152 FERC ¶ 61,049

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

18 CFR Parts 2 and 157

[Docket No. RM12-11-003; Order No. 790-B]

Revisions to Auxiliary Installations, Replacement Facilities, 

and Siting and Maintenance Regulations

(Issued July 16, 2015)

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final rule, order on clarification.

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is amending 

its regulations to: (1) provide pre-granted authority under new subsection 2.55(a)(3) to 

abandon or replace auxiliary facilities, subject to certain conditions; (2) permit auxiliary 

facilities that cannot meet the conditions for the pre-granted abandonment authority in 

new subsection 2.55(a)(3) to be abandoned under section 157.216 of the blanket 

certificate regulations, subject to those regulations’ requirements; and (3) permit 

replacement facilities constructed under section 2.55(b) of the regulations to be 

abandoned under section 157.216 of the Part 157, Subpart F, blanket certificate 

regulations, subject to those regulations’ requirements.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule will become effective [Insert Date 75 days after 

publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Docket No. RM12

-11-003- 2 -

Katherine Liberty

Office of the General Counsel

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

888 First Street, NE

Washington, DC 20426

(202) 502-6491

katherine.liberty@ferc.gov

Gordon Wagner

Office of the General Counsel

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

888 First Street, NE

Washington, DC 20426

(202) 502-8947

gordon.wagner@ferc.gov

Howard Wheeler

Office of Energy Projects

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

888 First Street, NE

Washington, DC 20426

(202) 502-8688

howard.wheeler@ferc.gov

Shannon Jones

Office of Energy Projects

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

888 First Street, NE

Washington, DC 20426

(202) 502-6410

shannon.jones@ferc.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

:
152 FERC ¶ 61,049

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

Revisions to Auxiliary Installations, Replacement 

Facilities, and Siting and Maintenance Regulations

Docket No. RM12-11-003

ORDER NO. 790-B

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Paragraph Numbers

I. Discussion ..............................................................................................................................4.

A. Section 2.55(a) Auxiliary Facilities ...............................................................................9.

B. Section 2.55(b) Replacements..........................................................................................14.

II. Information Collection Statement.........................................................................................18.

III. Environmental Analysis ......................................................................................................23.

IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act...................................................................................................24.

V. Document Availability .........................................................................................................26.

VI. Effective Date and Congressional Notification...................................................................29.
152 FERC ¶ 61,049

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

Before Commissioners: Norman C. Bay, Chairman;

 Philip D. Moeller, Cheryl A. LaFleur,

Tony Clark, and Colette D. Honorable.

Revisions to Auxiliary Installations, Replacement Docket No. RM12-11-003

Facilities, and Siting and Maintenance Regulations 

ORDER NO. 790-B

FINAL RULE

ORDER ON REHEARING AND CLARIFICATION

(Issued July 16, 2015)

1. On November 20, 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

(Commission) issued Order No. 790-A,1 which affirmed, inter alia, the Commission’s 

clarification in Order No. 7902 that auxiliary facilities installed under section 2.55(a) of 

the Commission’s regulations3 may only utilize rights-of-way, facility sites, and work 

spaces authorized for the construction and operation of interstate transmission facilities. 

 1 Revisions to Auxiliary Installations, Replacement Facilities, and Siting and 

Maintenance Regulations, Order No. 790-A, 79 FR 70056 (Nov. 25, 2014), FERC Stats. 

& Regs. ¶ 31,361 (2014) (cross-referenced at 149 FERC ¶ 61,144 (2014)).

2 Order No. 790, 78 FR 72794-801 (Dec. 4, 2013), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,351 

(2013) (cross-referenced at 145 FERC ¶ 61,154 (2013)).

3 18 CFR 2.55 (2014).
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 2 -

2. On December 22, 2014, National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation and Empire 

Pipeline, Inc. (collectively, National Fuel) filed a request that the Commission revise its 

Part 157, Subpart F, blanket certificate regulations to provide a mechanism under those 

regulations for the abandonment of auxiliary facilities that were constructed under

section 2.55(a) and replacement facilities that were constructed under section 2.55(b). 

National Fuel also requests clarification that in addition to authorizing new auxiliary 

installations, section 2.55(a) also authorizes the replacement of existing auxiliary 

facilities without the need for abandonment authority under section 7(b) of the Natural 

Gas Act (NGA).

3. As discussed below, this order responds to National Fuel’s requests by 

(1) adopting a new subsection 2.55(a)(3) to provide pre-granted authority to abandon or 

replace auxiliary facilities, subject to certain conditions; (2) amending Part 157 to provide 

authority, subject to the blanket certificate regulations’ conditions, to abandon 

section 2.55(a) auxiliary facilities that cannot meet the conditions for the pre-granted 

abandonment authority being added to section 2.55(a) and to abandon section 2.55(b) 

replacement facilities. 

I. Discussion

4. In Order No. 790-A, the Commission explained that section 2.55 facilities are 

installed under the certificate authority that authorized the interstate transmission pipeline 

facilities being augmented or replaced. The Commission further explained that because 

section 2.55 auxiliary and replacement facilities are certificated facilities, a company 

needs prior authorization under NGA section 7(b) to abandon such facilities. The 
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 3 -

Commission stated that in many instances companies should be able to rely on their Part 

157, Subpart F, blanket certificate authority to abandon section 2.55 facilities. In view of 

this statement, National Fuel believes it is the Commission’s intent that companies be 

able to rely on their Part 157 blanket certificate authority to abandon facilities installed 

under section 2.55.

5. National Fuel points out, however, that section 157.202(b)(3) of the blanket 

certificate regulations states that a “facility” for purposes of the blanket program does not 

include a facility “described under section 2.55,” and that section 157.216 states that 

blanket certificate abandonment authority is limited to facilities that “did or could now 

qualify” for construction authorization under the blanket provisions. National Fuel 

therefore requests that the Commission revise its blanket certificate regulations to ensure 

that companies will be able to rely on Part 157 blanket certificate authority to abandon 

section 2.55 auxiliary and replacement facilities. National Fuel stresses that without clear 

blanket certificate authority to abandon section 2.55 facilities that did or could now 

qualify for construction authorization under the blanket provisions, companies will be 

subject to the burden of having to file an NGA section 7(b) application for abandonment 

authorization for each individual facility.

6. In view of the Commission’s statement in Order No. 790-A that NGA section 7(b) 

authority is required for the abandonment of section 2.55 facilities, National Fuel also 

seeks clarification on whether section 7(b) abandonment authority is needed to retire an 

auxiliary facility that is being replaced.
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 4 -

7. The Commission affirms its statement in Order No. 790-A that NGA section 7(b) 

authority is required for the abandonment of section 2.55 facilities, which includes the 

retirement of section 2.55 facilities that will be replaced. However, for the reasons 

discussed below, the Commission believes section 2.55(a) can be amended to include 

pre-granted authority to abandon section 2.55 facilities in certain situations and agrees 

that the blanket certificate regulations should be amended so that companies can rely on 

their blanket certificate authority to abandon auxiliary and replacement facilities that 

were or could have been constructed under section 2.55, provided the abandonment 

facilities meet the blanket program criteria. 

8. Therefore, the Commission will amend: (1) section 2.55(a) to provide pre-granted 

authorization to retire auxiliary facilities that are being replaced or permanently abandon 

the auxiliary facilities if there will be no need to go outside an authorized right-of-way, 

facility site, or work space,4 and (2) Part 157, Subpart F, to permit the use of blanket 

 4 As the Commission has previously explained in this rulemaking proceeding, the 

certificate authority for section 2.55 auxiliary and replacement facilities is a type of 

blanket certificate that was both a precursor of and a complement to Part 157, Subpart F, 

blanket certificate authority. Order No. 790, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,351 at P 16; 

Order No. 790-A, ¶ 31,361 at P 13. However, unlike activities under section 2.55, which 

must comply with previously established environmental conditions, activities under 

Part 157 that will involve ground disturbance or change operational air or noise emissions 

are subject to a project-specific environmental review in order to comply with the 

conditions in section 157.206(b). Because of this safeguard, blanket projects are 

permitted to use new rights-of-way and other previously undisturbed areas. In addition, 

environmental assessment reports are prepared for companies’ larger-scale blanket 

projects to confirm that section 157.206(b)’s standard conditions will be adequate to 

ensure that the blanket project will have no significant adverse environmental impacts. 
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 5 -

certificate authority, subject to the blanket program’s conditions, to abandon 

section 2.55(a) auxiliary facilities if a company is unable to exercise the new pre-granted 

abandonment authority in section 2.55(a)(3) and to abandon section 2.55(b) replacement 

facilities.5

 In view of the revisions and additions to section 2.55 since its original 

provisions were proposed in 1948,6 the Commission also is changing the current heading 

for section 2.55, “Definition of terms used in section 7(c).” The revised heading for 

section 2.55 will read “Auxiliary installations and replacement facilities.”

A. Section 2.55(a) Auxiliary Facilities

9. Auxiliary installations under section 2.55(a) are limited to facilities that will serve 

“only for the purpose of obtaining more efficient operation or more economical operation 

 5 As discussed herein, section 2.55 facilities are jurisdictional, and therefore 

cannot be abandoned without prior authorization under NGA section 7(b). While the 

certificate authorization for the transmission facilities being augmented or replaced by 

section 2.55 facilities is the predicate for the certificate authority to construct section 2.55 

facilities, the underlying certificate authorization does not include pre-granted 

abandonment authority. Note that although a company cannot abandon a newer facility 

which replaces an older facility without first securing authorization to do so, section 

2.55(b) operates to provide pre-granted authority for the older facility. This final rule’s 

regulatory changes are prospective only, and therefore do not operate to retroactively 

authorize any previous abandonments of section 2.55 facilities. However, consistent with 

the Commission’s prior assurances in this proceeding regarding instances where 

companies may have mistakenly relied on section 2.55 to install auxiliary facilities that 

utilized new rights-of-way or other areas that had not been subject to the Commission’s 

prior environmental review and approval, the Commission similarly does not intend to 

look back to pursue enforcement action with respect to earlier abandonments of auxiliary 

facilities unless it comes to the Commission’s attention that remedial environmental 

measures need to be taken. See Order No. 790-A at P 42. 

6 Filing of Applications for Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity, 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, NOPR, 13 FR 6253, at 6254 (October 23, 1948).
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 6 -

of the authorized or proposed transmission facilities” (emphasis added).7

 Further, to add 

an auxiliary facility to a transmission pipeline system, a company cannot rely on 

section 2.55(a) unless its activities are confined to the permanent right-of-way, facility 

site, and temporary work space surveyed and authorized by the Commission in its 

environmental review of the transmission system.

8

 In addition, because section 2.55 

facilities are constructed and operated under the certificate authorization for the 

transmission facilities being augmented or replaced, section 2.55 activities must not result 

in a violation of any environmental conditions applicable to the certificate authorizing the 

transmission facilities. Therefore, to install auxiliary facilities under section 2.55(a), a 

company must:

conform to the conditions of the certificate authorizing construction of the 

transmission facilities (e.g., all required mitigation measures, such as 

erosion control or revegetation protocols, that applied to the case-specific 

 7 As examples of auxiliary facilities that serve only to make pipeline operation 

more efficient or economical, section 2.55(a) lists “[v]alves; drips; pig 

launchers/receivers; yard and station piping; cathodic protection equipment; gas cleaning, 

cooling and dehydration equipment; residual refining equipment; water pumping, 

treatment and cooling equipment; electrical and communication equipment; and 

buildings.”

8 The Commission acknowledged in Order No. 790 that it was not aware of any 

section 2.55(a) auxiliary installation activities outside authorized areas that approached

the scale of certain section 2.55(b) replacement activities that had taken place outside 

authorized areas. However, as the Commission explained, section 2.55(a) auxiliary 

installations also must be restricted to previously authorized areas because “the issues 

raised for sections 2.55(a) and (b) activities are the same.” Order No. 790, FERC Stats. 

& Regs. ¶ 31,351 at P 20 (footnotes omitted).
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 7 -

certificate or Part 157 blanket certificate authority under which the 

transmission facilities were constructed).

9

10. The Commission believes these limitations will be sufficient to obviate the need 

for further environmental review if section 2.55(a) is amended to include pre-granted 

authority for companies to abandon, or to retire and replace, auxiliary facilities “as 

described in section 2.55(a),” regardless of whether the facilities to be abandoned or 

replaced were installed under section 2.55. Therefore, the Commission will add a new 

paragraph to section 2.55(a)(3) to provide pre-granted authority to abandon or replace 

auxiliary facilities if the auxiliary facilities were or could have been installed under 

section 2.55(a) 10 and all activities are confined to areas previously reviewed and 

approved by the Commission in conjunction with its authorization of the augmented 

transmission facilities.

11. Auxiliary facilities, by definition, serve exclusively to enhance the efficiency or 

economy of the operation of a transmission system; thus, the abandonment or 

replacement of auxiliary facilities should not result in a reduction or abandonment of 

service supplied by that system.11 Nevertheless, the abandonment or replacement of 

 9 Order No. 790, FERC Stats. & ¶ 31,351 at P 33.

10 Note that auxiliary facilities installed under case-specific or blanket certificate 

authority can also qualify for the pre-granted authority under section 2.55(a)(3) if such 

facilities comply with the section 2.55 spatial constraints.

11 Because section 2.55(b) provides authority to abandon the existing facilities 

being replaced under that subsection, section 2.55(b)(1)(i) provides that a replacement 

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 8 -

auxiliary facilities under new section 2.55(a)(3) will be authorized only if there will be no 

adverse impact on customers’ certificated services.

12. Further, like the section 2.55(a) authority to install auxiliary facilities, the new 

section 2.55(a)(3) pre-granted authority will be available only if a company’s 

abandonment or replacement activities will not result in a violation of the conditions on 

the certificate authorizing the augmented transmission facilities, in particular, the 

environmental mitigation conditions. For example, if the auxiliary facilities a company 

plans to abandon or replace are cathodic protection equipment located in a pipeline rightof-way, the case-specific or Part 157 blanket certificate authorization for construction of 

the pipeline generally would have been conditioned on the company’s compliance with 

an Upland Erosion Control, Revegetation, and Maintenance Plan12 and Wetland and 

Waterbody Construction and Mitigation Procedures.13 Just as the company would have 

been required to ensure compliance with these environmental certificate conditions to 

install the cathodic equipment under section 2.55(a), the company will need to similarly 

ensure that any exercise of the new section 2.55(a)(3) authority to abandon or replace the 

 

project is authorized only if the abandonment of the existing facilities “will not result in a 

reduction or abandonment of service.” 

12 See http://www.ferc.gov/industries/gas/enviro/plan.pdf.

13 See http://www.ferc.gov/industries/gas/enviro/procedures.pdf.
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 9 -

cathodic protection equipment will also comply with these environmental certificate 

conditions.14

13. Accordingly, new subsection 2.55(a)(3) will read as follows:

(3) Abandonment or replacement of auxiliary installations. Authorization 

to abandon or replace auxiliary facilities that were or could be installed 

under paragraph (a)(1) of this section is granted under section 7(b) of the 

Natural Gas Act, and no reporting is required, provided that:

(i) All activities will be confined to areas, including temporary work 

space, previously authorized by the Commission for the construction and 

operation of facilities at that location; 

(ii) All activities will comply with applicable conditions on the 

certificate authorization for the construction and operation of facilities at 

that location; and 

(iii) The abandonment or replacement will have no adverse impact on 

customers’ certificated services.15

 14 A company should seek guidance from staff if it is uncertain whether or how an 

environmental mitigation condition on the construction and operation of transmission 

facilities at a given location will apply to its abandonment of auxiliary facilities.

15 The pre-granted abandonment authority provided by new subsection 2.55(a)(3) 

will satisfy the requirement set forth in NGA section 7(b) that “no natural-gas company 

shall abandon all or any portion of its facilities subject to the jurisdiction of the 

Commission, or any service rendered by means of such facilities, without the permission 

and approval of the Commission first had and obtained.”
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 10 -

B. Section 2.55(b) Replacements

14. Replacements under section 2.55(b), like auxiliary facility activities under 

section 2.55(a), are restricted to areas previously subject to the Commission’s 

environmental review and approval.16 Also, replacements under section 2.55(b), like 

auxiliary facility activities under section 2.55(a), must conform to the conditions on the 

case-specific or Part 157 blanket certificate authorization of the affected transmission 

facilities.

15. As discussed earlier in this proceeding, replacement projects under section 2.55(b) 

can be much larger in scale than auxiliary installations under section 2.55(a).17 Further, 

 16 As the Commission explained in Order No. 790, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,351 

at P 15, “[i]n the case of section 2.55(b) replacement facilities, an environmental review 

was performed prior to construction of the existing facilities to be replaced.” 

17 Id. at P 39. The Commission has explained the original intent for 

section 2.55(b) as follows: 

The types of construction activities being conducted under section 2.55 are 

replacements that should only involve basic maintenance or repair to 

relatively minor facilities where the Commission has determined that no 

significant impact to the environment will occur. The Commission believes 

that the existing right-of-way that was used to construct the original 

facilities should be sufficient for these types of activities. Pipelines may 

use their blanket certificate authority to perform projects involving more 

extensive work that would need additional workspace, including the use of 

other unrelated rights-of-way. This would allow for the required additional 

environmental scrutiny. Therefore, those projects should be done under the 

pipeline's blanket certificate.

Id. at P 7, citing Order No. 603-A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,081 at 31,922

(1999).
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 11 -

section 2.55(b) can be used without prior notice to the Commission and shippers for 

replacing facilities upon which existing services are dependent,18 necessitating 

section 2.55(b)(1)(i)’s condition limiting replacement projects to situations where 

companies can ensure that the abandonment of existing facilities will not result in a 

reduction or cessation of service. In view of these considerations, even though activities 

under section 2.55 are restricted to areas subject to the Commission’s prior environmental 

review and approval, the Commission cannot find, as it has above for section 2.55(a) 

auxiliary facilities, that it would be consistent with the public interest to provide pregranted authority to abandon section 2.55(b) replacement facilities. However, 

abandonment authority for section 2.55(b) replacements can be provided under 

section 157.216 of the Part 157 blanket certificate regulations, since blanket 

abandonments provide for environmental review.19 In addition, the blanket provisions 

afford an opportunity for public input under the prior notice provisions applicable to 

 18 The only notice requirement applicable to replacements under section 2.55(b) is 

the requirement that a company give the Commission at least 30 days prior notice if the 

cost of a replacement project will exceed the blanket certificate regulations’ current 

automatic cost limit. See section 2.55(b)(1)(iii) and (2). There is no public notice 

requirement under section 2.55(a). 

19 In general, a facility is replaced as it approaches the end of its useful life, a 

lifespan which may be measured in decades for cathodically protected pipeline. Given 

this lifespan, by the time a replaced facility reaches the end of its useful life, there may 

have been changes in the use of land proximate to the replaced facility that were not 

contemplated in the Commission’s review of the initial project proposal, and thus not 

accounted for in the certificate conditions. Accordingly, the Commission finds it prudent 

to revisit potential environmental impacts prior to the abandonment of certain replaced 

facilities.
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 12 -

larger abandonment projects and also require that a company be able to demonstrate the 

facility it is planning to abandon (be it original or a replacement) is no longer needed to 

meet its service obligations.20

16. National Fuel observes that section 157.202(b)(3) states that a “facility,” for the 

purposes of the blanket program, “does not include the items described” in section 2.55, 

and section 157.216 states that the blanket abandonment authority described in that 

section is limited to facilities that “did or could now qualify” for construction under the 

blanket certificate regulations. Because these sections operate to exclude the items 

described in section 2.55 from eligibility for blanket certificate abandonment 

authorization, we will revise the blanket certificate regulations to allow companies to use 

the automatic and prior notice provisions of section 157.216 to abandon (1) replacement

facilities that were or could have been constructed under section 2.55(b); and 

(2) auxiliary facilities that cannot be abandoned under new subsection 2.55(a)(3)’s pregranted authority because their abandonment will require going out outside areas 

previously reviewed and approved by the Commission in authorizing the augmented 

transmission facilities. 

 20 Even when a company obtains written consent from all customers whose 

services during the last year depended on the facilities to be abandoned under 

section 157.216, the abandonment is subject to the blanket certificate regulations’ prior 

notice provisions if the current cost of constructing the facilities to be abandoned would 

exceed the blanket certificate regulations’ current automatic cost limit. 

18 CFR 157.216(b)(2) (2014).
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 13 -

17. As a result of these revisions to the blanket certificate regulations, a company will 

need to file an application for case-specific authority to abandon section 2.55 facilities 

only when the abandonment cannot qualify under the automatic or prior notice provisions 

of section 157.216 because the current cost to construct the facilities would exceed the 

blanket regulations’ applicable cost limits, or because the company cannot obtain 

necessary customer consent as required by section 157.216, or because the project cannot 

satisfy the section 157.206(b)’s environmental requirements.21

II. Information Collection Statement

18. The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)22 requires each federal agency to seek and 

obtain Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval before undertaking a 

collection of information directed to ten or more persons or contained in a rule of general 

 21 When a company relies on the automatic or prior notice provisions of 

section 157.216 to abandon a section 2.55 auxiliary or replacement facility, it will have to 

identify the abandonment in accordance with section 157.216(d) in the annual report of 

blanket certificate activities required by section 157.207. Section 157.216(d)(2) requires 

facilities abandoned under that section to be identified in a company’s annual report by 

the “docket number(s) of the certificate(s) authorizing the construction and operation of 

the facilities to be abandoned.” Since the Commission does not assign docket numbers to 

facilities put in place under section 2.55, companies’ annual reports of blanket certificate 

activities should identify the docket number(s) associated with the transmission facilities 

that were augmented or replaced by the section 2.55 facilities abandoned under 

section 157.216. If section 2.55 facilities are abandoned under section 157.216’s prior 

notice provisions, the company’s annual report should also include the docket number 

that was assigned to its prior notice filing. 

22 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520 (2012).
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 14 -

applicability.23 The OMB regulations implementing the PRA require approval of certain 

information collection requirements imposed by agency rules.

24 We expect a net 

decrease in the reporting burden due to this rule’s amendment of section 2.55(a) to 

provide pre-granted authority for companies to abandon or replace auxiliary facilities and 

amendment of the Part 157 regulations to extend blanket certificate authority to the 

abandonment of certain section 2.55 auxiliary and replacement facilities. Companies 

must identify facilities abandoned under section 157.216 in the annual report submitted

pursuant to section 157.207. While the expanded authority this rule provides under 

section 156.216 can be expected to increase the number of facilities abandoned under that 

section, companies can be expected to account for these additional facilities in the annual 

report with minimal, ministerial efforts. Consequently, this rule will substantially reduce 

current burdens on companies by eliminating the additional information that would 

otherwise need to be submitted in an NGA section 7(b) case-specific abandonment 

application.25

 23 OMB’s regulations provide at 5 CFR 1320.3(c)(4)(i) (2014) that “[a]ny 

recordkeeping, reporting, or disclosure requirement contained in a rule of general 

applicability is deemed to involve ten or more persons.”

24 5 CFR 1320 (2014).

25 FERC-537 (Gas Pipeline Certificates: Construction, Acquisition and 

Abandonment, OMB Control No. 1902-0060) covers both the abandonment application 

requirements of Part 157 and the annual reports under 18 CFR 157.207. The expanded 

Part 157 abandonment authority, as well as the new section 2.55(a)(3) pre-granted 

authority to abandon and replace auxiliary facilities, will be covered under FERC-537.
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 15 -

19. The Commission solicits comments from the public on the Commission's need for 

this information, whether the information will have practical utility, the accuracy of the 

burden estimates, recommendations to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondents' 

burden, including the use of automated information techniques. The burden estimates are 

for implementing the information collection requirements of this Final Rule. The 

Commission asks that any revised burden estimates submitted by commenters include 

tkkhe details and assumptions used to generate the estimates.

20. The collection of information modified by this Final Rule falls under FERC-537 

(Gas Pipeline Certificates: Construction, Acquisition, and Abandonment). The 

following estimates of reporting burden are related only to this Final Rule. 

Public Reporting Burden: The estimated average annual burden changes made in Docket 

RM12-11-003 follow.

RM12-11-003 Final Rule

Number of 

Respondents 

(1)

Number of 

Responses 

per 

Respondent

(2)

Average 

Burden 

Hours Per 

Response

(3)

Total 

Annual 

Burden 

Hours

(1)x(2)x(3)

Total 

Annual Cost 

($)26

FERC-537

 26 The estimates for cost per response are derived using the following formula: 

Average Burden Hours per Response x $72 per Hour = Average Cost per Response. The 

cost per hour figure is the FERC average salary plus benefits for Fiscal Year 2015. 

Subject matter experts found that industry employment costs closely resemble FERC’s 

regarding the FERC-537 information collection.
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 16 -

Pre-Granted 

Auxiliary 

Approval (18 

CFR 2.55) 3 1 5 15

 

$1,080

Additional 

Blanket 

Certificate 

Abandonment 

Applications 2 1 25 50

 

$3,600

Eliminated

Blanket 

Certificate 

Abandonment 

Applications -3 1 25

 

-75 -$5,400

Eliminated 

Case-Specific 

Abandonment 

Applications -2 1 160 -320 -$23,040

Net Change 

due to RM12-

11-003 -330 -$23,760

Title: FERC-537 (Gas Pipeline Certificates: Construction, Acquisition and 

Abandonment)

Action: Proposed revisions to information collection

OMB Control No.: 1902-0060. 

Respondents: Business or other for-profit enterprise (Natural Gas Companies). 

Frequency of Responses: Ongoing and annual. 

Necessity of Information and Internal Review: The Commission has determined that the 

proposed revisions are necessary to establish more efficient means to abandon auxiliary 

and replacement facilities. These requirements conform to the Commission's plan for 

efficient information collection, communication, and management within the natural gas 

industry. The Commission has assured itself, by means of its internal review, that there is 
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 17 -

specific, objective support for the burden estimates associated with the abandonment 

requirements. 

21. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting requirements by 

contacting the following: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, 

Washington, DC 20426 [Attention: Ellen Brown, Office of the Executive Director, email: DataClearance@ferc.gov, phone: (202) 502-8663, fax: (202) 273-0873].

22. Comments concerning the collection of information and the associated burden 

estimate should be sent to the Commission and to the Office of Management and Budget, 

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC 20503 [Attention: Desk 

Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, telephone: (202) 395-0710, fax: 

(202) 395-4718]. For security reasons, comments to OMB should be submitted by e-mail 

to: oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. Comments submitted to OMB should include OMB 

Control Number 1902-0060 (FERC-537). 

III. Environmental Analysis

23. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental Assessment or an 

Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may have a significant adverse effect 

on the human environment. The Commission has categorically excluded certain actions 

from these requirements as not having a significant effect on the human environment. 

Generally, the regulatory actions taken in this rulemaking proceeding fall within the 

categorical exclusions in the Commission’s regulations for actions that are clarifying, 

corrective, or procedural, and for information gathering, analysis, and dissemination. 

Although this rule alters the procedures by which companies may obtain abandonment 
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 18 -

authorization for certain types of facilities, it will not result in any additional 

abandonment activities and therefore will not have a significant adverse effect on the 

human environment. Accordingly, an environmental review is not necessary and has not 

been prepared in connection with this rulemaking.

IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act

24. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) generally requires a description and 

analysis of agency rules that will have a significant economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The RFA mandates consideration of regulatory alternatives that 

accomplish the stated objectives of a proposed rule and that minimize any significant 

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The SBA Office of Size 

Standards develops the numerical definition of a small business. The SBA has 

established a size standard for companies transporting natural gas, stating that a firm is 

small if its annual receipts (and the receipts of its affiliates) are less than or equal to 

$27.5 million.27

25. The final rule provides less burdensome and less costly options for specified 

natural gas companies, the majority of which are not small businesses. The reporting 

requirements, which provide pre-granted abandonment authority under certain conditions 

and clarify the regulations, will reduce the burden and cost on those companies (large or 

small). The Commission estimates that an average of five projects per year will benefit 

 27 See 13 CFR 121.201 for Subsector 486, NAICS code 486210 (Pipeline 

Transportation of Natural Gas). 
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 19 -

from the less burdensome, streamlined requirements. Three of those five projects are 

expected to save $1,440 each, by using the new pre-granted approval in 18 CFR 2.55 

(rather than the more burdensome blanket certificate abandonment application). In 

addition, two of those five filers are expected to save $9,720 each, by using the additional 

blanket certificate applications (rather than the case-specific abandonment applications). 

Accordingly, the Commission certifies that this Final Rule should not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 

V. Document Availability

26. 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 FERC's Home Page 

(http://www.ferc.gov) and in FERC's Public Reference Room during normal business 

hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A, 

Washington, DC 20426.

27. From FERC's Home Page on the Internet, this information is available on 

eLibrary. The full text of this document is available on eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft 

Word format for viewing, printing, and/or downloading. To access this document in 

eLibrary, type the docket number excluding the last three digits of this document in the 

docket number field.

28. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the FERC’s website during normal 

business hours from FERC Online Support at (202) 502-6652 (toll free at 1-866-208-

3676) or email at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the Public Reference Room at (202) 
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 20 -

502-8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. E-mail the Public Reference Room at 

public.referenceroom@ferc.gov.

VI. Effective Date and Congressional Notification

29. These regulations are effective [insert date 75 days from publication in Federal 

Register]. The Commission has determined, with the concurrence of the Administrator 

of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, that this rule is not a “major 

rule” as defined in section 351 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 

Act of 1996. This final rule is being submitted to the Senate, House, of Representatives, 

Government Accountability Office, and Small Business Administration.

List of subjects 

18 CFR Part 2

Administrative practice and procedure, and Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

18 CFR Part 157

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

requirements.

By the Commission.

( S E A L )

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,

Deputy Secretary.
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 21 -

In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission amends Parts 2 and 157,

Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows:

PART 2 – GENERAL POLICY AND INTERPRETATIONS

1. The authority citation for Part 2 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 601; 15 U.S.C. 717-717z, 3301-3432; 16 U.S.C. 792-828c, 2601-

2645, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4370h, 7101-7352.

2. Amend § 2.55 by revising the section heading and adding paragraph (a)(3) to read 

as follows:

§ 2.55 Auxiliary installations and replacement facilities.

* * * * *

(a) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(3) Abandonment or replacement of auxiliary installations. Authorization to 

abandon or replace auxiliary facilities that were or could be installed under paragraph 

(a)(1) of this section is pre-granted under section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act, and no 

reporting is required, provided that: 

(i) All activities will be confined to areas, including temporary work space, 

previously authorized by the Commission for the construction and 

operation of facilities at that location; 
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 22 -

(ii) All activities will comply with applicable conditions on certificate 

authorizations for the construction and operation of facilities at that 

location; and 

(iii) The abandonment or replacement will have no adverse impact on customers’ 

certificated services.

PART 157 – APPLICATIONS FOR CERTIFICATES OF PUBLIC 

CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY AND FOR ORDERS PREMITTING 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. 717-717z.

2. Amend § 157.202 by revising paragraph (b)(2)(i) by adding a sentence at the end

and revising paragraph (b)(3) to read as follows:

§ 157.202 Definitions.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(2)(i) * * * 

Finally, for purposes of abandonment under § 157.216 of this subpart, eligible facilities 

include auxiliary installations that do not qualify for pre-granted abandonment authority 

under § 2.55(a)(3) of this chapter and replacement facilities constructed under section 

§ 2.55(b).
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 23 -

* * *

(3) For purposes of construction under this subpart, facility does not include an 

auxiliary facility that qualifies for construction under section 2.55(a) or a replacement 

facility that qualifies for construction under section 2.55(b) of this chapter.

* * * * *

3. Amend § 157.216 by revising paragraph (a)(2) and paragraph (b)(2) to read as 

follows:

§ 157.216 Abandonment.

(a) Automatic authorization. * * *

(2)(i) An auxiliary facility as described in § 2.55(a) when the abandonment: 

(A) Will not exceed the cost limit in § 157.208(d) for activities under the 

automatic provisions; 

(B) Will have no adverse impact on customers’ certificated services; and 

(C) Cannot satisfy the right-of-way, facility site, and work space limitations for 

the pre-granted abandonment authority in § 2.55(a)(3);

(ii) A replacement facility that was or could have been constructed under 

section 2.55(b), provided the current cost to construct the facilities would not 

exceed the cost limit in § 157.208(d) for activities under the automatic provisions 

and the certificate holder obtains the written consent of each customer served 

using the facility during the past 12 months;

(iii) Any other facility that did or could now qualify for automatic authorization as 

described in § 157.203(b), provided the certificate holder obtains the written 
Docket No. RM12-11-003 - 24 -

consent of each customer served using the facility during the past 12 months.

(b) Prior notice. * * *

(2)(i) An auxiliary facility as described in § 2.55(a) when the abandonment: 

(A) Will exceed the cost limit in § 157.208(d) for activities under the prior notice 

provisions; 

(B) Will have no adverse impact on customers’ certificated services; and 

(C) Cannot satisfy the right-of-way, facility site, and work space limitations for 

the pre-granted abandonment authority in § 2.55(a)(3).

(ii) A replacement facility that was or could have been constructed under section 

2.55(b), provided the current cost to construct the facilities would not exceed the 

cost limit in § 157.208(d) for activities under the prior notice provisions and the 

certificate holder obtains the written consent of each customer served using the 

facility during the past 12 months;

(iii) Any other facility that did or could now qualify for prior notice authorization 

as described in § 157.203(b), provided the certificate holder obtains the written 

consent of each customer served using the facility during the past 12 months.

* * * * *