Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 170 / Friday, August 31, 2018 / Proposed Rules 44521 

Revision 03, excluding Appendix 01 and 

including Appendix 02, dated November 9, 

2017, as applicable to the airplane 

configuration. 

(s) New Terminating Action 

Modification of an airplane in accordance 

with the Accomplishment Instructions of 

Airbus Service Bulletin A320–52–1165, 

Revision 03, excluding Appendix 01 and 

including Appendix 02, dated November 9, 

2017, or as specified in paragraph (r) of this 

AD constitutes terminating action for the 

requirements of paragraphs (g), (i), (k), (l), 

and (m) of this AD for that airplane. 

(t) New Parts Installation Prohibition 

(1) Do not install on any airplane a 

component specified in paragraphs (g)(1) 

through (g)(5) of this AD, as required by 

paragraph (t)(1)(i) or (t)(1)(ii) of this AD, as 

applicable. 

(i) For airplanes in pre-Airbus Modification 

27716 or pre-Airbus Service Bulletin A320– 

52–1100 configuration: After completing the 

optional modification specified in paragraph 

(n)(2) of this AD. 

(ii) For airplanes in post-Airbus 

Modification 27716 or post Airbus Service 

Bulletin A320–52–1100 configuration: As of 

the effective date of this AD. 

(2) Do not install on any airplane a 

component specified in paragraphs (g)(1) 

through (g)(5) of this AD or paragraphs (i)(1) 

through (i)(3) of this AD, as required by 

paragraph (t)(2)(i) or (t)(2)(ii) of this AD, as 

applicable. 

(i) For airplanes in pre-Airbus Modification 

155648 or pre-Airbus Service Bulletin A320– 

52–1165, Revision 03, excluding Appendix 

01 and including Appendix 02, dated 

November 9, 2017, configuration: After 

completion of the additional work required 

by paragraph (r) of this AD. 

(ii) For airplanes in post-Airbus 

Modification 155648 or post-Airbus Service 

Bulletin A320–52–1165, Revision 03, 

excluding Appendix 01 and including 

Appendix 02, dated November 9, 2017, 

configuration: As of the effective date of this 

AD. 

(u) Credit for Previous Actions 

(1) This paragraph provides credit for 

optional actions provided by paragraph (n)(2) 

of this AD, if those actions were performed 

before the effective date of this AD using 

Airbus Service Bulletin A320–52–1100, 

dated December 7, 1998. 

(2) This paragraph provides credit for the 

actions required by paragraphs (g), (i), (k), (l), 

and (m) of this AD, if those actions were 

performed before the effective date of this AD 

using Airbus Service Bulletin A320–52–1163, 

dated February 4, 2014. 

(3) This paragraph provides credit for the 

actions required by paragraphs (k), (l)(1), (m), 

and (n)(3) of this AD if those actions were 

performed before the effective date of this AD 

using Airbus Service Bulletin A320–52–1165, 

Revision 01, dated October 23, 2015, 

excluding Appendix 01, dated November 3, 

2014, and including Appendix 02, dated 

October 23, 2015. 

(v) Other FAA AD Provisions 

(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, International 

Section, Transport Standards Branch, FAA, 

has the authority to approve AMOCs for this 

AD, if requested using the procedures found 

in 14 CFR 39.19. In accordance with 14 CFR 

39.19, send your request to your principal 

inspector or local Flight Standards District 

Office, as appropriate. If sending information 

directly to the International Section, send it 

to the attention of the person identified in 

paragraph (w)(2) of this AD. Information may 

be emailed to: 9-ANM-116-AMOCREQUESTS@faa.gov. 

(i) Before using any approved AMOC, 

notify your appropriate principal inspector, 

or lacking a principal inspector, the manager 

of the local flight standards district office/ 

certificate holding district office. 

(ii) AMOCs approved previously for AD 

2016–07–23 are approved as AMOCs for the 

corresponding provisions of this AD. 

(2) Contacting the Manufacturer: As of the 

effective date of this AD, for any requirement 

in this AD to obtain corrective actions from 

a manufacturer, the action must be 

accomplished using a method approved by 

the Manager, International Section, Transport 

Standards Branch, FAA; or the European 

Aviation Safety Agency (EASA); or Airbus 

SAS’s EASA Design Organization Approval 

(DOA). If approved by the DOA, the approval 

must include the DOA-authorized signature. 

(3) Required for Compliance (RC): Except 

as specified by paragraph (q) of this AD: If 

any service information contains procedures 

or tests that are identified as RC, those 

procedures and tests must be done to comply 

with this AD; any procedures or tests that are 

not identified as RC are recommended. Those 

procedures and tests that are not identified 

as RC may be deviated from using accepted 

methods in accordance with the operator’s 

maintenance or inspection program without 

obtaining approval of an AMOC, provided 

the procedures and tests identified as RC can 

be done and the airplane can be put back in 

an airworthy condition. Any substitutions or 

changes to procedures or tests identified as 

RC require approval of an AMOC. 

(w) Related Information 

(1) Refer to Mandatory Continuing 

Airworthiness Information (MCAI) EASA AD 

2018–0023, dated January 26, 2018; corrected 

February 5, 2018; for related information. 

This MCAI may be found in the AD docket 

on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov 

by searching for and locating Docket No. 

FAA–2018–0762. 

(2) For more information about this AD, 

contact Sanjay Ralhan, Aerospace Engineer, 

International Section, Transport Standards 

Branch, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des 

Moines, WA 98198; telephone and fax 206– 

231–3223. 

(3) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Airbus SAS, Airworthiness 

Office—EIAS, Rond-Point Emile Dewoitine 

No: 2, 31700 Blagnac Cedex, France; 

telephone +33 5 61 93 36 96; fax +33 5 61 

93 44 51; email account.airworth-eas@

airbus.com; internet http://www.airbus.com. 

You may view this service information at the 

FAA, Transport Standards Branch, 2200 

South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call 206–231–3195. 

Issued in Des Moines, Washington, on 

August 17, 2018. 

Michael Kaszycki, 

Acting Director, System Oversight Division, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18813 Filed 8–30–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Part 284 

[Docket No. RM96–1–041] 

Standards for Business Practices of 

Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (Commission) is 

proposing to amend its regulations to 

incorporate by reference, with certain 

enumerated exceptions, the latest 

version (Version 3.1) of business 

practice standards adopted by the 

Wholesale Gas Quadrant of the North 

American Energy Standards Board 

(NAESB) applicable to natural gas 

pipelines in place of the currently 

incorporated version (Version 3.0) of 

those business practice standards. 

DATES: Comments are due October 1, 

2018. 

ADDRESSES: Comments, identified by the 

docket number of this proceeding, may 

be filed electronically at http://

www.ferc.gov in acceptable native 

applications and print-to-PDF, but not 

in scanned or picture format. For those 

unable to file electronically, comments 

may be filed by mail or hand-delivery 

to: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, Secretary of the 

Commission, 888 First Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20426. The Comment 

Procedures Section of this document 

contains more detailed filing 

procedures. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stanley Wolf (technical issues), Office of 

Energy Policy and Innovation, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street NE, Washington, DC 

20426, Telephone: (202) 502–6841, Email: stanley.wolf@ferc.gov. 

Oscar F. Santillana (technical issues), 

Office of Energy Market Regulation, 

Federal Energy Regulatory 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
44522 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 170 / Friday, August 31, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

1As explained below, in section II.B.1, the 

Commission is not proposing in this proposed rule 

to incorporate by reference the optional model 

contracts and the eTariff-related standards included 

in the North American Energy Standards Board 

(NAESB) Wholesale Gas Quadrant (WGQ) Version 

3.1 package of business practice standards. 

2This series of orders began with the 

Commission’s issuance of Standards for Business 

Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines, Order 

No. 587, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,038 (1996). 

3 In the discussion below we identify the NAESB 

WGQ Version 3.1 Standards that we propose not to 

incorporate by reference. 

4See supra P 21, where we propose that 

compliance with the new standards will be required 

beginning on the first business day of the month 

after the fourth full month following issuance of a 

final rule in this proceeding. 

Commission, 888 First Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20426, Telephone: 

(202) 502–6392, E-mail: 

oscar.santillana@ferc.gov. 

Gary D. Cohen (legal issues), Office of 

the General Counsel, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 888 First 

Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, 

Telephone: (202) 502–8321, E-mail: 

gary.cohen@ferc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

Paragraph No. 

I. Background ................................................................................................................................................................................ 2 

II. Discussion ................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 

A. Modifications to Previous Version of Standards ............................................................................................................ 7 

B. Standards Proposed Not to be Incorporated by Reference ............................................................................................. 16 

C. Proposed Implementation Procedures ............................................................................................................................. 17 

III. Notice of Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards ................................................................................................................ 22 

IV. Incorporation by Reference .................................................................................................................................................... 23 

V. Information Collection Statement ........................................................................................................................................... 33 

VI. Environmental Analysis ......................................................................................................................................................... 39 

VII. Regulatory Flexibility Act ..................................................................................................................................................... 40 

VIII. Comment Procedures ........................................................................................................................................................... 43 

IX. Document Availability ........................................................................................................................................................... 47 

164 FERC ¶ 61,125 

United States of America 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

Standards for Business Practices of 

Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines 

Docket No. RM96–1–041 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(August 21, 2018) 

1. The Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission (Commission) proposes to 

amend its regulations at 18 CFR 284.12 

to incorporate by reference, with certain 

enumerated exceptions,1 the latest 

version (Version 3.1) of business 

practice standards adopted by the 

NAESB Wholesale Gas Quadrant (WGQ) 

applicable to natural gas pipelines that 

NAESB reported to the Commission on 

September 29, 2017 in place of the 

currently incorporated version (Version 

3.0) of those business practice 

standards. The implementation of these 

standards and regulations will promote 

the additional efficiency and reliability 

of the natural gas industries’ operations 

thereby helping the Commission to 

carry out its responsibilities under the 

Natural Gas Act. In addition, the 

proposed revisions are necessary to 

establish more efficient coordination 

between the natural gas and electric 

industries. Requiring such information 

ensures both a common means of 

communication and common business 

practices to limit miscommunication for 

participants engaged in the sale of 

electric energy at wholesale and the 

transportation of natural gas. 

I. Background 

2. Since 1996, the Commission has 

adopted regulations to standardize the 

business practices and communication 

methodologies of interstate natural gas 

pipelines to create a more integrated 

and efficient pipeline grid. These 

regulations have been promulgated in 

the Order No. 587 series of orders,2

wherein the Commission has 

incorporated by reference standards for 

interstate natural gas pipeline business 

practices and electronic 

communications that were developed 

and adopted by NAESB’s WGQ. Upon 

incorporation by reference, this version 

of the standards will replace the 

currently incorporated version (Version 

3.0) of those business practice 

standards, will become part of the 

Commission’s regulations, and 

compliance by interstate natural gas 

pipelines will become mandatory. 

3. On September 29, 2017, NAESB 

filed a report informing the Commission 

that it had adopted and ratified WGQ 

Version 3.1 of its business practice 

standards applicable to natural gas 

pipelines. The NAESB report identifies 

all the changes made to the Version 3.0 

Standards and summarizes the 

deliberations that led to the changes 

being made. It also identifies changes to 

the existing standards that were 

considered but not adopted due to a 

lack of consensus or other reasons. 

II. Discussion 

4. In this NOPR, the Commission 

proposes to incorporate by reference, in 

its regulations, Version 3.1 of the 

NAESB WGQ consensus business 

practice standards, with certain 

exceptions.3 We propose that any 

compliance filings made in accordance 

with a final rule on this subject be made 

90 days after issuance of any final rule 

in this proceeding or on the first 

business day thereafter if falling on a 

weekend or holiday. This will allow 

time for the Commission to process the 

compliance filings before the effective 

date of the new standards.4

5. As the Commission found in Order 

No. 587, adoption of consensus 

standards is appropriate, because the 

consensus process helps ensure the 

reasonableness of the standards by 

requiring that the standards draw 

support from a broad spectrum of 

industry participants representing all 

segments of the industry. Moreover, 

because the industry conducts business 

under these standards, the 

Commission’s regulations should reflect 

those standards that have the widest 

possible support. In section 12(d) of the 

National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act of 1995, Congress 

affirmatively requires federal agencies to 

use technical standards developed by 

voluntary consensus standards 

organizations, like NAESB, as a means 

to carry out policy objectives or 

activities. 

6. We discuss below some specific 

aspects of NAESB’s filing. 

A. Modifications to Previous Version of 

Standards 

7. NAESB adopted two substantive 

revisions concerning the Nominations 

Related Standards, which govern 

shipper requests to schedule service on 


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5Standard 1.2.12 of the Nominations Related 

Standards defines the elapsed-prorated-scheduled 

quantity to mean: 

That portion of the scheduled quantity that 

would have theoretically flowed up to the effective 

time of the intraday nomination being confirmed, 

based upon a cumulative uniform hourly quantity 

for each nomination period affected. 

6NAESB also made conforming revisions to the 

related data sets and documents: Standard 1.4.1 of 

the Nomination data set, Standard 1.4.5 of the 

Scheduled Quantity data set, Standard 2.4.4 of the 

Shipper Imbalance data set, Standard 1.4.2 of the 

Nomination Quick Response data set, Standard 

2.4.1 of the Pre-Determined Allocation document 

and Standard 2.4.3 of the Allocation document. 

7Standard 1.2.2 of the Nominations Related 

Standards provides that a Business Conditional data 

element is one that is based on current variations 

in business practice. 8NAESB’s Nomination Data Dictionary, WGQ 

Version 3.1, Standard 1.4.1, retains from the 

Version 3.0 standard the field for ‘‘Model Type 

Data’’ that identifies which of three types of 

nomination structures is being used. These are: 

Pathed, Non-Pathed and Pathed Non-Threaded. 

Having these three types of model type data allows 

specificity as to the details of the nomination. A 

pathed nomination uses one nomination line item 

to transact business and, therefore, has one 

transaction type. A non-pathed nomination uses 

two nomination line items to transact business and, 

therefore, has two transaction types. A pathed nonthreaded nomination uses three nomination line 

items to transact business and has three transaction 

types. 

NAESB also provides the following further 

clarification of these concepts in the description of 

the technical implementation of business processes 

included as part of Standard 1.4.1, where NAESB 

explains that: 

[a] ‘‘Pathed’’ nomination is actually a ‘‘Pathed 

Threaded’’ nomination because (1) the physical 

path of the pipeline locations and service 

contract(s) is fully described in the nomination, and 

(2) the logical thread of a specific supplier entity 

to a specific market entity at specific pipeline 

locations for a specific quantity is also fully 

described. ‘‘Non-Pathed’’ nominations are actually 

‘‘Non-Pathed Non-Threaded’’ nominations because 

(1) physical ‘‘location location-to to-location’’ paths 

are not described in the nominations, and (2) no ties 

of specific supply entities to specific market entities 

are established. And for ‘‘Pathed Non-Threaded’’ 

nominations, (1) the physical path of the pipeline 

locations, service contract(s), and quantity is fully 

described, and (2) no ties of specific supply entities 

to specific market entities are established. See 

NAESB WGQ Version 3.1 Business Practice 

Standards, Nominations Related Standards, 

Standard 1.4.1, at 87 (Sep. 29, 2017). 

9Nominations Standard 1.2.2 provides that 

Sender’s Option means that this element is an 

option for the sender to send and, if sent, the 

receiver should store and use the contents of the 

data element. 

natural gas pipelines. One revision 

revises Standard 1.3.82 to establish a 

standard rounding process (requiring 

calculations to at least the seventh 

decimal place) for elapsed-proratedscheduled quantity 5 calculations to 

provide for needed numerical 

uniformity and granularity for users of 

these NAESB procedures. The other 

Nomination Related Standards revision 

was to revise the ‘‘Service Requester’’ 

element of Standard 1.3.27,6 which 

specifies some of the information that 

should be included in a nomination 

request, from a Mandatory designation 

to a Business Conditional 7 designation. 

Thus, instead of forcing a specific 

upstream or downstream (unthreaded) 

nomination 8 to be tied to a specific 

contract (using a specific threaded 

nomination), upstream nominations 

may now be distributed among several 

contracts (using a Pathed Non-Threaded 

nomination structure), which generally 

increases flexibility to customers. 

8. NAESB also adopted three 

revisions to the WGQ Electronic 

Delivery Mechanism Standards, which 

establish the framework for the 

electronic dissemination and 

communication of information between 

parties in the North American 

Wholesale Gas marketplace. First, 

NAESB revised Standard 4.3.80 to 

increase the allowable field length in 

ASCII Comma Separated Value Files to 

3000 characters because that increases 

the amount of information that can be 

conveyed, but reasonably limits it in 

conformity with commonly used 

software such as Excel. Second, NAESB 

adopted new Standard 4.3.106 to allow 

checkboxes and radio buttons in the 

Transmission Service Providers’ 

Electronic Bulletin Boards (EBBs) to 

indicate ‘‘Yes’’ and/or ‘‘No’’ responses 

to data elements, which is more 

convenient than the current drop down 

list. Third, NAESB modified its 

standards to update the operating 

systems and web browsers that entities 

should support to allow users to take 

advantage of recent developments in 

computer technology and use. 

Additionally, language was added to 

clarify the Secure Sockets Layer/ 

Transport Layer Security protocols, 

which encrypt data to hide information 

from electronic observers on the 

internet. The new standard provides 

guidance on the timing for adoption of 

a new version of Secure Sockets Layer/ 

Transport Layer Security protocols— 

new versions of these protocols should 

be used within 9 months of the version 

becoming generally available. In 

addition, the new standard clarifies that 

Secure Sockets Layer is a colloquial 

term that encompasses both Secure 

Sockets Layer and Transport Layer 

Security. 

9. Other changes adopted by NAESB 

included changes to the NAESB WGQ 

data sets and other technical 

implementation documentation, which 

provide the technological support 

necessary to use the NAESB standards 

effectively. One such change was to add 

a new Business Conditional data 

element ‘‘Agent’’ and corresponding 

technical implementation to the 

Nomination data set Standard 1.4.1 and 

the Scheduled Quantity data set 

Standard 1.4.5. Currently, in the data 

sets, the Service Requester is defined as 

the Shipper or their Agent; however, 

language included in the 

implementation guides states that both 

the Shipper and Agent will be 

identified. Thus, this change adds a data 

element ‘‘Agent’’ to the data sets to 

allow the Service Requestor to identify 

both the shipper and its agent if it uses 

an agent to nominate and schedule on 

the pipeline. 

10. NAESB also adopted revisions to 

the Flowing Gas Related data sets and 

technical implementation, which 

address quantitative issues relating 

generally to allocation, imbalances and 

measurement of flowing gas. 

Specifically, NAESB added three 

Business Conditional data elements to 

the Authorization to Post Imbalances 

data set (Standard 2.4.9). The addition 

of the three data elements will allow a 

Service Requester to authorize specific 

contracts and quantities of imbalances 

for specified periods of time to be 

posted. 

11. In addition, NAESB revised the 

Imbalance Trade data set (Standard 

2.4.11) to reinstate language providing 

the confirming party the ability to reject 

a trade in the Imbalance Trade data set 

when an auto-confirm agreement with a 

confirming party is in place. NAESB 

states that in its WGQ Version 2.1 

publication, before the Imbalance 

Trading data sets were consolidated, the 

Imbalance Trade Confirmation 

contained a Yes/No indicator that the 

confirming party could use to indicate 

its acceptance or rejection of the trade. 

This indicator informed a pipeline 

whether the confirming party agreed to 

the terms of the trade that the initiating 

trader had posted. When the data sets 

were consolidated, this data element 

was dropped because it was assumed 

that if a confirming party did not agree 

with the posted terms it would not 

confirm the trade, which was effective 

only if the pipeline did not have an 

auto-confirm agreement with that 

confirming party. Accordingly, to 

address situations where there are autoconfirm agreements, NAESB has now 

revised Standard 2.4.11 to add a new 

Business Conditional data element 

‘‘Imbalance Trade Response’’ with an 

‘‘Accept/Reject’’ code value. This 

Accept/Reject indicator informs the 

pipeline whether the confirming party 

agrees to the terms of the trade that the 

initiating trader had posted. 

12. NAESB also revised Standard 

2.4.6 to add two Senders Option data 

elements,9 ‘‘Comments’’ and ‘‘VolumeUncorrected’’ to the Measured Volume 


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44524 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 170 / Friday, August 31, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

10NAESB’s business process and practices 

overview of the Flowing Gas Standards states that 

the Measured Volume Audit Statement data set is 

used to report gas measurement information in 

support of the allocation, imbalance, invoice and 

audit processes. 

11See, e.g., Standards for Business Practices of 

Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines, Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 32,708, at P 20 

(2015) (WGQ Version 3.0 NOPR). 

12 Id., Standards for Business Practices of 

Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines, Order No. 587–V, 

FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,332, at n.11 (2012). 

13WGQ Version 3.0 NOPR, FERC Stats. & Regs. 

¶ 32,708 at P 20; Electronic Tariff Filings, Order No. 

714, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,276 (2008). 

14Order No. 587–V, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,332 

at PP 36–39. 

15Trans-Union Interstate Pipeline L.P., 141 FERC 

¶ 61,167, at P 36 (2012) (Order No. 587–V 

Compliance Order). 

16 Id. P 36; WGQ Version 3.0 NOPR, FERC Stats. 

& Regs. ¶ 32,708 at P 25. 

17 Id. 

18 Id. 

19Order No. 587–V, FERC Stats. & Regs., ¶ 31,332. 

20Order No. 587–V Compliance Order, 141 FERC 

¶ 61,167 at PP 4, 38. 

21 Id. P 24. 

22 1 CFR 51.5 (2017). See Incorporation by 

Reference, 79 FR 66267 (Nov. 7, 2014). 

Audit Statement 10 in order to 

communicate raw data on volumes in 

addition to the final volumes which are 

communicated through the existing data 

element ‘‘Volume Corrected.’’ Thus, 

users will now be able to indicate what 

initial data they received in addition to 

how that data was ultimately corrected, 

and to provide comments concerning 

that data, which relate to what meter 

was used to measure the data. 

13. NAESB also adopted revisions to 

the Capacity Release Related data sets 

and technical implementation. 

Specifically, NAESB revised Standard 

5.4.24 to add a new Business 

Conditional data element, ‘‘Waive 

Bidder Credit Indicator’’ and 

corresponding code values to the Offer 

data set. The additional data element 

indicates to a Bidder whether the 

Releasing Shipper will waive, pursuant 

to the Transmission Service Provider’s 

tariff, the Bidder’s creditworthiness prequalification. 

14. Further, NAESB revised Standard 

6.3.1 (i.e., the NAESB Base Contract for 

Sale and Purchase of Natural Gas) to 

add language to the disclaimer to 

provide a copyright notification and 

direct the reader to the NAESB 

Copyright Policy and Companies with 

Access to NAESB Standards under the 

Copyright Policy posted on the NAESB 

website. Identical language was added 

to three additional NAESB WGQ 

Contracts. 

15. Lastly, NAESB adopted 

modifications to the cover page of 

Standard 6.3.1 to add a selfidentification provision that assists end 

users in determining whether 

counterparties are commercial market 

participants as defined by the United 

States Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission. 

B. Standards Proposed Not To Be 

Incorporated by Reference 

16. The Commission proposes to 

continue its past practice 11 of not 

incorporating by reference into its 

regulations any optional model 

contracts, because the Commission does 

not require the use of these contracts.12

In addition, consistent with our findings 

in past proceedings, the Commission is 

not proposing to incorporate by 

reference the Wholesale Electric 

Quadrant/WGQ eTariff Related 

Standards, because the Commission has 

already adopted standards and protocols 

for electronic tariff filings based on the 

NAESB Standards.13

C. Proposed Implementation Procedures 

17. The Commission is proposing to 

continue the compliance filing 

requirements as revised in Order No. 

587–V.14 This would require 

compliance with the NAESB WGQ 

Version 3.1 standards on the first 

business day of the month after the 

fourth full month following issuance of 

a final rule in this proceeding. As the 

Commission found in Order No. 587–V, 

adoption of the revised compliance 

filing requirements increases the 

transparency of the pipelines’ 

incorporation by reference of the 

NAESB WGQ Standards so that shippers 

and the Commission will know which 

tariff provision(s) implements each 

standard as well as the status of each 

standard.15 Likewise, consistent with 

past practice, the Commission will post 

on its eLibrary website (under Docket 

No. RM96–1–041) a sample tariff format, 

to provide filers an illustrative example 

to aid them in preparing their 

compliance filings. 

18. Consistent with our practice in 

Order No. 587–V, each pipeline should 

designate a single tariff section under 

which every NAESB WGQ Standard 

incorporated by reference by the 

Commission is listed.16 The pipeline 

tariff filings should list all the 

incorporated standards with which the 

pipeline will comply. In addition, for 

any standard that the pipeline seeks 

approval not to comply with, the tariff 

filing must identify the standard in 

question and either identify the 

provision in its tariff that complies with 

the standard; 17 or provide an 

explanation of any waiver, extension of 

time, or other variance with respect to 

compliance with the standard that 

would excuse compliance.18

19. Consistent with our findings in 

Order No. 587–V,19 we propose that 

requests for waivers that do not meet the 

requirements set forth in Order No. 587– 

V will not be granted. In particular, as 

we explained in Order No. 587–V, 

waivers are unnecessary and will not be 

granted when the standard applies only 

on condition the pipeline performs a 

business function and the pipeline 

currently does not perform that 

function.20

20. If the pipeline is requesting a 

continuation of an existing waiver or 

extension of time, it must include a 

table in its transmittal letter that 

identifies the standard for which a 

waiver or extension of time was granted, 

and the docket number or order citation 

to the proceeding in which the waiver 

or extension of time was granted. The 

pipeline must also present an 

explanation for why such waiver or 

extension of time should remain in force 

with regard to the WGQ Version 3.1 

Standards. 

21. This continues the Commission’s 

practice of having pipelines include in 

their tariffs a common location that 

identifies the way the pipeline is 

incorporating all the NAESB WGQ 

Standards and the standards with which 

it is required to comply. As explained 

above, the Commission will post on its 

eLibrary website (under Docket No. 

RM96–1–041) a sample tariff format, to 

provide filers an illustrative example to 

aid them in preparing their compliance 

filings.21

III. Notice of Use of Voluntary 

Consensus Standards 

22. Office of Management and Budget 

Circular A–119 (section 11) (February 

10, 1998) provides that Federal 

Agencies should publish a request for 

comment in a NOPR when the agency 

is seeking to issue or revise a regulation 

proposing to adopt a voluntary 

consensus standard or a governmentunique standard. In this NOPR, the 

Commission is proposing to incorporate 

by reference voluntary consensus 

standards developed by the WGQ. 

IV. Incorporation by Reference 

23. The Office of the Federal Register 

requires agencies incorporating material 

by reference in final rules to discuss, in 

the preamble of the final rule, the ways 

that the materials it incorporates by 

reference are reasonably available to 

interested parties and how interested 

parties can obtain the materials.22 The 

regulations also require agencies to 

summarize, in the preamble of the final 

rule, the material it incorporates by 

reference. The standards we are 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 170 / Friday, August 31, 2018 / Proposed Rules 44525 

23 5 CFR 1320.11 (2017). 

proposing to incorporate by reference 

consist of seven suites of NAESB WGQ 

Business Practice Standards that touch 

on a variety of topics and are designed 

to streamline the transactional processes 

for the wholesale gas industry by 

promoting a more competitive and 

efficient market. These include the: 

WGQ Additional Business Practice 

Standards; WGQ Nominations Related 

Business Practice Standards; WGQ 

Flowing Gas Related Business Practice 

Standards; Invoicing Related Business 

Practice Standards; Quadrant Electronic 

Delivery Mechanism Related Business 

Practice Standards; Capacity Release 

Related Business Practice Standards; 

and internet Electronic Transport 

Related Business Practice Standards. 

These can be summarized as follows. 

24. The WGQ Additional Business 

Practice Standards address six areas: 

Creditworthiness, Storage Information, 

Gas/Electric Operational 

Communications, Operational Capacity, 

Unsubscribed Capacity, and Location 

Data Download. 

• The Creditworthiness related 

standards describe requirements for the 

exchange of information, notification, 

and communication between parties 

during the creditworthiness evaluation 

process. 

• The Storage Information related 

standards define the information to be 

provided to natural gas service 

requesters related to storage activities 

and/or balances. 

• The Gas/Electric Operational 

Communications related standards 

define communication protocols 

intended to improve coordination 

between the gas and electric industries 

in daily operational communications 

between transportation service 

providers and gas-fired power plants. 

The standards include requirements for 

communicating anticipated power 

generation fuel for the upcoming day as 

well as any operating problems that 

might hinder gas-fired power plants 

from receiving contractual gas 

quantities. 

• The Operational Capacity related 

standards define requirements of the 

transportation service provider related 

to the reporting and requesting of a 

transportation service provider’s 

operational capacity, total scheduled 

quantity, and operationally available 

capacity. 

• The Unsubscribed Capacity related 

standards define requirements of the 

transportation service provider related 

to reporting and requesting a 

transportation service provider’s 

available unsubscribed capacity. 

• The Location Data Download 

related standards define requirements 

for the use of codes assigned by the 

transportation service provider for 

locations and common codes for parties 

communicating electronically. 

25. The WGQ Nominations Related 

Business Practice Standards define the 

process by which a natural gas service 

requester with a natural gas 

transportation contract nominates (or 

requests) service from a pipeline or a 

transportation service provider for the 

delivery of natural gas. 

26. The WGQ Flowing Gas Related 

Business Practice Standards define the 

business processes related to the 

communication of entitlement rights of 

flowing gas at a location, of the 

entitlement rights on a contractual basis, 

of the management of imbalances, and 

of the measurement and gas quality 

information of the actual flow of gas. 

27. The Invoicing Related Business 

Practice Standards define the process 

for the communication of charges for 

services rendered (Invoice), 

communication of details about funds 

rendered in payment for services 

rendered (Payment Remittance), and 

communication of the financial status of 

a customer’s account (Statement of 

Account). 

28. The Quadrant Electronic Delivery 

Mechanism Related Business Practice 

Standards define the framework for the 

electronic dissemination and 

communication of information between 

parties in the North American wholesale 

gas marketplace for Electronic Data 

Interchange (EDI)/Electronic Delivery 

Mechanism (EDM) transfers, batch flat 

file/EDM transfers, informational 

postings websites, EBB/EDM and 

interactive flat file/EDM. 

29. The Capacity Release Related 

Business Practice Standards define the 

business processes for communication 

of information related to the selling of 

all or any portion of a transmission 

service requester’s contract rights. 

30. The internet Electronic Transport 

Related Business Practice Standards 

define the implementation of various 

technologies necessary to communicate 

transactions and other electronic data 

using standard protocols for electronic 

commerce over the internet between 

trading partners. 

31. Our regulations provide that 

copies of the standards incorporated by 

reference may be obtained from the 

North American Energy Standards 

Board, 801 Travis Street, Suite 1675, 

Houston, TX 77002, Phone: (713) 356– 

0060. Copies of the standards may be 

inspected at the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, Public 

Reference and Files Maintenance 

Branch, 888 First Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20426, Phone: (202) 

502–8371, http://www.ferc.gov. 

32. NAESB is a private consensus 

standards developer that develops 

voluntary wholesale and retail 

standards related to the energy industry. 

The procedures used by NAESB make 

its standards reasonably available to 

those affected by Commission 

regulations, which generally is 

comprised of entities that have the 

means to acquire the information they 

need to effectively participate in 

Commission proceedings. Participants 

can join NAESB, for an annual 

membership cost of $7,000, which 

entitles them to full participation in 

NAESB and enables them to obtain 

these standards at no additional cost. 

Non-members may obtain the Individual 

Standards Manual or Booklets for each 

of the seven Manuals by email for $250 

per manual, which in the case of these 

standards would total $1,750. Nonmembers also may obtain the complete 

set of Standards Manuals, Booklets, and 

Contracts on USB flash drive for $2,000. 

NAESB also provides a free electronic 

read-only version of the standards for a 

three business day period or, in the case 

of a regulatory comment period, through 

the end of the comment period. In 

addition, NAESB considers requests for 

waivers of the charges on a case-by-case 

basis depending on need. 

V. Information Collection Statement 

33. The Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) regulations require that 

OMB approve certain reporting, record 

keeping, and public disclosure 

requirements (information collection) 

imposed by an agency.23 Therefore, the 

Commission is submitting its proposed 

information collection to OMB for 

review in accordance with section 

3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995. Upon approval of a collection 

of information, OMB will assign an 

OMB control number and an expiration 

date. Respondents subject to the filing 

requirements of a rule will not be 

penalized for failing to respond to these 

collections of information unless the 

collection of information displays a 

valid OMB control number. 

34. The Commission solicits 

comments on the Commission’s need for 

this information, whether the 

information will have practical utility, 

the accuracy of the provided burden 

estimates, ways 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. 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
44526 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 170 / Friday, August 31, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

24FERC–545 covers rate change filings made by 

natural gas pipelines, including tariff changes. 

25FERC–549C covers Standards for Business 

Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines. 

26The number of respondents is the number of 

entities in which a change in burden from the 

current standards to the proposed exists, not the 

total number of entities from the current or 

proposed standards that are applicable. 

27The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits) 

provided in this section is based on the salary 

figures for May 2017 posted by the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics for the Utilities sector (available at http:// 

www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm#13-0000) 

and scaled to reflect benefits using the relative 

importance of employer costs in employee 

compensation from May 2017 (available at https:// 

www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm). The 

hourly estimates for salary plus benefits are: 

Computer and Information Systems Manager 

(Occupation Code: 11–3021), $96.51 

Electrical Engineer (Occupation Code: 17–2071), 

$66.90 

Legal (Occupation Code: 23–0000), $143.68 

The average hourly cost (salary plus benefits), 

weighting all of these skill sets evenly, is $102.36. 

The Commission rounds it to $102/hour. 

35. Public Reporting Burden: The 

Commission’s burden estimates for the 

proposals in this NOPR are for one-time 

implementation of the information 

collection requirements of this NOPR 

(including tariff filing, documentation of 

the process and procedures, and 

information technology work). 

36. The collections of information 

related to this NOPR fall under FERC– 

545 (Gas Pipeline Rates: Rate Change 

(Non-Formal)) 24 and FERC–549C 

(Standards for Business Practices of 

Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines).25 The 

following estimates of reporting burden 

are related only to this NOPR and 

anticipate the costs to pipelines for 

compliance with the Commission’s 

proposals in this NOPR. The burden 

estimates are primarily related to 

implementing these standards and 

regulations and will not result in 

ongoing costs. 

RM96–1–041 NOPR 

[Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines] 

Number of 

respondents 26

Annual number of 

responses per 

respondent 

Total number of 

responses 

Average burden 

hr. per response 

Total annual burden 

hours and total 

annual cost 27

Annual costs 

per respondent 

($) 

(1) (2) (1) * (2) = (3) (4) (3) * (4) = (5) (5) * (1) = (6) 

FERC–545 (one-time) ....................... 165 1 165 10 hrs.; $1,020 ..... 1,650 hrs.; $168,000 ...... 1,020 

FERC–549C (one-time) .................... 165 1 165 22 hrs.; $2,244 ..... 3,630 hrs.; $370,260 ...... 2,244 

Total ........................................... .......................... .............................. 330 ............................... 5,280 hrs.; $538,560 ...... ..........................

The one-time burden (for both the 

FERC–545 and FERC–549C) will be 

averaged over three years: 

FERC–545: 1,650 hours ÷ 3 = 550 hours/ 

year over three years 

FERC–549C: 3,630 hours ÷ 3 = 1,210 

hours/year over three years 

The number of responses is also 

averaged over three years (for both the 

FERC–545 and FERC–549C): 

FERC–545: 165 responses ÷ 3 = 55 

responses/year 

FERC–549C: 165 responses ÷ 3 = 55 

responses/year 

The responses and burden for Years 

1–3 will total respectively as follows: 

Year 1: 55 responses; 550 hours (FERC– 

545); 1,210 hours (FERC–549C) 

Year 2: 55 responses; 550 hours (FERC– 

545); 1,210 hours (FERC–549C) 

Year 3: 55 responses; 550 hours (FERC– 

545); 1,210 hours (FERC–549C) 

Title: FERC–545, Gas Pipeline Rates: 

Rates Change (Non-Formal); FERC– 

549C, Standards for Business Practices 

of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines. 

Action: Proposed information 

collections. 

OMB Control Nos.: 1902–0154 (FERC– 

545), 1902–0174 (FERC–549C). 

Respondents: Business or other for 

profit (e.g., Natural Gas Pipelines, 

applicable to only a few small 

businesses). 

Frequency of Responses: One-time 

implementation (related to business 

procedures, capital/start-up). 

Necessity of Information: The 

proposals in this NOPR would, if 

implemented, upgrade the 

Commission’s current business practices 

and communication standards by 

specifically: (1) Updating the 

Nominations Related Standards to 

standardize a rounding process for the 

elapsed-prorated-scheduled quantity 

calculation, and dictate that the 

‘‘Service Requester Contract’’ data 

element signify business conditional 

nominations, rather than mandatory 

nominations; (2) updating the WGQ 

Electronic Delivery Mechanism related 

Standards to make three minor revisions 

designed to add clarity, update the 

minimum technical characteristics to 

account for changes in technology since 

the previous version (Version 3.0) of the 

WGQ standards, and update the 

minimum and suggested operating 

systems and web browsers that entities 

should support; and (3) revising the 

NAESB WGQ data sets or other 

technical implementation 

documentation while not resulting in 

modifications to the underlying 

business practice standards. The 

package of standards also includes 

minor corrections. 

The implementation of these data 

requirements will provide additional 

transparency to informational posting 

websites and will improve 

communication standards. The 

implementation of these standards and 

regulations will promote the additional 

efficiency and reliability of the natural 

gas industries’ operations thereby 

helping the Commission to carry out its 

responsibilities under the Natural Gas 

Act. In addition, the Commission’s 

Office of Enforcement will use the data 

for general industry oversight. 

Internal Review: The Commission has 

reviewed the requirements pertaining to 

business practices of natural gas 

pipelines and made a preliminary 

determination that the proposed 

revisions are necessary to establish more 

efficient coordination between the gas 

and electric industries. Requiring such 

information ensures both a common 

means of communication and common 

business practices to limit 

miscommunication for participants 

engaged in the sale of electric energy at 

wholesale and the transportation of 

natural gas. These requirements 

conform to the Commission’s plan for 

efficient information collection, 

communication, and management 

within the natural gas pipeline 

industries. 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. 

37. 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], 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 170 / Friday, August 31, 2018 / Proposed Rules 44527 

28Regulations Implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act, Order No. 486, FERC 

Stats. & Regs. ¶30,783 (1987). 

29See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5), 

380.4(a)(27) (2017). 

30 5 U.S.C. 601–612. 

31See 5 U.S.C. 601(3) citing section 3 of the Small 

Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 623. Section 3 of the SBA 

defines a ‘‘small business concern’’ as a business 

which is independently owned and operated and 

which is not dominant in its field of operation 

(2017). 

32 13 CFR 121.201 (Subsector 486-Pipeline 

Transportation; North American Industry 

Classification System code 486210; Pipeline 

Transportation of Natural Gas) (2017). ‘‘Annual 

Receipts’’ are total income plus cost of goods sold. 

33This number is derived by dividing the total 

cost figure by the number of respondents. $538,560/ 

165 = $3,264. 

34 5 U.S.C. 605(b). 

email: DataClearance@ferc.gov, phone: 

(202) 502–8663, fax: (202) 273–0873. 

38. Comments concerning the 

collection of information(s) and the 

associated burden estimate(s), should be 

sent to the contact listed above 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]. 

VI. Environmental Analysis 

39. 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.28 The actions proposed to 

be 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 rules regarding 

sales, exchange, and transportation of 

natural gas that require no construction 

of facilities.29 Therefore, an 

environmental review is unnecessary 

and has not been prepared as part of this 

NOPR. 

VII. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

40. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 

1980 (RFA) 30 generally requires a 

description and analysis of proposed 

rules that will have significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The 

Commission is not required to make 

such analysis if proposed regulations 

would not have such an effect. 

41. Approximately 165 interstate 

natural gas pipelines, both large and 

small, are potential respondents subject 

to the requirements adopted by this 

rule. Most of the natural gas pipelines 

regulated by the Commission do not fall 

within the RFA’s definition of a small 

entity,31 which is currently defined for 

natural gas pipelines as a company that, 

in combination with its affiliates, has 

total annual receipts of $27.5 million or 

less.32 For the year 2018, only eleven 

companies not affiliated with larger 

companies had annual revenues in 

combination with its affiliates of $27.5 

million or less and therefore could be 

considered a small entity under the 

RFA. This represents about seven 

percent of the total universe of potential 

respondents that may have a significant 

burden imposed on them. The 

Commission estimates that the one-time 

implementation cost of the proposals in 

this NOPR is $538,560 (or $3,264 per 

entity, regardless of entity size).33 The 

Commission does not consider the 

estimated $3,264 impact per entity to be 

significant. Moreover, these 

requirements are designed to benefit all 

customers, including small businesses 

that must comply with them. Further, as 

noted above, adoption of consensus 

standards helps ensure the 

reasonableness of the standards by 

requiring that the standards draw 

support from a broad spectrum of 

industry participants representing all 

segments of the industry. Because of 

that representation and the fact that 

industry conducts business under these 

standards, the Commission’s regulations 

should reflect those standards that have 

the widest possible support. 

42. Accordingly, pursuant to 605(b) of 

the RFA,34 the regulations proposed 

herein should not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. 

VIII. Comment Procedures 

43. The Commission invites interested 

persons to submit comments on the 

matters and issues proposed in this 

document to be adopted, including any 

related matters or alternative proposals 

that commenters may wish to discuss. 

Comments are due October 1, 2018. 

Comments must refer to Docket No. 

RM96–1–041, and must include the 

commenter’s name, the organization 

they represent (if applicable), and their 

address in their comments. 

44. The Commission encourages 

comments to be filed electronically via 

the eFiling link on the Commission’s 

website at http://www.ferc.gov. The 

Commission accepts most standard 

word processing formats. Documents 

created electronically using word 

processing software should be filed in 

native applications or print-to-PDF 

format and not in a scanned format. 

Commenters filing electronically do not 

need to make a paper filing. 

45. Commenters that are not able to 

file comments electronically must send 

an original of their comments to: 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 

Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. 

46. All comments will be placed in 

the Commission’s public files and may 

be viewed, printed, or downloaded 

remotely as described in the Document 

Availability section below. Commenters 

on this proposal are not required to 

serve copies of their comments on other 

commenters. 

IX. Document Availability 

47. In addition to publishing the full 

text of this document in the Federal 

Register, the Commission provides all 

interested persons an opportunity to 

view and/or print the contents of this 

document via the internet through the 

Commission’s Home Page (http://

www.ferc.gov) and in the Commission’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. 

48. From the Commission’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. 

49. User assistance is available for 

eLibrary and the Commission’s website 

during normal business hours from the 

Commission’s 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) 

502–8371, TTY (202) 502–8659. Email 

the Public Reference Room at 

public.referenceroom@ferc.gov. 

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 284 

Incorporation by reference, Natural 

gas, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

By direction of the Commission. 

Issued: August 21, 2018. 

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., 

Deputy Secretary. 

In consideration of the foregoing, the 

Commission proposes to amend part 

284, chapter I, title 18, Code of Federal 

Regulations, as follows. 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
44528 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 170 / Friday, August 31, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

1The State of California typically refers to 

reactive organic gases (ROG) in its ozone-related 

submissions since VOC in general can include both 

PART 284—CERTAIN SALES AND 

TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS 

UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY 

ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED 

AUTHORITIES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 284 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717–717z, 3301–3432; 

42 U.S.C. 7101–7352; 43 U.S.C. 1331–1356. 

■ 2. Section 284.12 is amended by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (a)(1); and 

■ b. Removing from paragraph (a)(2) the 

phrase ‘‘http://www.archives.gov/ 

federal_register/code_of_federal_

regulations/ibr_locations.html’’ and 

adding ‘‘www.archives.gov/federalregister/cfr/ibr-locations.html’’ in its 

place. 

The revision reads as follows: 

§ 284.12 Standards for pipeline business 

operations and communications. 

(a) * * * 

(1) An interstate pipeline that 

transports gas under subparts B or G of 

this part must comply with the business 

practices and electronic 

communications standards as 

promulgated by the North American 

Energy Standards Board, as 

incorporated herein by reference in 

paragraphs (a)(1)(i) thru (vii) of this 

section. 

(i) Additional Standards (Version 3.1, 

September 29, 2017); 

(ii) Nominations Related Standards 

(Version 3.1, September 29, 2017); 

(iii) Flowing Gas Related Standards 

(Version 3.1, September 29, 2017); 

(iv) Invoicing Related Standards 

(Version 3.1, September 29, 2017); 

(v) Quadrant Electronic Delivery 

Mechanism Related Standards (Version 

3.1, September 29, 2017); 

(vi) Capacity Release Related 

Standards (Version 3.1, September 29, 

2017); and 

(vii) internet Electronic Transport 

Related Standards (Version 3.1, 

September 29, 2017). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2018–18473 Filed 8–30–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2018–0535; FRL–9983– 

00—Region 9] 

Clean Air Plans; 2008 8-Hour Ozone 

Nonattainment Area Requirements; 

San Joaquin Valley, California 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve 

portions of three state implementation 

plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the 

State of California to meet Clean Air Act 

(CAA or ‘‘the Act’’) requirements for the 

2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air 

quality standards (NAAQS or 

‘‘standards’’) in the San Joaquin Valley, 

California ozone nonattainment area. 

First, the EPA is proposing to approve 

the portions of the 2016 Ozone Plan for 

the 2008 8-Hour Ozone Standard (‘‘2016 

Ozone Plan’’) that address the 

requirements to demonstrate attainment 

by the applicable attainment date and 

implementation of reasonably available 

control measures, among other 

requirements. Second, the EPA is 

proposing to approve the portions of the 

Revised Proposed 2016 State Strategy 

for the State Implementation Plan 

(‘‘2016 State Strategy’’) related to the 

ozone control strategy for San Joaquin 

Valley for the 2008 ozone standards, 

including a specific aggregate emissions 

reduction commitment. Lastly, the EPA 

is proposing to approve an air district 

rule addressing the emission statement 

requirement for ozone nonattainment 

areas. The EPA is not taking action at 

this time on the portions of the San 

Joaquin Valley 2016 Ozone Plan that 

address the requirements for a 

reasonable further progress (RFP) 

demonstration, motor vehicle emissions 

budgets (MVEBs), a base year emissions 

inventory, and contingency measures 

for failure to attain or to meet reasonable 

further progress milestones. We intend 

to address these remaining elements in 

a forthcoming proposal. 

DATES: Written comments must arrive 

on or before October 1, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R09– 

OAR–2018–0535 at https://

www.regulations.gov. For comments 

submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. Once submitted, comments 

cannot be edited or removed from 

Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish 

any comment received to its public 

docket. Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. The EPA will generally not 

consider comments or comment 

contents located outside of the primary 

submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or 

other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

For the full EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

http://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laura Lawrence, EPA Region IX, (415) 

972–3407, lawrence.laura@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’ 

and ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA. 

Table of Contents 

I. Regulatory Context 

A. Ozone Standards, Area Designations 

and SIPs 

B. The San Joaquin Valley Ozone 

Nonattainment Area 

C. CAA and Regulatory Requirements for 

2008 Ozone Nonattainment Area SIPs 

II. Submissions From the State of California 

To Address 2008 Ozone Requirements in 

the San Joaquin Valley 

A. Summary of Submissions 

B. Clean Air Act Procedural Requirements 

for Adoption and Submission of SIP 

Revisions 

III. Evaluation of the 2016 Ozone Plan 

A. Emissions Inventories 

B. Emission Statement 

C. Reasonably Available Control Measures 

Demonstration and Control Strategy 

D. Attainment Demonstration 

E. Rate of Progress Plan and Reasonable 

Further Progress Demonstration 

F. Transportation Control Strategies and 

Measures To Offset Emissions Increases 

From Vehicle Miles Traveled 

G. Contingency Measures To Provide for 

RFP and Attainment 

H. Clean Fuels or Advanced Control 

Technology for Boilers 

I. Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for 

Transportation Conformity 

J. Other Clean Air Act Requirements 

Applicable to Extreme Ozone 

Nonattainment Areas 

IV. Other Commitments To Reduce 

Emissions 

V. Proposed Action 

VI. Incorporation by Reference 

VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Regulatory Context 

A. Ozone Standards, Area Designations 

and SIPs 

Ground-level ozone pollution is 

formed from the reaction of volatile 

organic compounds (VOC) and oxides of 

nitrogen (NOX) in the presence of 

sunlight.1 These two pollutants, referred 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS