71308 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 231 / Thursday, November 30, 2000 / Notices

SA98–33–000, SA98–35–000, SA98–37–000,

SA98–38–000, SA98–40–000, SA98–42–000,

SA98–48–000, SA98–49–000, SA98–51–000,

SA98–53–000, SA98–56–000, SA98–60–000,

SA98–61–000, SA98–64–000, SA98–65–000,

SA98–72–000, SA98–76–000, SA98–80–000,

SA98–83–000, SA98–91–000, SA98–92–000,

SA98–93–000, SA98–97–000, SA98–101–

000, SA99–4–000, SA99–5–000, SA99–6–

000, SA99–18–000, SA99–23–000, SA99–26–

000; Mobil Oil Corporation, OXY USA Inc.,

Amoco Production Company, Anadarko

Petroleum Corporation, Union Pacific

Resources Company, Kansas Natural Gas Inc.,

Bill C. Romig, ONEOK Resources Company,

Barbara J. Wilson et al., Burlington Resources

Oil & Gas Co., Strohls, Strohls, Kansas

Independent Oil & Gas Assn., Ensign Oil &

Gas Inc., Helmerich & Payne, Inc., Midgard

Energy Company, Riviera Drilling &

Exploration Co., Dale Schwarzhoff, Sally L.

Bone, Kaiser—Francis Oil Company, Pioneer

Natural Resources USA, Inc., Lee Banks, d/

b/a Banks Oil Company, Pickrell Drilling Co.,

Inc., John W. Lebosquest, Hummon

Corporation, Leo B. Helzel, GrahamMiochaelis Drilling Company, Kansas

Petroleum, Inc., Benson Mineral Group, Inc.,

First National Oil Company, Louis & Bruce

F. Welner, R. J. Patrick Operating Company,

Pickrell Drilling Company, Inc., John O.

Farmer Inc., Edwin A. Cornell, Hummon

Corporation, Trees Oil Company, Beren

Corporation, Broadhurst Operating Limited,

Partnership No. 2, Broadhurst Operating

Limited Partnership No. 3, Ralph Howard,

Inc., Eastman Dillon Oil & Gas Assoc., IMC

Global, Inc., Continental Energy, Questa

Energy Corp., Argent Energy, Inc., Harken

Energy Corporation, Chevron U.S.A. Inc.,

Atlantic Richfield Company, Texaco

Exploration and Production, Inc.

Published here is a summary of the

settlement filed by Northern on

November 20, 2000. The settlement

addresses Kansas ad valorem tax refund

matters on Northern’s system.

Pursuant to Rule 602(c)(1)(ii) of the

Rules of Practice and Procedure of the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

(Commission), 18 CFR Section 385.602,

Northern Natural Gas Company

(Northern) hereby submits an

Explanatory Statement with respect to

the Stipulation and Agreement of

Settlement (hereinafter Settlement).

This statement is a summary only. The

terms of the Settlement are authoritative

as to the intent and the agreement of the

parties.

This Settlement is intended to

facilitate and expedite the Commission’s

implementation of the decision of the

United States Court of Appeals for the

District of Columbia circuit in Public

Service Company of Colorado v. FERC,

involving the refund of Kansas ad

valorem taxes on Northern’s system. In

Public Service, the court upheld the

Commission’s decision that producers

must refund certain Kansas ad valorem

tax reimbursements that were collected

in excess of the maximum lawful prices

(MLP) for first sales of natural gas under

Title I of the Natural Gas Policy Act of

1978. On September 10, 1997, the

Commission issued an order

implementing Public Service. The

September 10 order established

procedures and timetables for producers

to make refunds to the pipelines, and for

the pipelines to flow the refunds

through to their customers.

To comply with the September 10

Order, Northern sent Statements of

Refunds Due to producers in November

1997. Subsequently, Northern received

additional information affecting the

refund liability of individual working

interest owners. As a result, Northern

has made various revisions to its

original Statements of Refunds Due.

many of the working interest owners

have challenged Northern’s Statements

of Refunds Due in formal filings with

the Commission, raising a number of

issues, including headroom (i.e.

whether the price paid by Northern and

the tax reimbursement, taken together,

exceeded the applicable MLP), the

allocation of refund claims among

working interest owners, the

uncollectability of royalty related

refunds, and other objections.

This Settlement is a reasonable means

of helping resolve the difficult Kansas

ad valorem tax refund matters currently

before the Commission. This Settlement

will eliminate the need for more lengthy

proceedings, either formal or informal.

Approval of this Settlement will provide

relief to small producers, reduce the

administrative burdens on the

Commission, its Staff, Northern, first

sellers and numerous interest owners

and intervenors, of litigating countless

proceedings before the Commission that

involve many complex issues. All

parties, as well as the public interest

would benefit from the termination of

numerous petitions for relief under

Section 502(c) of the NGPA pending

before the Commission.

Exhibit No. 1 contains the Deceased

Estates and Bankruptcies. Exhibit Nos. 2

and 3 contain lists of large producers

and small producers, respectively, who

have a refund obligation pursuant to the

settlement and have paid on or before

December 1, 2000. Exhibit No. 4

contains a list of small producers with

total refund claims of less than $50,000.

No further action is required if a Small

Producer under $50,000 accepts this

settlement. Parties may access these

exhibits through the Commissions’s

website at www.ferc.fed.us or contact

the Secretary’s Office at 202–208–0400.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–30487 Filed 11–29–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. CP99–599–002]

Paiute Pipeline Company; Notice of

Application

November 24, 2000.

Take notice that on October 31, 2000,

Paiute Pipeline Company (Paiute)

tendered for filing as part of its FERC

Gas Tariff, Second Revised Volume No.

1–A, the following tariff sheets, to

become effective November 1, 2000:

Ninth Revised Sheet No. 10

Fourth Revised Sheet No. 21

Second Revised Sheet No. 22

Ninth Revised Sheet No. 161

Paiute states that the purpose of this

filing is to comply with the

Commission’s order issued June 30,

2000 in Docket Nos. CP99–599–000, et

al.

Paiute states that the Commission’s

order, among other things, authorized

Paiute to construct and operate certain

pipeline loop and replacement pipeline

facilities, referred to as the Carson

Lateral Project. Paiute indicates that the

Commission’s order authorized Paiute

to recover a portion of the cost of service

associated with the construction project

by means of an incremental facilities

surcharge to be assessed to Southwest

Gas Corporation-Northern Nevada. By

its filing, Paiute proposes to establish

the initial incremental facilities

surcharge. Paiute requests that its

proposed incremental rate and tariff

sheets be permitted to become effective

on November 1, 2000, following the

inservice date of the completed

construction project.

Any person desiring to be heard or to

make any protest with reference to said

application should on or before Dec. 15,

2000, file with the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission, 888 First

Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426, a

motion to intervene or a protest in

accordance with the requirements of the

Commission’s Rules of Practice and

Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211)

and the Regulations under the Natural

Gas Act (18 CFR 157.10). All protests

filed with the Commission will be

considered by it in determining the

appropriate action to be taken but will

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 231 / Thursday, November 30, 2000 / Notices 71309

not serve to make the protestants parties

to the proceeding. Any person wishing

to become a party to a proceeding or to

participate as a party in any hearing

therein must file a motion to intervene

in accordance with the Commission’s

Rules.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–30486 Filed 11–29–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. PR01–2–000]

The Peoples Gas Light and Coke

Company; Notice of Application for

Rate Approval

November 24, 2000.

Take notice that on November 9,

2000, The Peoples Gas Light and Coke

Company (Peoples Gas), 130 East

Randolph Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60601,

filed pursuant to Section 284.123 of the

Commission’s Regulations under the

Natural Gas Act (18 CFR 284.123) a

petition for rate approval in Docket No.

PR01–2–000 requesting that the

Commission approve fair and equitable

rates for the transportation, storage and

parking and loaning services to be

provided pursuant to Peoples Gas’

blanket authority, all as more fully set

forth in the application that is on file

with the Commission and open to

public inspection.

Peoples Gas states that it is an

intrastate gas distribution company

serving retail customers in the City of

Chicago, Illinois. Peoples Gas states that

it is a public utility under the Public

Utilities Act of Illinois and is subject to

the jurisdiction of the Illinois Commerce

Commission. Peoples Gas states that is

received a Hinshaw blanket certificate

and approval for firm and interruptible

transportation services and rates from

the Commission in March 1998.

Peoples Gas proposes to continue to

offer, pursuant to the blanket certificate,

firm and interruptible transportation

services, firm and interruptible storage

services and a parking and loaning

service. Peoples Gas proposes, for the

firm transportation service, a cost-based

maximum monthly reservation charge of

$1.9275 per MMBtu of maximum daily

quantity. The minimum charge is zero.

For the interruptible transportation

service, Peoples Gas proposes a

maximum commodity charge, based on

a 100% load factor derivation of the

firm storage rate, of $0.0634 per MMBtu

and a minimum charge of zero. Peoples

Gas proposes, for the firm storage

service, a cost-based maximum monthly

reservation rate of $1.4861 per MMBtu

of maximum daily withdrawal quantity

with a minimum charge of zero; a

maximum monthly capacity charge of

$0.0594 per MMBtu of maximum

storage quantity with a minimum charge

of zero; and a $0.0555 commodity

charge per MMBtu of gas injected on

any day with a minimum commodity

charge of $0.0002 per MMBtu. For the

interruptible storage service, Peoples

Gas proposes a maximum commodity

charge, based on a 100% load factor

derivation of the firm storage rate, of

$0.0511 per MMBtu of inventory on any

day and a minimum charge of $0.0002

per MMBtu of inventory. For the

parking and loaning service, which

includes embedded transportation, the

maximum rate, based on storage and

transportation costs, would be $0.1144

per MMBtu of inventory on any day and

the minimum rate would be $0.0002 per

MMBtu of inventory on any day. These

proposed maximum rates would be

subject to discounting.

Peoples Gas proposes an effective date

of December 1, 2000.

Pursuant to Section 284.123(b)(2)(ii),

if the Commission does not act within

150 days of the filing date, the rates will

be deemed to be fair and equitable and

not in excess of an amount that

interstate pipelines would be permitted

to charge for similar services. The

Commission may, prior to the expiration

of the 150-day period, extend the time

for action or institute a proceeding.

Any person desiring to participate in

this rate proceeding must file a motion

to intervene or protest with the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426,

in accordance with rules 211 and 214 of

the Commission’s Rules of Practice and

Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and

385.214). All motions must be filed with

the Secretary of the Commission on or

before December 7, 2000. This petition

for rate approval is on file with the

Commission and is available for public

inspection. This filing may be viewed

on the web at http://www.ferc.fed.us/

online/rims.htm (call 202–208–2222 for

assistance). Comments and protests may

be filed electronically via the internet in

lieu of paper. See, 18 CFR

385.200(a)(1)(iii) and the instruction on

the Commission’s web site at http://

www.ferc.fed.us.efi/doorbell.htm.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–30490 Filed 11–29–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. EC01–27–000]

Rochester Gas and Electric

Corporation; Niagara Mohawk Power

Corporation; Notice of Filing

November 24, 2000.

Take notice that on November 17,

2000, Rochester Gas and Electric

Corporation (RG&E) and Niagara

Mohawk Power Corporation (Niagara

Mohawk) tendered for filing with the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

(Commission) an Application pursuant

to Section 203 of the Federal Power Act,

16 U.S.C. § 824b, for authority to

transfer ownership of a substation from

RG&E to Niagara Mohawk. RG&E and

Niagara Mohawk request that the

Commission expeditiously review this

Application and issue an order granting

authority for the proposed disposition

by December 29, 2000.

A copy of this Application was served

on the New York Public Service

Commission.

Any person desiring to be heard or to

protest such filing should file a motion

to intervene or protest with the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426,

in accordance with Rules 211 and 214

of the Commission’s Rules of Practice

and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and

385.214). All such motions and protests

should be filed on or before December

8, 2000. Protests will be considered by

the Commission to determine the

appropriate action to be taken, but will

not serve to make protestants parties to

the proceedings. Any person wishing to

become a party must file a motion to

intervene. Copies of this filing are on

file with the Commission and are

available for public inspection. This

filing may also be viewed on the

Internet at http://www.ferc.fed.us/

online/rims.htm (call 202–208–2222 for

assistance). Comments and protests may

be filed electronically via the internet in

lieu of paper. See, 18 CFR

385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions

on the Commission’s web site at

http://www.ferc.fed.us/efi/doorbell.htm.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–30489 Filed 11–29–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M