121 FERC ¶ 61,055 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

18 CFR Part 157 

(Docket No. RM07-17-000; Order No. 700) 

Revisions to Landowner Notification and Blanket Certificate Regulations 

 (Issued October 18, 2007) 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Final Rule. 

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

its regulations to modify landowner notification requirements and to require a noise 

survey following the completion of projects involving compressor facilities undertaken 

pursuant to blanket certificate authority. The proposed regulatory revisions are intended 

to enhance public participation in the Commission’s consideration of proposed projects 

and ensure that compressor projects completed under blanket certificate authority will not 

have a significant adverse environmental impact. 

DATES: The regulatory revisions made in this Final Rule will become effective [insert 

date 30 days after publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER]. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gordon Wagner 

Office of the General Counsel 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20426 

gordon.wagner@ferc.gov 

(202) 502-8947 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 

- 2 -

Michael McGehee 

Office of Energy Projects 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20426 

michael.mcgehee@ferc.gov 

(202) 502-8962 

Lonnie Lister 

Office of Energy Projects 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20426 

lonnie.lister@ferc.gov 

202-502-8587 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

:
121 FERC ¶ 61,055 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Before Commissioners: Joseph T. Kelliher, Chairman; 

 Suedeen G. Kelly, Marc Spitzer, 

 Philip D. Moeller, and Jon Wellinghoff. 

Revisions to Landowner Notification Docket No. RM07-17-000 

and Blanket Certificate Regulations 

 

ORDER NO. 700 

FINAL RULE 

(Issued October 18, 2007) 

I. Introduction

1. On June 22, 2007, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) 

issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) to amend its regulations to modify 

landowner notification requirements and require a noise survey following the completion 

of projects involving compressor facilities undertaken pursuant to blanket certificate 

authority.1 These regulatory revisions are intended to enhance public participation in the 

Commission’s consideration of proposed projects and ensure that compressor projects 

completed under blanket certificate authority will not have a significant adverse 

 1

 72 FR 35669 (June 29, 2007), FERC Stats. and Regs. ¶ 32,616 (2007). The 

NOPR followed an expansion of the blanket certificate program, see Revisions to the 

Blanket Certificate Regulations and Clarification Regarding Rates, Order No. 686, 71 FR 

63680 (Oct. 31, 2006), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,231 (2006), order on reh’g and 

clarification, Order No. 686-A, 72 FR 37431 (July 10, 2007), FERC Stats. and Regs. 

¶ 31,249 (2007), order on reh’g, Order No. 686-B, FERC Stats. and Regs. ¶ 31,255 

(2007). 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 2 -

environmental impact. Comments on the NOPR were submitted by the U.S. Department 

of the Interior (Interior) and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA). 

This Final Rule responds to the comments and adopts, with minor modifications, the 

regulatory revisions described in the NOPR. 

II. Regulatory Revisions

2. The NOPR discusses proposed changes to the existing regulations regarding 

landowner notification and compressor noise restrictions. Comments submitted address 

the latter. 

A. Landowner Notification

3. The NOPR discusses expanding the § 157.6(d)(2)(iii) landowner notification 

requirement. Currently, this requirement directs natural gas companies planning to 

construct compressor or liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities to notify all landowners 

whose property contains a residence within one-half mile of the project site before 

beginning any construction.2

 This will be revised to remove the residence qualification, 

and will instead direct companies to notify all landowners within one-half mile of the site 

of a planned compressor or LNG project regardless of whether the property contains a 

residence. This revision should ensure all landowners within one-half mile of a proposed 

project site will receive notice that will allow them to raise land use issues, including 

existing non-residential uses as well as planned future uses of undeveloped land. 

 2

 See the landowner notification requirements, 18 CFR 157.203(d)(1) and (2), and 

the definition of affected landowners, 18 CFR 157.6(d)(2)(iii). 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 3 -

B. Noise Survey 

4. To ensure that compressor facilities installed under blanket certificate authority 

will not have significant adverse environmental impacts, compressor facilities must be 

designed to meet the noise level limits described below. To verify blanket certificate 

compressor facilities meet these noise level limits, this order will revise § 157.206(b)(5) 

to require that companies completing a blanket certificate compressor project file a noise 

survey with the Commission. If this post-project survey shows the facility is emitting 

excessive noise, the company will have up to one year from the project’s in-service date 

to meet the noise limits. After completing its noise mitigation measures, the company 

will submit a subsequent noise survey to verify compliance with the noise limits. This 

same noise survey requirement is routinely applied to compressor facilities installed 

under case-specific certificate authority. 

5. A company may rely on blanket certificate authority to undertake qualifying 

projects provided: (1) noise-generating equipment installed under blanket certificate 

authority, whether an entire new compressor station or an addition or modification to an 

existing station, does not exceed an average day-night sound level (Ldn) of 55 decibels 

(dBA) at a noise sensitive area (NSA) when operating at full load; (2) an addition or 

modification to an existing compressor station, which is currently emitting noise at an Ldn

of 55 dBA or less at NSAs, does not cause noise at NSAs to exceed an Ldn of 55 dBA; 

and (3) an addition or modification to an existing compressor station, which is currently 

emitting noise in excess of an Ldn of 55 dBA at NSAs, does not cause noise to increase at 

NSAs. 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 4 -

III. Comments and Commission Response

6. Comments by Interior question whether an Ldn of 55 dBA might adversely impact 

certain wildlife resources. Comments by INGAA seek clarification on how compressor 

noise is to be measured.

A. Department of the Interior’s Comments

7. Interior points out that 55 dBA was designated by the U. S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) as a noise level adequate to protect against speech interference 

and sleep disturbance for residential, education, and healthcare NSAs.3 Given that the 55 

dBA level is based on human activity, Interior is concerned that this level fails to account 

for impacts on species that may be more sensitive to noise. Interior urges that screening 

for such species be required for blanket certificate projects and asks the Commission to 

direct blanket project applicants to contact Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service, along 

with the appropriate state fish and wildlife agency or state Natural Heritage Database, to 

identify the presence of threatened or endangered species and noise-sensitive species or 

habitats in the project vicinity. If there are such species or habitats, Interior would then 

require the project applicant to seek case-specific certificate authorization. 

 3

 The Commission relied on this EPA designation in conducting its Environmental 

Assessment (EA) of the blanket certificate program, finding that compressors should not 

increase ambient noise levels at nearby NSAs above an Ldn of 55 dBA, since 55 dBA is 

“the maximum level which will not affect public health and welfare by interfering with 

speech or other activities in outdoor areas . . . [and consequently] should also ensure 

adequate protection for the indoor noise environment.” Blanket Certification of Routine 

Gas Pipeline Transactions, EA at 25 (July 1981), citing EPA’s Information on Levels of 

Environmental Noise Requisite to Protect Public Health and Welfare with an Adequate 

Margin of Safety (Washington, D.C. 1974). 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 5 -

8. While appropriate to most circumstances, the Commission recognizes that 55 dBA 

ought not be applied inflexibly or universally.4 That said, the Commission finds that 

potential adverse impacts on species and habitat due to noise are adequately taken into 

account by the requirement that all blanket certificate projects comply with the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA).5

 Compliance with the ESA effectively compels 

a blanket certificate holder to engage in the same screening and consultation that Interior 

requests for threatened and endangered species. Accordingly, the Commission expects 

the ESA compliance process will continue to provide the most appropriate means for 

assessing whether a proposed blanket certificate project’s permitted noise level of 55 

dBA might have significant adverse impacts on wildlife resources. In addition, the 

Commission notes that the expanded landowner notification requirement implemented 

herein should promote consideration of noise impacts on the use of land for nonresidential purposes, such as the cultivation of a domesticated noise-sensitive species. 

B. INGAA’s Comments

9. The NOPR proposed that § 157.206(b)(5)(ii) direct a blanket certificate project 

sponsor to measure “noise attributable to the operation of the facility at full load.” 

INGAA seeks clarification on conducting a post-project noise survey, asking whether 

“the facility” is intended to refer to the particular equipment added or modified under 

 4

 The EA reviewing the blanket certificate program noted the possibility that 

“compressor facilities constructed in some rural areas could degrade a quiet environment 

because a blanket authorization would require little or no noise abatement in remote or 

unpopulated areas.” Id. at 33. 

5

 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 6 -

blanket certificate authorization, or whether “the facility” is intended to include all the 

facilities, i.e., both existing facilities as well as new or modified facilities located at a 

particular compressor site. In response to INGAA’s request, we will revise § 

157.206(b)(5)(ii) as described below. 

10. As a threshold measure, for a compressor facility to qualify for blanket certificate 

authorization, the facility must be designed to meet an Ldn of 55 dBA at NSAs when 

operating at full load. Requiring that a facility added or modified under blanket 

certificate authority meet this maximum noise limit is intended to ensure that there will 

not be a significant adverse environmental noise impact.6

11. With respect to noise impacts, the Commission will also consider the composite 

noise level of a compressor station’s new and existing facilities. This is because a facility 

that meets an Ldn of 55 dBA, when added to a station currently operating an Ldn of 55 

dBA, can cause the overall noise of the station to exceed an Ldn of 55 dBA. Thus, the 

Commission will require that an addition or modification to an existing compressor 

station that is operating at or below an Ldn of 55 dBA at NSAs must not cause overall 

noise attributable to the station to exceed an Ldn of 55 dBA at NSAs. Further, an addition 

or modification to an existing compressor station that is operating above an Ldn of 55 

dBA at NSAs must not cause overall noise attributable to the station to increase at NSAs. 

12. To ensure adherence to these noise level limits, the Commission will require a 

company that relies on its blanket certificate to construct a new compressor station 

 6

 See note 3. 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 7 -

facility, or to add or modify a facility at an existing station, to submit a noise survey 

within 60 days of placing the new or modified facility in service. The company must 

measure noise attributable to its new or modified facility operating at full load at NSAs. 

When a new or modified facility is placed in service at an existing compressor station, the 

company must also measure the overall post-project noise of the station operating at full 

load. If the measured noise exceeds the specified limits at NSAs, the company must 

bring its station into compliance within a year of the blanket certificate facility’s inservice date. Within 60 days of completing its noise-mitigation measures, e.g., making 

modifications to noise-generating equipment or erecting a barrier between the station and 

NSAs, the company must submit a subsequent noise survey to the Commission 

demonstrating its compliance with the noise level limits.

IV. Information Collection Statement

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

approve certain reporting, record keeping, and public disclosure requirements (collections 

of information) imposed by an agency.7

 Upon approval of a collection of information, 

OMB will assign an OMB control number and an expiration date. The only entities 

affected by this rule would be the natural gas companies under the Commission’s 

jurisdiction. 

14. The information collection requirements in this Final Rule are identified as FERC537, "Gas Pipeline Certificates: Construction, Acquisition and Abandonment," which 

 7

 5 CFR 1320.11. 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 8 -

identifies the Commission's information collections relating to Part 157 of its regulations, 

which apply to natural gas facilities for which authorization under section 7 of the 

Natural Gas Act (NGA) is required, and includes all blanket certificate projects, and 

FERC-577, “Gas Pipeline Certificates: Environmental Impact Statements,” which 

identifies the Commission’s information collections relating to the requirements set forth 

in National Environmental Policy Act and Parts 2, 157, 284, and 380 of the 

Commission’s regulations, and requires applicants to conduct appropriate studies 

necessary to determine the impact of the construction and operation of proposed 

jurisdictional facilities on human and natural resources, and the measures which may be 

necessary to protect the values of the affected area. These information collection 

requirements are mandatory. 

15. The revised regulations require that companies seeking to construct or alter 

compressor or LNG facilities notify all landowners within one-half mile of the boundary 

of the project site. This should necessitate only a nominal additional effort, since 

companies are already required to identify all landowners of record within one-half mile 

of the project site, and then notify the subset of those landowners that have a residence on 

their property. In practice, companies routinely give notice to all identified landowners, 

rather than take the extra step of segregating properties with residences from those 

without so as to give notice only to the former. In view of this practice, the Commission 

expects the time and cost to notify non-residential landowners will prove to be de 

minimis. 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 9 -

16. The Noise Control Act of 1972 established the requirement that all federal 

agencies administer their programs to promote an environment free of noise that 

jeopardizes public health and welfare.8

 In 1974, the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, acting to execute its responsibility to coordinate federal research and activities 

related to noise control, identified an Ldn of 55 dBA as necessary to protect against 

speech interference and sleep disturbance for residential, educational, and healthcare 

activities. The revised regulations state that a company adding or altering compressor 

facilities under blanket certificate authority must submit a noise survey within 60 days of 

placing new facilities in service to demonstrate that noise attributable to the operation of 

the company’s compressors does not exceed an Ldn of 55 dBA at nearby NSAs or 

increase noise at NSAs already in excess of an Ldn of 55 dBA. The Commission does not 

view this as substantially modifying natural gas companies’ existing obligations, since 

the proposed submission of a noise survey simply provides verification of compliance 

with the existing noise requirement. The same noise survey requirement is routinely 

applied to compressor projects subject to case-specific NGA section 7 certificate 

authority.9

 8

 42 U.S.C. 4901, et seq. 

9

 The potential cost savings to the industry that may be realized by enabling 

projects previously permitted only under case-specific authority to proceed under the 

expanded blanket certificate program were discussed in the Final Rule in Order No. 686. 

With respect to the proposed noise survey, the Commission notes that case-specific 

projects require a noise survey both before and after construction. Thus, the relatively 

minor cost of conducting a post-construction noise survey for a blanket certificate project 

is expected to be offset by the benefit of not having to also conduct a noise survey before 

construction, as would be necessary for a case-specific certificate project. 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 10 -

17. The Commission is submitting these reporting requirements to OMB for its review 

and approval under § 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.10 The 

Commission solicited comments on the need for these regulatory revisions and the 

accuracy of estimated burden estimates, as well as how the quality, quantity, and clarity 

of the information to be collected might be enhanced, and any suggested methods for 

minimizing the respondent's burden. The comments submitted did not specifically 

address the new reporting requirements; accordingly, the Commission will use the same 

estimates here as in the NOPR. 

18. The Commission estimates it will require 32 hours to complete a noise survey, and 

expects the additional burden to be modest, given that in 2006 only two compressor 

projects went forward under blanket certificate authority. For the purpose of estimating 

burden hours, the Commission anticipates five such projects in the future. 

Data Collection No. of 

Respondents 

No. of 

Responses/Filings 

No. of Hours 

per Response 

Total 

Annual 

Hours 

FERC-537 (Part 157) 5 5 32 160 

Information Collection Costs: The above reflects the total reporting burden associated 

with the proposed broadening of the landowner notification requirement. Because of the 

regional differences and the various staffing levels that will be involved in preparing the 

documentation (legal, technical, and support) the Commission is using an hourly rate of 

$150 to estimate the costs for filing and other administrative processes (reviewing 

instructions, searching data sources, completing and transmitting the collection of 

 10 44 U.S.C. 3507(d). 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 11 -

information). The estimated cost per project is $4,800, with an estimated annual total of 

$24,000. 

Title: FERC-537. 

Action: Proposed Data Collection. 

OMB Control Nos.: 1902-0060 and 1902-0128. 

Respondents: Natural gas pipeline companies. 

Frequency of Responses: On occasion. 

Necessity of Information: Submission of the information is necessary for the 

Commission to carry out its NGA statutory responsibilities and meet the Commission’s 

objectives of expediting appropriate infrastructure development to ensure sufficient 

energy supplies while addressing landowner and environmental concerns fairly. 

Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting requirements by contacting: 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426 

[Attention: Michael Miller, Office of the Executive Director]. Phone: (202) 502-8415, 

fax: (202) 273-0873, e-mail: michael.miller@ferc.gov or the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C. 20503 

[Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]. 

V. Environmental Analysis

19. The Commission is required to prepare an EA or an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) for any action that may have a significant adverse effect on the human 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 12 -

environment.11 In promulgating the blanket certificate program in 1982, the Commission 

prepared an EA in which it determined that, subject to compliance with the standard 

environmental conditions, projects under the blanket program would not have a 

significant adverse environmental impact. In particular, the EA concluded that an Ldn of 

55 dBA at NSAs would be adequate to avoid interfering with speech or other activities in 

outdoor areas and ensure adequate protection for the indoor noise environment. As 

discussed herein, the Commission is expanding landowner notification and requiring the 

submission of a post-project noise survey for blanket certificate activities involving 

compressor facilities. Because these actions serve to better inform the public of proposed 

projects and to further ensure and verify that no blanket certificate project has a 

significant adverse environmental impact, these regulatory revisions do not constitute a 

major federal action that may have a significant adverse effect on the human 

environment.

VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis

20. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA)12 generally requires a description 

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

number of small entities. The Commission is not required to make such an analysis if 

 11 Order No. 486, Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy 

Act, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles 1986-

1990 ¶ 30,783 (1987). 

12 5 U.S.C. 601-612. 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 13 -

regulations would not have such an effect.13 Under the industry standards used for 

purposes of the RFA, a natural gas pipeline company qualifies as "a small entity" if it has 

annual revenues of $6.5 million or less. Most companies regulated by the Commission 

do not fall within the RFA's definition of a small entity.14

21. This order’s regulatory revisions will have no significant economic impact on 

those entities – be they large or small – subject to the Commission’s regulatory 

jurisdiction under NGA section 3 or 7, and no significant economic impact on state 

agencies. Accordingly, the Commission certifies that these regulatory revisions will not 

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

VII. Document Availability

22. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the Federal Register, the 

Commission provides all interested persons an opportunity to view and print the contents 

of this document via the Internet through FERC's website (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, N.E., Room 2A, Washington D.C. 20426. User 

assistance is available for FERC’s website during normal business hours from FERC’s 

Online Support at 202-502-6652, toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or by e-mail at 

 13 5 U.S.C. 605(b) (2000). 

14 5 U.S.C. 601(3), citing to section 3 of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 623 

(2000). Section 3 of the Small Business Act defines a "small-business concern" as a 

business which is independently owned and operated and which is not dominant in its 

field of operation. 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 14 -

ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, and from the Public Reference Room at 202-502-8371, 

TTY at 202-502-8659, or by e-mail at public.referenceroom@ferc.gov. 

VIII. Effective Date and Congressional Notification 

23. This Final Rule will take effect [insert date 30 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, Office of 

Management and Budget, that this rule is not a major rule within the meaning of section 

251 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.15 The 

Commission will submit this Final Rule to both houses of Congress and the Government 

Accountability Office.16 

List of subjects in 18 CFR Part 157

Administrative practice and procedure, Natural gas, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements 

By the Commission. 

( S E A L ) 

 Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., 

 Acting Deputy Secretary. 

 

 15 See 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

16 See 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 15 -

 In consideration of the foregoing, part 157, Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal 

Regulations, is amended as follows: 

PART 157--APPLICATIONS FOR CERTIFICATES OF PUBLIC 

CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY AND FOR ORDERS PERMITTING AND 

APPROVING ABANDONMENT UNDER SECTION 7 OF THE NATURAL GAS 

ACT

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

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

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

§ 157.6 Applications; general requirements. 

 * * * * * 

 (d) * * * 

 (2) * * * 

 (iii) Is within one-half mile of proposed compressors or their enclosures or LNG 

facilities; or 

 * * * * * 

3. In § 157.206, paragraph (b)(5)(ii) is redesignated as paragraph (b)(5)(iii) and a 

new paragraph (b)(5)(ii) is added, to read as follows: 

§ 157.206 Standard conditions. 

 * * * * * 

 (b) * * * 

 (5) * * * 
Docket No. RM07-17-000 - 16 -

 (ii) A compressor facility installed under this section must be designed to meet the 

following noise emissions criteria. For each new compressor station facility, and for each 

addition or modification to an existing compression station, the blanket certificate holder 

must file a noise survey with the Secretary within 60 days of placing the facility in 

service. 

 (A) If noise emitted from a new compressor facility operating at full load exceeds 

an Ldn of 55 dBA at any noise-sensitive area (NSA), or if an addition or modification to 

an existing compressor station operating at full load at or below an Ldn of 55 dBA at 

NSAs causes overall noise attributable to the station to exceed an Ldn of 55 dBA at an 

NSA, the blanket certificate holder must come into compliance with an Ldn of 55 dBA at 

NSAs within 1 year of placing the facility in service. 

 (B) If an addition or modification to an existing compressor station operating at 

full load above an Ldn of 55 dBA at NSAs causes overall noise attributable to the station 

to increase at an NSA, the blanket certificate holder must act within 1 year of placing the 

added or modified facility in service to reduce noise at NSAs to the level that existed 

prior to the addition or modification. 

 (C) If the initial noise survey demonstrates a need to take action to mitigate noise, 

within 60 days of completing such action, the blanket certificate holder must file a 

subsequent noise survey with the Secretary demonstrating that each new compressor 

station facility, and each addition or modification to an existing compressor station, 

complies with the noise level limits. 

 * * * * *