

the National Wildlife Refuge System 

lands, allowing for this infrastructure, 

under the authority of the National 

Wildlife Refuge System Administration 

Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

requests public comment on the permit 

applications and associated documents. 

DATES: We must receive any written 

comments on or before January 19, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments or 

requests by any one of the following 

methods. 

• Email: jennifer_sanchez@fws.gov 

(use ‘‘Enterprise ROW’’ as your subject 

line). 

• Fax: 979–964–4021 (use ‘‘Enterprise 

ROW’’ as your subject line). 

• U.S. mail: Project Leader, Texas 

Mid-coast Complex, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 2547 County Road 316, 

Brazoria, TX 77422. 

Public Availability of Comments 

• Written comments we receive will 

become part of the public record 

associated with this action. Please be 

aware that your entire comment— 

including your personal identifying 

information, address, phone number, 

and email—may be made publicly 

available at any time. While you may 

request in your comment that we 

withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. All submissions from 

organizations or businesses, and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

made available for public disclosure in 

their entirety. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Sanchez, 979–964–4011 

(phone), or jennifer_sanchez@fws.gov 

(email). Individuals who are hearing or 

speech impaired may call the Federal 

Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339 for 

TTY assistance. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), has 

received two applications for 30-year 

right-of-way (ROW) permits under the 

Mineral Leasing Act. 

Applicants’ Permit Proposals 

Baymark Pipeline LLC and South 

Texas NGL Pipeline LLC have each 

requested a 30-ft-wide pipeline right-ofway across a 203-ft-long section of the 

San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge 

NWR in Brazoria County, Texas. 

The applicants request ROW permits 

for the following pipelines: 

Applicant Pipeline description Material to be transported 

Baymark Pipeline LLC ...................................................... 12-inch-diameter pipeline, steel ...................................... natural gas (ethylene). 

South Texas NGL Pipeline LLC ....................................... 8-inch-diameter pipeline, steel ........................................ natural gas (propylene). 

The ROW permits, if granted by the 

Service, would enable each respective 

applicant to construct, operate, 

maintain, and terminate an ethylene and 

propylene pipeline. The purpose of the 

new pipelines would be to transport 

ethylene and propylene through 

Matagorda, Brazoria, Galveston, and 

Harris Counties in Texas. The requested 

ROWs would be collocated within an 

existing 30-fit pipeline ROW that is 

used by Florida Gas and Lavaca to 

transport natural gas. The existing 

pipeline ROW is not an exclusive area; 

therefore, additional uses may be 

collocated within the same cleared 

corridor. 

The applicants’ pipelines would be 

installed by means of a conventional 

bore technique under refuge land; 

therefore, the construction would not 

require trenching on refuge lands. No 

additional permit boundaries beyond 

the existing ROW are required. The bore 

holes would be located 300 ft outside 

the refuge property line on adjacent 

private lands. 

Next Steps 

This notice informs the public that 

the Service will process the ROW 

permit applications from Baymark 

Pipeline LLC and South Texas NGL 

Pipeline LLC, which includes the 

preparation of the National 

Environmental Policy Act 

documentation along with terms and 

conditions of the right-of-way permit. 

Authority 

Applications for ROW for natural gas 

pipelines are to be filed in accordance 

with Section 28 of the Mineral Leasing