149 FERC ¶ 61,133

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 154

[Docket No. RM14-21-000; Order No. 801]

Natural Gas Act Pipeline Maps

(Issued November 20, 2014)

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final Rule

SUMMARY: In this Final Rule, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission revises its 

regulations governing interstate natural gas pipeline system maps. First, the Commission 

eliminates the requirements that pipelines include maps in their tariffs and file updated 

maps as part of their tariffs by the following April 30 for any year that there is a major 

change in the pipeline’s system. Second, the Commission retains the requirement that 

pipelines post and maintain a system map on their internet websites, and implements a 

quarterly deadline for updating pipeline maps. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule will become effective 90 days after publication in the 

Federal Register.
Docket No. RM14-21-000 - 2 -

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Damien Gaul (Technical Issues)

888 First Street NE

Washington, DC 20426

(202) 502-8008

Damien.Gaul@ferc.gov

Vince Mareino (Legal Issues)

888 First Street NE

Washington, DC 20426

(202) 502-6167

Vince.Mareino@ferc.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

Natural Gas Act Pipeline Maps Docket No. RM14-21-000

ORDER NO. 801

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Paragraph Numbers

I. Discussion ..............................................................................................................................2.

A. Implementation: 18 CFR § 154.103(a) and 18 CFR § 154.106(a) ..................................6.

B. Reporting Deadline: 18 CFR § 154.106(c) ......................................................................9.

C. Scope: 18 CFR § 154.106(b)............................................................................................13.

D. Effective Date...................................................................................................................17.

II. Procedural Matters................................................................................................................20.

A. Information Collection Statement....................................................................................20.

B. Environmental Analysis...................................................................................................25.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act................................................................................................26.

D. Document Availability .....................................................................................................28.

E. Effective Date and Congressional Notification................................................................31.
149 FERC ¶ 61,133

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

Before Commissioners: Cheryl A. LaFleur, Chairman;

 Philip D. Moeller, Tony Clark,

and Norman C. Bay.

Natural Gas Act Pipeline Maps Docket No. RM14-21-000

ORDER NO. 801

FINAL RULE

(Issued November 20, 2014)

1. In this Final Rule, the Commission revises its Part 154 regulations concerning 

interstate natural gas pipeline maps. First, as proposed in its Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking,1 the Commission is permanently eliminating the requirements that pipelines 

include system maps in their tariffs and must file to update those tariff maps by April 30 

of any year following a major system change. Second, as further proposed in the NOPR, 

while the Commission is retaining the requirement that pipelines maintain a system map 

on their internet websites, we revise our regulations to require pipelines to update the 

online maps no later than the end of the next calendar quarter after a major system 

change. This Final Rule is designed to reduce the regulatory burden on pipelines and to 

enhance transparency.

I. Discussion

2. The Commission’s current regulations require every natural gas interstate pipeline 

to maintain a system map within their tariff,

2 and specify the content of those maps and 

the deadline for filing updated maps.3

 Existing Commission and North American Energy 

 1 Natural Gas Act Pipeline Maps, 79 FR 43,994 (July 29, 2014), FERC Stats. & 

Regs. ¶ 32,703 (2014) (cross-referenced at 148 FERC ¶ 61,024 (2014)) (NOPR).

2 18 CFR § 154.103(a) (2014).

3 18 CFR § 154.106 (2014).
Docket No. RM14-21-000 - 2 -

Standards Board (NAESB) rules also require that pipeline system maps to be published in 

electronic format on the pipeline’s website4 as well as on the Commission’s eTariff 

website. The interstate pipelines had recently informed Commission Staff, however, that

certain of eTariff’s file restrictions often reduce the quality of the electronic maps.5

 

3. Accordingly, the NOPR proposed to eliminate the requirement to file maps via 

eTariff, and instead proposed to require that pipelines provide a tariff record that contains 

a website address, or Uniform Resource Locator (URL) reference, to the pipeline’s 

publicly available website where maps may be accessed.6

 The NOPR found that with the 

elimination of the requirement to include a map in the tariff, the current April 30 deadline

to update tariff maps was effectively obsolete. The NOPR therefore proposed to revise 

the section 154.106 deadline for updating pipelines’ internet website maps to require that 

revised maps be posted in the same calendar quarter that system changes take effect.7

4. Two industry segments, natural gas producers and marketers, represented by the 

Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA), and the interstate pipelines, represented by the 

Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), filed comments on the NOPR. 

Both groups generally support the Commission’s proposal but suggest modifications. 

INGAA states that the proposed updating deadline is too strict and potentially does not 

allow pipelines sufficient time to post updated maps. NGSA suggests that the 

Commission should take this opportunity to make broad changes to modify the quality 

and information required for pipeline system maps. 

5. As discussed below, the Final Rule implements the changes proposed in the 

NOPR, with the exception that we will modify the deadline for posting updated maps as 

proposed by INGAA so that pipelines must revise website maps to reflect any major 

change no later than the end of the calendar quarter subsequent to the calendar quarter in 

which the major change occurred. We also clarify how pipelines should implement the 

new rule, and we decline to expand the scope of this rulemaking proceeding.

 4 See 18 CFR § 284.12(a)(1)(v) (2014). See also Electronic Tariff Filings, 

Order No. 714, 73 FR 57,515 (Oct 3, 2008), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,276 (2008),

clarified, Order No. 714-A, 79 FR 29,705 (May 21, 2014) FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,356 

(2014) (cross-referenced at 148 FERC ¶ 61,024 (2014) 147 FERC ¶ 61,115 (2014)); 

5 See NOPR, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 32,703 at P 3.

6 NOPR, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 32,703 at P 5.

7 NOPR, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 32,703 at PP 6-7.
Docket No. RM14-21-000 - 3 -

A. Implementation: 18 CFR § 154.103(a) and 18 CFR § 154.106(a)

6. As noted, the Commission’s regulations require that natural gas pipelines’ tariffs

include a map of the pipeline’s system.8

 The Final Rule adopts the NOPR proposal to 

replace this requirement to include a system map in pipelines’ tariff with the requirement 

to include instead “...a uniform resource locator for the Internet address of a map of the 

system...” The NOPR also proposed a corresponding change to include new subsection 

18 CFR § 154.106(a), which we adopt here and which states:

The tariff must state a uniform resource locator on the 

pipeline’s Internet website, at which the general public may 

display and download system map(s).

7. In its comments, INGAA sought clarification regarding compliance with the 

proposed new rule. INGAA noted that the revised language proposed in the NOPR refers 

to Uniform Resource Locators, while the NOPR text refers to pipelines “posting” their 

system map on the informational posting section of their websites.9

 INGAA thus 

requests clarification that providing a ‘clickable’ URL in the Tariff/Map category of a 

pipeline’s Informational Postings website, through which the public could view and 

download the pipeline’s system map(s), would comply with the new regulation.10

8. As we stated in the NOPR, upon the adoption of this rule, NAESB should also 

consider whether additional standards are needed to assure accessibility and uniformity in 

the presentation of the maps. In the interim, we clarify that the approach proposed by 

INGAA, to include a URL in the Tariff/Map category of its internet website, appears to 

be a reasonable method to for complying with revised section 154.106(a) because it 

would allow the public to display and download the pipeline’s system map. There may 

be other reasonable methods for pipelines to comply based on the idiosyncrasies of a 

particular system, and the Commission in this Final Rule is not dictating any specific 

method of compliance. 

B. Reporting Deadline: 18 CFR § 154.106(c)

9. Under both the existing and proposed versions of 18 CFR § 154.106(c), a pipeline 

need only update its map after a major change to its system. As noted, the existing 

regulation requires that the revised map be filed no later than April 30 of the calendar 

 8 18 CFR § 154.103(a).

9 INGAA comments at 6.

10 Id.
Docket No. RM14-21-000 - 4 -

year after the major change, thus allowing pipelines up to 15 months to update maps from 

the time of a major change. The NOPR proposed to shorten that deadline to require that 

maps be revised to reflect any major change no later than the end of the calendar quarter 

of the major change.

10. INGAA commented that the reporting deadline proposed in the NOPR could 

require pipelines to post maps with little or no advance notice, especially if a project’s inservice date is near the end of a calendar quarter. INGAA argues that this timeframe is 

too truncated because a pipeline’s personnel are at their busiest precisely when major 

changes are going into effect.11 INGAA disputes the Commission’s suggestion in the 

NOPR that the 18 CFR § 154.106 map requirement is analogous to the maps prepared as 

part of a NGA section 7 certificate application. The maps filed with a certificate 

application, INGAA states, “very often illustrate only discrete [portions] of a pipeline 

system at a detailed level” and “are intended for different circumstances and instances” 

than 18 CFR § 154.106 maps.12

11. INGAA proposes that instead of the revisions proposed in the NOPR, the 

Commission should modify 18 CFR § 154.106(c) to state, “The map must be revised to 

reflect any major change no later than the end of the calendar quarter that immediately 

follows the calendar quarter in which the major change occurred.” No interveners

oppose INGAA’s proposal.

12. The Final Rule adopts INGAA’s proposal for section 154.106(c). The new rule 

will allow pipelines at least three months to update their maps, which should alleviate any 

concerns that pipelines will be additionally burdened during the certification process. 

The revised regulation will also guarantee that all maps are up-to-date within at least six

months of any major changes, thereby substantially shortening the potential 15-month lag 

under the previous regulation.13

C. Scope: 18 CFR § 154.106(b)

13. The NOPR proposed no changes to the language of 18 CFR § 154.106(a), which 

specifies the required content of system maps, but did propose to move the language to 

18 CFR § 154.106(b). That section reads:

 11 INGAA comments at 2-3.

12 Id. at 4.

13 As we clarified in the NOPR, “[p]ipelines are also permitted to display 

[additional] maps showing past, future, or hypothetical operations, so long as these maps 

are clearly labeled as such.” NOPR, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 32,703 at P 8.
Docket No. RM14-21-000 - 5 -

The map must show the general geographic location of the 

company’s principal pipeline facilities and of the points at 

which service is rendered under the tariff. The boundaries of 

any rate zones or rate areas must be shown and the areas or 

zones identified. The entire system should be displayed on a 

single map. In addition, a separate map should be provided 

for each zone.

14. NGSA states in its comments that “the Commission should also use this 

opportunity to consider additional improvements to increase the usefulness of pipeline 

maps.”14 In particular, NGSA requests that the regulations require:

1. High resolution format to increase visibility of data.

2. Clearly labeled: names, identification numbers, and 

locations of compressor stations, meter stations, receipt and 

delivery points, and pipeline interconnects.

3. Descriptive features, such as pipeline diameter and flow 

direction.15

15. NGSA argues that these improvements to map quality would benefit customers by 

gathering more visual information in one place. NGSA believes high-quality maps 

would also help shippers and operators, as a tool for daily operational adjustments, and 

for assessing capacity constraints. Finally, NGSA suggests higher-quality maps would 

help customers in complying with any local regulatory obligations, such as municipal 

taxes.16

16. In the NOPR, the Commission emphasized that the intent of this proceeding was 

to adjust the filing requirements for system maps, not to require changes to the 

substantive content of the maps.17 The Commission suggested that the greater flexibility 

afforded by website posting may allow “the overall quality of pipeline maps [to] improve 

without the need for prescriptive regulation,”18 but otherwise did not elaborate on the 

 14 NGSA comments at 2.

15 Id. at 3.

16 Id. at 4.

17 NOPR, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 32,703 at PP 10-11.

18 Id. P 11.
Docket No. RM14-21-000 - 6 -

narrow scope of the proceeding. We find that NGSA’s requests are outside the scope of 

this rulemaking, and thus we decline to expand the scope of this proceeding.19

D. Effective Date

17. As the NOPR noted, this change to the map reporting requirement will obligate 

every natural gas pipeline to make an initial compliance filing, which as the NOPR 

stated, would have to be at least 90 days after the Final Rule’s publication in the Federal 

Register.

20

18. Pipelines are permitted to update their tariffs and websites as soon as this rule goes 

into effect, which will be during the first quarter of the 2015 calendar year. Because the 

regulation uses calendar quarters for setting deadlines, however, the Commission shall 

not require any pipelines to file until April 1, 2015. In this initial compliance filing, the 

pipeline must reference an online map updated at least through December 31, 2014.

19. Each pipeline must make its compliance filing as an eTariff filing using type of 

filing code (TOFC) 580, and the Commission will assign each pipeline’s compliance 

filing a separate RP docket and provide interested parties an opportunity to intervene in 

those dockets. The Commission recommends that pipelines not include any other tariff 

changes in their eTariff compliance filing. If the content of the filing is limited to 

compliance with this Final Rule, then the Director of the Office of Energy Market 

Regulation may, pursuant to 18 CFR § 375.307(a)(7)(ii), accept the filing under 

delegated authority.

II. Procedural Matters

A. Information Collection Statement

20. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations require that OMB 

approve certain reporting and recordkeeping (collections of information) imposed by an 

 19 An agency has broad discretion to choose how best to marshal its limited 

resources and personnel to carry out its delegated responsibilities, and may summarily 

deny requests to expand the scope of rulemaking proceedings. See Wholesale 

Competition in Regions with Organized Electric Markets, Order No. 719-A, FERC Stats. 

& Regs. ¶ 31,292, at P 118 (2009) (cross-referenced at 128 FERC ¶ 61,059, at P 118 

(2009)) (citing Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. NRDC, 467 U.S. 837, 842-845 (1984)); see also, 

e.g., Revisions to Page 700 of FERC Form No. 6, Order No. 783-A, 148 FERC ¶ 61,235, 

at P 30 (2014).

20 Id. P 12.
Docket No. RM14-21-000 - 7 -

agency.

21 Upon approval of a collection(s) of information, OMB will assign an OMB 

control number and expiration date. Respondents subject to the filing requirements of 

this rule will not be penalized for failing to respond to these collections of information 

unless the collections of information display a valid OMB control number.

21. The Commission is submitting these reporting and recordkeeping requirements to 

OMB for its review and approval under section 3507(d) of the PRA. Comments are 

solicited on the Commission’s need for this information, whether the information will 

have practical utility, the accuracy of the provided burden estimate, ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and any suggested methods 

for minimizing the respondent’s burden, including the use of automated information 

techniques.

22. This Final Rule revises the regulations governing interstate natural gas pipeline 

system maps. First, the Commission eliminates the requirements that pipelines include a 

map in their tariffs and file an updated map as part of their tariff by the following 

April 30 for any year that there is a major change in the pipeline’s system. Second, the 

Commission retains the requirement that pipelines must post and maintain a system map 

on their internet websites, and implements a quarterly deadline for updating pipeline 

maps. 

 21 5 CFR § 1320.11.
Docket No. RM14-21-000 - 8 -

23. The public reporting burden follows:

RM14-21-000 Final Rule

Number of 

Respondents

(1)

Annual 

Number of 

Responses 

per 

Respondent

(2)

Total 

Number of 

Responses 

(1)*(2)=(3)

Average 

Burden & 

Cost Per 

Response

(4)

Total 

Annual 

Burden 

Hours & 

Total 

Annual 

Cost

(3)*(4)=(5)

Cost per 

Respondent

($)

(5)÷(1)

One-time tariff 

(Year 1)

165 1 165 8

$1,024

1,320

$168,960 

$1,024 

Burden 

Reduction 

(Year 2 and 

Beyond)

21 1 21 -4

-$244

-84

-$5,124

-$244

Additional 

Burden for 

more frequent 

map updates 

(Year 2 and 

Beyond)

4 1 4 4

$244

16

$976

$244

TOTAL 190 1,252

$164,812

$1,024

24. Title: FERC-545, Gas Pipeline Rates: Non Formal.

Action: One-time filing and reduced future filings.

OMB Control Number: 1902-0154.

Respondents: Natural Gas Pipelines.

Frequency of Responses: One-time implementation and future reduction in number of 

responses. Responses are mandatory.

Necessity of Information: This Final Rule would, when implemented, reduce the burden 

of interstate natural gas pipelines resulting from compliance with the Commission’s 

regulations.

Internal Review: The Commission has reviewed the requirements pertaining to the 

modification of the Commission’s regulations and made a preliminary determination that 
Docket No. RM14-21-000 - 9 -

the revisions are necessary to reduce the burden imposed by the Commission on the 

natural gas industry. The Commission has assured itself, by means of its internal review, 

that there is specific, objective support for the burden estimates associated with the 

information requirements.

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, 

e-mail: DataClearance@ferc.gov, phone: (202) 502-8663, fax: (202) 273-0873].

Comments concerning the collection of information and the associated burden estimate, 

should be sent to the Commission in this docket 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) 395-4638, fax: (202) 395-4718].

B. Environmental Analysis

25. 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.22 The Commission has categorically excluded certain actions 

from these requirements as not having a significant effect on the human environment.23 

The actions taken here fall within categorical exclusions in the Commission’s regulations 

for rules that are clarifying, corrective, or procedural, for information gathering, analysis, 

and dissemination, and for sales, exchange, and transportation of natural gas that requires 

no construction of facilities.24 Therefore, an environmental assessment is unnecessary 

and has not been prepared as part of this Final Rule.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

26. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA)25 generally requires a description 

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

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

 22 Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 

Order No. 486, 52 FR 47897, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,783 (1987).

23 18 CFR § 380.4 (2014).

24 See 18 CFR §§ 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5), 380.4(a)(27) (2014).

25 5 U.S.C. 601-612.
Docket No. RM14-21-000 - 10 -

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

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Small Business 

Administration’s (SBA) Office of Size Standards develops the numerical definition of a 

small business.26 The SBA has established a size standard for pipelines transporting 

natural gas stating that a firm is small if its annual receipts are less than $27.5 million.27

27. The changes promulgated here only impact interstate pipelines. The Commission 

estimates that approximately 165 entities would be potential respondents subject to data 

collection FERC-545 reporting requirements. Using 2013 revenue data, the Commission 

estimates that 7028 pipelines not affiliated with larger companies had annual revenues of 

less than $27.5 million. The Commission estimates that the one-time cost per small 

entity is $1,024.29 In the future, small entities should see a cost savings related to 

avoiding filing requirements related to system maps. The Commission does not 

consider the estimated $1,024 impact per entity to be significant. Accordingly, pursuant 

to § 605(b) of the RFA, the Commission certifies that this proposed rule should not have 

a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

D. Document Availability

28. 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.

29. 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.

30. 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 

 26 13 CFR § 121.101 (2013).

27 13 CFR § 121.201, subsection 486.

28 42.3 percent of the total number of affected entities.

29 See the Information Collection section for further explanation.
Docket No. RM14-21-000 - 11 -

(866) 208-3676) or email at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the Public Reference Room 

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

at public.referenceroom@ferc.gov.

E. Effective Date and Congressional Notification

31. These regulations are effective 90 days after publication in the 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.

List of subjects in 18 CFR Part 154

By the Commission.

( S E A L )

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.
Docket No. RM14-21-000 - 12 -

In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission shall amend Part 154, 

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

PART 154—RATE SCHEDULES AND TARIFFS

1. The authority citation for part 154 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717 -717w; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7102 -7352.

2. Revise § 154.103(a) to read as follows:

§ 154.103 Composition of tariff.

(a) The tariff must contain sections, in the following order: A table of contents, a 

preliminary statement, a uniform resource locator for the Internet address of a map of the 

system, currently effective rates, composition of rate schedules, general terms and 

conditions, form of service agreement, and an index of customers.

*****

3. Revise § 154.106 to read as follows:

§ 154.106 Map.

(a) The tariff must state a uniform resource locator on the pipeline’s Internet website, at 

which the general public may display and download system map(s).

(b) The map must show the general geographic location of the company’s principal 

pipeline facilities and of the points at which service is rendered under the tariff. The 

boundaries of any rate zones or rate areas must be shown and the areas or zones 

identified. The entire system should be displayed on a single map. In addition, a 

separate map should be provided for each zone.

(c) The map must be revised to reflect any major change no later than the end of the 

calendar quarter that immediately follows the calendar quarter in which the major change 

occurred.