Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 222 / Thursday, November 16, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 69251

1 65 FR 48148 (Aug. 7, 2000); III FERC Stats. &

Regs. ¶ 31,105 (Jul. 21, 2000). The Commission

issued a correction notice on August 15, 2000. See

65 FR 50638 (Aug. 21, 2000).

2 18 CFR Parts 125, 225, and 356.

3 18 CFR 125.2(g) and 18 CFR 125.3 item 8(b)(1).

4See former 17 CFR 125.2(j) (‘‘* * * records

related to plant shall be retained a minimum of 25

years.’’).

LDA, LDA/DME, SDF, SDF/DME;

§ 97.27 NDB, NDB/DME; § 97.29 ILS,

ILS/DME, ISMLS, MLS, MLS/DME,

MLS/RNAV; § 97.31 RADAR SIAPs;

§ 97.33 RNAV SIAPs; and § 97.35

COPTER SIAPs, identified as follows:

* * * Effective November 30, 2000

Philadelphia, PA, Philadelphia Intl, ILS RWY

26, Amdt 1

Philadelphia, PA, Philadelphia Intl, ILS

PRM, RWY 26, Orig (Simultaneous Close

Parallel)

Philadelphia, PA, Philadelphia Intl, ILS RWY

27L, Amdt 11

Philadelphia, PA, Philadelphia Intl, ILS

PRM, RWY 27L, Orig (Simultaneous Close

Parallel)

Memphis, TN, Memphis Intl, ILS RWY 36C,

Amdt 1

* * * Effective December 28, 2000

Talladega, AL, Talladega Muni, VOR/DME–

B, Orig

Palmer, MA, Metropolitan, NDB RWY 4,

Orig, CANCELLED

* * * Effective January 25, 2001

Destin, FL, Destin-Fort Walton Beach,

RADAR–1, Amdt 8

Perry, FL, Perry-Foley, NDB RWY 36, Amdt

4

Perry, FL, Perry-Foley, RNAV (GPS) RWY 18,

Orig

Perry, FL, Perry-Foley, RNAV (GPS) RWY 36,

Orig

Perry, FL, Perry-Foley, VOR/DME RNAV OR

GPS RWY 18, Amdt 1, CANCELLED

Atlanta, GA, The William B. Hartsfield

Atlanta Intl, ILS RWY 27L, Amdt 14

Winamac, IN, Arens Field, NDB OR GPS

RWY 9, Amdt 1, CANCELLED

Lexington, KY, Blue Grass, NDB RWY 4,

Amdt 21

Lexington, KY, Blue Grass, ILS RWY 22,

Amdt 18

Owatonna, MN, Owatonna Degner Regional,

ILS RWY 30, Amdt 1

Atlantic City, NJ, Atlantic City Muni/Bader

Field, VOR OR GPS–B, Amdt 1A,

CANCELLED

Atlantic City, NJ, Ocean City Muni, VOR

RWY 6, Amdt 1, CANCELLED

Erwin, NC, Harnett County, VOR/DME RWY

5, Amdt 2

Erwin, NC, HARNETT County, NDB RWY 23,

Amdt 1

Erwin, NC, Harnett County, GPS RWY 5,

Orig-B, CANCELLED

Erwin, NC, Harnett County, RNAV (GPS)

RWY 5, Orig

Erwin, NC, Harnett County, RNAV (GPS)

RWY 23, Orig

Saranac Lake, NY, Adirondack Regional,

VOR/DME RWY 5, Amdt 3

Saranac Lake, NY, Adirondack Regional,

VOR OR GPS RWY 9, Amdt 1

Saranac Lake, NY, Adirondack Regional,

RNAV (GPS) RWY 5, Orig

Selinsgrove, PA, Penn Valley, VOR–A, Amdt

6

Selinsgrove, PA, Penn Valley, RNAV (GPS)

RWY 17, Orig

Richmond/Ashland, VA, Hanover County

Muni, VOR RWY 16, Amdt 1

Richmond/Ashland, VA, Hanover County

Muni, LOC RWY 16, Amdt 2

Clarksburg, WV, Benedum, ILS RWY 21,

Amdt 1

The FAA published an Amendment in

Docket 30210, Amdt No. 2017 to Part 97 Of

the Federal Aviation Regulations, Volume 65

FR No. 213, Pages 65733 dated Thursday,

November 2, 2000 under section 97.29

effective January 25, 2001 which is hereby

rescinded:

Jackson, WY, Jackson Hole, ILS RWY 18,

Amdt 7

[FR Doc. 00–29319 Filed 11–15–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

18 CFR Parts 125, 225, and 356

[Docket No. RM99–8–001;

Order No. 617–A]

Preservation of Records of Public

Utilities and Licensees, Natural Gas

Companies, and Oil Pipeline

Companies; Order Denying Rehearing

Issued November 9, 2000.

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, DOE

ACTION: Order denying rehearing.

SUMMARY: Edison Electric Institute (EEI)

filed a request for rehearing seeking

revision of the Commission’s Final Rule

in Order No. 617, Preservation of

Records of Public Utilities and

Licensees, Natural Gas Companies, and

Oil Pipeline Companies. The

Commission denies rehearing.

ADDRESSES: Office of the Secretary,

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC

20426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary C. Lauermann (Technical

Information), Office of the Executive

Director, 888 First Street, NE.,

Washington, D.C. 20426, (202) 208–

0087

Julia A. Lake (Legal Information), Office

of the General Counsel, 888 First

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426,

(202) 208–2019.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

In this order, the Commission

addresses a request for rehearing of

Order No. 617, the final rule on the

preservation of records of public

utilities and licensees, natural gas

companies, and oil pipeline

companies.1 In Order No. 617, the

Commission amended Parts 125, 225,

and 356 2 of its regulations in order to

update, reduce, and clarify records

retention requirements for jurisdictional

public utilities and licensees, natural

gas companies and oil pipeline

companies. Order No. 617 is part of the

Commission’s ongoing program to

update and eliminate burdensome and

unnecessary requirements. These

changes significantly reduce the burden

of maintaining records for regulated

companies.

For the reasons stated below, the

Commission denies rehearing.

II. Background

On July 27, 2000, the Commission

issued Order No. 617, revising the

Commission’s records retention

regulations, which included revising the

general instructions, revising the

records retention periods, and removing

all but two retention reserve items.

Order No. 617, effective January 1, 2001,

is part of the Commission’s ongoing

program to update and eliminate

burdensome and unnecessary

requirements.

A timely request for rehearing was

filed by Edison Electric Institute (EEI)

requesting: (1) Reduction of one

retention period, and (2) revision of one

section of regulatory text. These issues

are addressed separately below.

III. Discussion

1. Reduction of Retention Period

Under the final rule, utilities and

licensees must maintain plant records

for as long as the plant is included in

the company’s accounting records.3 EEI

argues that the new record retention

period for schedule item 8(b)(1) of 25

years represents an increase in the

retention period. EEI requests the

Commission to reduce the record

retention period for schedule item

8(b)(1) back to 6 years, as required

under the prior regulations.

The Commission has not increased

the record retention period for schedule

item 8(b)(1). The record retention period

has always been a minimum of 25

years.4 The revised schedule item

8(b)(1) clarifies this 25-year retention

period. The Commission recognized,

however, that many plant items have a

useful life longer than 25 years, and that

other plant items are sold or retired in

less than 25 years. The Commission is

69252 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 222 / Thursday, November 16, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

requiring companies to keep plant

records until the facilities are

permanently removed from service and

retired from the accounting records.

This revision recognizes that it is

possible for companies to maintain

plant records for shorter or longer

periods than 25 years. The Commission,

therefore, denies EEI’s request for a

reduction of the retention period for

schedule item 8(b)(1).

2. Revision of New § 125.2(i)

Section 125.2(i) of the final rule

requires public utilities and licensees to

assure that supporting cost information

is available for services performed by or

for associated or affiliated companies,

including detailed information

regarding the nature of the transaction,

the amounts involved, and the accounts

used to record the transaction. EEI

continues to be concerned that the

language in this section could be

interpreted to expand the Commission’s

authority to records of utility affiliates

in general, instead of just to records that

relate to utility-affiliate transactions. EEI

stated that the Commission’s

clarification provided in the preamble of

the final rule was ‘‘very useful and

informative,’’ and that the ‘‘clarification

is valuable because it reduces .* * *

ambiguity’’ and ‘‘reflects the ‘utilityaffiliate’ focus of the records to be

maintained.’’ However, EEI’s concern is

that the clarification provided in the

preamble should be incorporated into

the regulatory text at § 125.2(i), and

requests that the text be amended to

include the clarification. EEI proposed

the following revision to § 125.2(i):

Public utilities and licensees must assure

the availability of records, to be retained by

the originating entity, of services performed

by a utility or licensee for associated or

affiliated companies and vice versa, with

supporting cost information for the periods

indicated in section 125.3 as necessary, as

they pertain to the cost of the services

performed.

The Commission believes that EEI’s

suggested revision to the regulatory

language in § 125.2(i) is unnecessary.

We find that EEI’s suggested revision, in

fact, deletes clarifying language

identifying the kind of information

public utilities and licensees must

retain. The regulatory text in the final

rule clearly states the Commission’s

needs related to records retention for

transactions between utilities and

affiliates. The Commission, therefore,

denies the request for this revision.

IV. Document Availability

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.fed.us) 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.

From FERC’s Home Page on the

Internet, this information is available in

both the Commission’s Issuance Posting

System (CIPS) and the Records and

Information Management System

(RIMS).

—CIPS provides access to the texts of

formal documents issued by the

Commission since November 14,

1994.

—CIPS can be accessed using the CIPS

link or the Energy Information Online

icon. The full text of this document

will be available on CIPS in ASCII

and WordPerfect 8.0 format for

viewing, printing, and/or

downloading.

—RIMS contains images of documents

submitted to and issued by the

Commission after November 16, 1981.

Documents from November 1995 to

the present can be viewed and printed

from FERC’s Home Page using the

RIMS link or the Energy Information

Online icon. Descriptions of

documents back to November 16,

1981, are also available from RIMSon-the-Web; requests for copies of

these and other older documents

should be submitted to the Public

Reference Room.

User assistance is available for RIMS,

CIPS, and the Website during normal

business hours from our Help line at

(202) 208–2222 (e-mail to

Webmaster@ferc.fed.us) or the Public

Reference Room at (202) 208–1371 (email to

public.referenceroom@ferc.fed.us).

During normal business hours,

documents can also be viewed and/or

printed in FERC’s Public Reference

Room, where RIMS, CIPS, and the FERC

Website are available. User assistance is

also available.

By the Commission.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–29330 Filed 11–15–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and

Firearms

27 CFR Parts 4, 9, 24, 70 and 275

[T.D. ATF–432]

RIN 1512–AC25

Technical Amendments

AGENCY: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco

and Firearms (ATF), Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule: Treasury decision.

SUMMARY: This Treasury decision makes

technical amendments and corrects

typographical errors in various

regulations of the ATF. All changes are

to provide clarity and uniformity

throughout the regulations.

DATES: Effective November 16, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nancy Kern, Regulations Division, (202)

927–8210, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco

and Firearms, 650 Massachusetts

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20226.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and

Firearms (ATF) administers regulations

published in title 27, Code of Federal

Regulations. These regulations are

updated April 1 of each year to

incorporate new or revised regulations

that were published by ATF in the

Federal Register during the preceding

year. ATF identified several

amendments that are needed to provide

clarity and uniformity to the regulations

in 27 CFR.

These amendments do not make any

substantive changes and are only

intended to improve the clarity of title

27.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The provisions of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104–

13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, and its

implementing regulations, 5 CFR 1320,

do not apply to this final rule because

there are no recordkeeping or reporting

requirements.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The provisions of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do

not apply to this rule because no notice

of proposed rulemaking is necessary.

Executive Order 12866

This final rule is not subject to the

requirements of Executive Order 12866

because the regulations make

nonsubstantive technical corrections to

previously published regulations.