Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 77 /Wednesday, April 22, 1998 / Proposed Rules 19861

1Standards For Business Practices of Interstate

Natural Gas Pipelines, Order No. 587, 61 FR 39053

(Jul. 26, 1996), III FERC Stats. & Regs. Regulations

Preambles ¶ 31,038 (Jul. 17, 1996), Order No. 587–

B, 62 FR 5521 (Feb. 6, 1997), III FERC Stats. & Regs.

Regulations Preambles ¶ 31,046 (Jan. 30, 1997),

Order No. 587–C, 62 FR 10684 (Mar. 10, 1997), III

FERC Stats. & Regs. Regulations Preambles ¶ 31,050

(Mar. 4, 1997).

2 18 CFR 284.10(b)(1)(i) (1997), Nominations

Related Standards 1.3.10.

3 18 CFR 284.10(b)(1)(i) (1997), Nominations

Related Standards 1.2.4.

and those contained in Section 813 of

the FDCPA be compared?

(8) Are there any other changes that

should be made to the Procedures? If so,

please specify and state reasons for the

changes.

Lists of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 901

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 41–58.

By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–10699 Filed 4–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

18 CFR Part 284

[Docket No. RM96–1–008]

Standards for Business Practices of

Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines

April 16, 1998.

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission (Commission) is

proposing to amend § 284.10 of its

regulations governing standards for

conducting business practices and

electronic communication with

interstate natural gas pipelines. The

Commission is proposing to incorporate

by reference, in § 284.10(b)(1)(i), the

standards relating to intra-day

nominations promulgated March 12,

1998 by the Gas Industry Standards

Board (GISB).

DATES: Comments are due May 22, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First Street, N.E.,

Washington DC, 20426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Goldenberg, Office of the

General Counsel, Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission, 888 First

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426,

(202) 208–2294

Marvin Rosenberg, Office of Economic

Policy, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First Street, N.E.,

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208–

1283

Kay Morice, Office of Pipeline

Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First Street, N.E.,

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208–

0507

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

addition to publishing the full text of

this document in the Federal Register,

the Commission provides all interested

persons an opportunity to inspect or

copy the contents of this document

during normal business hours in Room

2A, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington

D.C. 20426. The complete text on

diskette in WordPerfect format may be

purchased from the Commission’s copy

contractor, La Dorn Systems

Corporation. La Dorn Systems

Corporation is located in the Public

Reference Room at 888 First Street, N.E.,

Washington, D.C. 20426.

The Commission Issuance Posting

System (CIPS), an electronic bulletin

board service, also provides access to

the texts of formal documents issued by

the Commission. CIPS is available at no

charge to the user. CIPS can be accessed

over the Internet by pointing your

browser to the URL address: http://

www.ferc.fed.us. Select the link to CIPS.

The full text of this document can be

obtained in ASCII or WordPerfect

format. CIPS also may be accessed using

a personal computer with a modem by

dialing 202–208–1397 if dialing locally

or 1–800–856–3920 if dialing long

distance. To access CIPS, set your

communications software to 19200,

14400, 12000, 9600, 7200, 4800, 2400,

or 1200 bps, full duplex, no parity, 8

data bits and 1 stop bit. The full text of

this order will be available on CIPS in

ASCII and WordPerfect 6.1 format. CIPS

user assistance is available at 202–208–

2474.

The Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission (Commission) is proposing

to amend § 284.10 of its regulations

governing standards for conducting

business practices and electronic

communications with interstate natural

gas pipelines. The Commission is

proposing to adopt the consensus

standards, promulgated March 12, 1998,

by the Gas Industry Standards Board

(GISB) dealing with intra-day

nominations and revisions to

nomination and confirmation

procedures.

I. Background

In Order Nos. 587, 587–B, and 587–

C1 the Commission adopted regulations

to standardize the business practices

and communication methodologies of

interstate pipelines in order to create a

more integrated and efficient pipeline

grid. In those orders, the Commission

incorporated by reference consensus

standards developed by GISB, a private,

consensus standards developer

composed of members from all segments

of the natural gas industry.

In Order No. 587, the Commission

adopted a standard requiring pipelines

to permit shippers to make at least one

intra-day nomination per day.2 An intraday nomination is a nomination

submitted after the initial nomination

deadline at 11:30 a.m. to change a

shipper’s scheduled quantities for the

next gas day.3

In Order No. 587–C, the Commission

did not adopt additional standards

approved by GISB concerning intra-day

nominations, because the standards did

not clearly outline the pipelines’

obligations. The Commission further

noted that pipelines had implemented

GISB’s previous intra-day standards in

divergent ways, for instance, by

establishing different times for

submission of intra-day nominations.

These differences prevented shippers

from coordinating their intra-day

nominations across the pipeline grid.

The Commission gave GISB and the

industry until September 1, 1997 to

propose additional standards that would

create the needed uniformity in intraday procedures.

On September 2, 1997, GISB filed a

report detailing its progress in reaching

consensus on the intra-day standards.

While GISB reported making significant

progress in developing the standards, it

highlighted conflicts between its

members that were inhibiting

completion of the standards. The

disagreements concerned the

circumstances under which intra-day

nominations by shippers holding firm

capacity should be given scheduling

priority over previously scheduled

interruptible service.

In Order No. 587–G, issued

contemporaneously with this NOPR, the

Commission resolved this conflict. It

issued regulations requiring pipelines to

accord an intra-day nomination

submitted by a firm shipper scheduling

priority over nominated and scheduled

volumes for interruptible shippers. The

Commission, however, deferred

implementation of this requirement

until GISB had developed, and the

Commission had adopted, standards to

implement the regulation.

On March 23, 1998, GISB filed with

the Commission intra-day nomination

standards approved, on March 12, 1998,
19862 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 77 /Wednesday, April 22, 1998 / Proposed Rules

4The new standards are 1.1.17 through 1.1.19,

1.2.8 through 1.2.12, 1.3.39 through 1.3.44. In

addition, modifications were made to existing

standards. Standards 1.2.7, 1.3.10, and 1.3.12 were

deleted. Standards 1.3.2, 1.3.20, 1.3.22, and 1.3.32

were revised.

5The term ‘‘TSP’’ in the chart stands for

transportation service provider.

6 18 CFR 284.10(c)(1)(i)(B). Central clock time

adjusts for daylight savings time.

7Pub. L. No. 104–113, § 12(d), 110 Stat. 775

(1996), 15 U.S.C. 272 note (1997).

by a consensus vote of the gas industry.4

These standards establish three

synchronization times for shippers to

coordinate their intra-day nominations:

6 p.m. to take effect the next gas day and

10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to take effect on the

same gas day. Under the standards, the

10 a.m. intra-day nomination would

become effective, if confirmed, at 5 p.m.

the same day, with any bumping notice

to interruptible shippers given by 2 p.m.

The 5 p.m. intra-day nomination would

become effective, if confirmed, at 9 p.m.

the same day. No bumping is allowed at

the 5 p.m. nomination. The 6 p.m. intraday nomination would become

effective, if confirmed, at 9 a.m. the next

morning if all parties can be scheduled,

but GISB did not establish the time at

which a bumping intra-day nomination

would become effective, leaving that

determination for the Commission.

Bumping notice for the 6 p.m. intra-day

nomination would be given by 10 p.m.5

The standards also establish protocols

for pipeline processing of nominations

and confirmations for both regular and

intra-day nominations.

As discussed above, the standards do

not establish the time at which a firm

intra-day nomination submitted on the

day prior to gas flow (6 p.m.), which

bumps interruptible service, would take

effect. The standards leave that date to

be determined by the Commission. The

Commission already has resolved this

issue in Order No. 587–G, adopting a

regulation requiring that an intra-day

nomination submitted on the day prior

to gas flow will take effect at the start

of the gas day, 9 a.m. central-clock-time

(CCT).6

II. Discussion

The Commission is proposing to

adopt GISB’s consensus standards.

Adoption of these standards would

provide shippers with greater

opportunities to change their nominated

quantities to better accord with changes

in weather or other market

circumstances and would improve the

efficiency of the intra-day nomination

process. The adoption of the GISB

standards would expand from one to

three the number of intra-day

opportunities to which shippers are

entitled. By creating times at which

shippers can synchronize their intra-day

nominations, these standards, together

with the Commission’s regulations

adopted in Order No. 587–G, also would

create the uniform process shippers

need to coordinate their intra-day

nominations across the pipeline grid.

The standards governing nomination

and confirmation procedures further

should help create a more reliable

nomination process in which pipelines

will receive accurate information, so

they can schedule nominations and

intra-day nominations that their systems

can accommodate.

GISB approved the standards under

its consensus procedures. This process

first requires a super-majority vote of 17

out of 25 members with support from at

least two members from each of the five

industry segments—interstate pipelines,

local distribution companies, gas

producers, end-users, and services

(including marketers and computer

service providers). For final approval,

67% of GISB’s general membership

must ratify the standards.

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 all

segments of the industry. Moreover,

since the industry itself has to conduct

business under these standards, the

standards should reflect those business

practices that have the widest possible
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 77 /Wednesday, April 22, 1998 / Proposed Rules 19863

8 5 CFR 1320.11.

support. Indeed, in § 12(d) of the

National Technology Transfer and

Advancement Act (NTT&AA) of 1995,

Congress affirmatively requires federal

agencies to use technical standards

developed by voluntary consensus

standards organizations, like GISB, as

means to carry out policy objectives or

activities.7

In Order No. 587–G, the Commission

has deferred implementation of its

regulations relating to intra-day

nominations, § 284.10(c)(1)(i), until it

adopts standards to implement the

regulations. The Commission is

contemplating a September 1, 1998,

implementation date both for the

standards proposed to be adopted here

and the intra-day nomination

regulations adopted in Order No. 587–

G.

III. Information Collection Statement

The following collections of

information would be affected by this

proposed rule and have been submitted

to the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for review under Section 3507(d)

of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

44 U.S.C. 3507(d). 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. The burden

estimate in Order No. 587–G includes

the cost for pipelines to comply with the

Commission’s regulations concerning

the scheduling priority of intra-day

nominations. The following burden

estimates include only the incremental

costs of complying with GISB’s new and

revised standards intended to

implement the Commission’s

regulations. The burden estimates are

primarily related to start-up and will not

be on-going costs.

Estimated Annual Burden: The

estimated annual burden associated

with this NOPR is shown below.

Data collection Number of respondents

Number of responses per

respondent

Estimated burden hours per

response

Total annual

hours

FERC–549C ..................................................................................................... 93 1 45 4,185

FERC–545 ........................................................................................................ 93 1 47 4,371

The estimated number of reporting

hours attributable to the revisions

proposed herein are expected to total

8,556 hours annually.

Information Collection Costs: The

Commission seeks comments on the

estimated cost to comply with these

requirements. It has projected average

annualized costs for all 93 respondents

to be the following:

FERC–549C FERC–545 Totals

Annualized Capital/Startup Costs ................................................................................................ $220,580 $230,383 $450,963

Annualized Costs (Operations and Maintenance) ....................................................................... 0 0 0

Total Annualized Costs ......................................................................................................... 220,580 230,383 450,963

OMB regulations 8 require OMB to

approve certain information collection

requirements imposed by agency rule.

The Commission is submitting

notification of the data collections

affected by this proposed rule to OMB.

Title:

FERC–549C, Standards for Business

Practices of Interstate Natural Gas

Pipelines FERC–545, Gas Pipeline Rates: Rate

Change (Non-Formal)

Action: Proposed collections. OMB Control No.: 1902–0174, 1902–

0154.

Respondents: Business or other for

profit (Interstate natural gas pipelines.

(Not applicable to small business.)) Frequency of Responses: One-time

implementation (business procedures,

capital/start-up). Necessity of the Information: This

proposed rule, if implemented, would

revise the requirements contained in 18

CFR 284.10 to further the process of

standardizing business practices and

electronic communications with

interstate pipelines begun by the

Commission in Order No. 587. Adoption

of these regulations will provide

shippers with increased options to

change their scheduled gas quantities to

reflect weather and other changed

conditions and enable shippers to more

efficiently transact business across

multiple pipelines.

The information collection

requirements of this proposed rule will

be reported directly to the industry

users. The implementation of these data

requirements will help the Commission

carry out its responsibilities under the

Natural Gas Act to monitor activities of

the natural gas industry to ensure its

competitiveness and to assure the

improved efficiency of the industry’s

operations. The Commission’s Office of

Pipeline Regulation will use the data in

rate proceedings to review rate and tariff

changes by natural gas companies for

the transportation of gas, for general

industry oversight, and to supplement

the documentation used during the

Commission’s audit process.

Internal Review: The Commission has

reviewed these requirements and made

a determination that the proposed

revisions are necessary to establish a

more efficient and integrated pipeline

grid. These requirements conform to the

Commission’s plan for efficient

information collection, communication,

and management within the natural gas

industry. The Commission has assured

itself, by means of its internal review,

that there is specific, objective support

for the burden estimates associated with

the information requirement.

Interested persons may obtain

information on the reporting

requirement by contacting the

following: Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First Street, N.E.,

Washington, D.C. 20426 [Attention:

Michael Miller, Division of Information

Services, Phone: (202) 208–1415, fax:

(202) 273–0873,

email:mmiller@ferc.fed.us].

Comments concerning the collection

of information and the associated

burden estimates, should be sent to the

contact listed above and to the Office of

Management and Budget, Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Washington, D.C. 20503 [Attention:

Desk Officer for the Federal Energy
19864 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 77 /Wednesday, April 22, 1998 / Proposed Rules

9Order No. 486, Regulations Implementing the

National Environmental Policy Act, 52 FR 47897

(Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs. Preambles

1986–1990 ¶ 30,783 (1987).

10 18 CFR 380.4.

11See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5),

380.4(a)(27).

12 5 U.S.C. 601–612.

Regulatory Commission, phone: (202)

395–3087, fax: (202) 395–7285].

IV. Environmental Analysis

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.9 The Commission has

categorically excluded certain actions

from these requirements as not having a

significant effect on the human

environment.10 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 sales, exchange,

and transportation of natural gas that

requires no construction of facilities.11

Therefore, an environmental assessment

is unnecessary and has not been

prepared in this rulemaking.

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act

Certification

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980

(RFA) 12 generally requires a description

and analysis of final rules that will have

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

The proposed regulations would impose

requirements only on interstate

pipelines, which are not small

businesses, and, these requirements are,

in fact, designed to reduce the difficulty

of dealing with pipelines by all

customers, including small businesses.

Accordingly, pursuant to § 605(b) of the

RFA, the Commission hereby certifies

that the regulations proposed herein

will not have a significant adverse

impact on a substantial number of small

entities.

VI. Comment Procedures

The Commission invites interested

persons to submit written comments on

the matters and issues proposed in this

notice to be adopted, including any

related matters or alternative proposals

that commenters may wish to discuss.

An original and 14 copies of comments

must be filed with the Commission no

later than May 22, 1998. Comments

should be submitted to the Office of the

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First Street, NE,

Washington, DC 20426, and should refer

to Docket No. RM96–1–008. All written

comments will be placed in the

Commission’s public files and will be

available for inspection in the

Commission’s Public Reference Room at

888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC

20426, during regular business hours.

Additionally, comments should be

submitted electronically. Commenters

are encouraged to file comments using

Internet E-Mail. Comments should be

submitted through the Internet by EMail to comment.rm@ferc.fed.us in the

following format: on the subject line,

specify Docket No. RM96–1–008; in the

body of the E-Mail message, specify the

name of the filing entity and the name,

telephone number and E-Mail address of

a contact person; and attach the

comment in WordPerfect 6.1 or lower

format or in ASCII format as an

attachment to the E-Mail message. The

Commission will send a reply to the EMail to acknowledge receipt. Questions

or comments on electronic filing using

Internet E-Mail should be directed to

Marvin Rosenberg at 202–208–1283, EMail address

marvin.rosenberg@ferc.fed.us.

Commenters also can submit

comments on computer diskette in

WordPerfect 6.1 or lower format or in

ASCII format, with the name of the filer

and Docket No. RM96–1–008 on the

outside of the diskette.

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 284

Continental shelf, Natural gas,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements; Incorporation by

reference.

By direction of the Commission.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

In consideration of the foregoing, the

Commission proposes to amend Part

284, Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal

Regulations, as set forth below.

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. 717–717w, 3301–

3432; 42 U.S.C 7101–7532; 43 U.S.C 1331–

1356.

2. In section 284.10, paragraph

(b)(1)(i) is revised to read as follows:

§ 284.10 Standards for pipeline business

operations and communications.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) * * *

(i) Nominations Related Standards

(Version 1.2, July 31, 1997), with the

addition of standards 1.1.17 through

1.1.19, 1.2.8 through 1.2.12, 1.3.39

through 1.3.44 (as approved March 12,

1998), the modification of standards

1.3.2, 1.3.20, 1.3.22 1.3.32 (as approved

March 12, 1998), and the deletion of

standards 1.2.7, 1.3.10, and 1.3.12;

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 98–10684 Filed 4–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

26 CFR Part 1

[REG–251698–96]

RIN 1545–AU77

S Corporation Subsidiaries

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS),

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: This document contains

proposed regulations relating to the

treatment of corporate subsidiaries of S

corporations. The proposed regulations

interpret the rules added to the Internal

Revenue Code by section 1308 of the

Small Business Job Protection Act of

1996. The proposed regulations affect S

corporations and their subsidiaries.

DATES: Written comments must be

received by July 21, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send submissions to

CC:DOM:CORP:R (REG–251698–96),

room 5228, Internal Revenue Service,

POB 7604, Ben Franklin Station,

Washington, DC 20044. Submissions

may be hand delivered between the

hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to:

CC:DOM:CORP:R (REG–251698–96),

Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue

Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue,

NW., Washington, DC. Alternatively,

taxpayers may submit comments

electronically via the Internet by

selecting the ‘‘Tax Regs’’ option on the

IRS Home Page, or by submitting

comments directly to the IRS Internet

site at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/

taxlregs/comments.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Concerning the regulations, Deanna L.

Walton, (202) 622–3050 (Subchapter S)

or Lee A. Dean, (202) 622–7540

(Subchapter C); concerning

submissions, Michael Slaughter, (202)

622–7190 (not toll-free numbers).