Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 1998 / Notices 30737

Commission Orders attributable to

royalty payments in the 1983 to 1988

period unrecoverable. The Producers

state that any attempts by first sellers to

seek such recovery now violates Kansas

law. The Producers argue that the

standard for uncollectibility under

Wylee has now been met, and the

Commission has the authority to grant

adjustment relief in the form of a waiver

of uncollectible refunds.

Using procedures described by the

Commission in its order, the Producers

claim they implemented efforts over the

past six months to recover Kansas ad

valorem tax refunds from the royalty

owners during the 1983–88 period.

However, Kansas House Bill No. 2419

now legally bars such efforts by the

Producers to recover refunds

attributable to royalties. The Producers

state that under Section 7(b) of the law:

No first seller of natural gas shall maintain

any action against royalty interest owners to

obtain refund of reimbursements for ad

valorem taxes attributable to royalty interests,

ordered by the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission.

Further, the Producers state that

Sections 7(c)(1) and (c)(2) provide:

It is hereby declared under Kansas law:

(1) The period of limitation of time for

commencing civil actions to recover such

refunds attributable to reimbursements of ad

valorem taxes on royalty interests during the

years 1983 through 1988 has expired and

such refunds claimed to be owed by royalty

interest owners are uncollectible;

(2) first sellers of natural gas are prohibited

from utilizing billing adjustments or other

set-offs as a means of recovering from royalty

owners any such claimed refunds . . .

The Producers contend that the

language of Section 7 of the Kansas

House Bill No. 2419 provides that the

statute of limitations prevents any

recover of ad valorem tax refunds for

the 1983–88 period which are

attributable to royalties. In addition, the

Producers state that the Bill prohibits

producers from taking any action

(through set-offs or deductions from

future royalties) to recover such refunds.

Each of the Producers requests that

the Commission recognize that passage

of Kansas House Bill No. 2419 prohibits

any ability of producers to recover ad

valorem tax reimbursements refunds

from royalty owners. It is stated that the

Kansas Bill meets the test under Wylee

and a waiver is appropriate and

necessary. In addition, the Producers

contend that they should not be

required to expend further resources

and monies in seeking to recover

payments which are not recoverable

under the Kansas law. The Producers

argue that none of them should continue

to be at risk for such refunds.

Accordingly, they ask that the

Commission expeditiously grant to each

named Producer a waiver of refunds as

to royalties finding that, based upon the

Kansas House Bill No. 2419, such

refunds are collectible.

In the alternative, the Producers

request that the Commission grant a

generic waiver of refunds attributable to

royalties. It is stated that such a generic

ruling would avoid the duplication of

expense and administrative burdens of

having the same issue considered on a

case-by-case basis.

If a waiver of royalty refunds is

granted as requested, the Producers

request that any producer which has

paid royalty refunds to the pipeline is

entitled to recovery of such amounts

plus interest for the period the pipeline

(or its customers) held such monies.

Any person desiring to be heard or to

make any protest with reference to said

motion should on or before June 22,

1998, file with the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission, 888 First

Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20436, 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

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.

David P. Boergers,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–14968 Filed 6–4–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Project No. 2696–004]

Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation;

Notice of Availability of Environmental

Assessment

June 1, 1998.

In accordance with the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and

the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission’s Regulations, 18 CFR Part

380 (Order No. 486, 52 FR 47897), the

Commission’s Office of Hydropower

Licensing has reviewed the license

surrender application for the Stuyvesant

Falls Project, No. 2696–004. The

Stuyvesant Falls Project is located on

Kinderhook Creek in Columbia County,

New York. The licensee is applying for

a surrender of the license due to leaks

in the pipelines that are uneconomical

to repair for safe and effective operation

of the project. A Final Environmental

Assessment (FEA) was prepared for the

application. The FEA finds that

approving the application would not

constitute a major federal action

significantly affecting the quality of the

human environment.

Copies of the FEA are available for

review in the Commission’s Reference

and Information Center, Room 2A, 888

First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.

20426. For further information, please

contact Ms. Hillary Berlin, at (202) 219–

0038.

David P. Boergers,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–14965 Filed 6–4–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Notice of Issuance of Decisions and

Orders During the Week of March 9

Through March 13, 1998

During the week of March 9 through

March 13, 1998, the decisions and

orders summarized below were issued

with respect to appeals, applications,

petitions, or other requests filed with

the Office of Hearings and Appeals of

the Department of Energy. The

following summary also contains a list

of submissions that were dismissed by

the Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Copies of the full text of these

decisions and orders are available in the

Public Reference Room of the Office of

Hearings and Appeals, 950 L’Enfant

Plaza, SW, Washington, D.C. 20585–

0107, Monday through Friday, except

federal holidays. They are also available

in Energy Management: Federal Energy

Guidelines, a commercially published

loose leaf reporter system. Some

decisions and orders are available on

the Office of Hearings and Appeals

World Wide Web site at http://

www.oha.doe.gov.

Dated: May 20, 1998.

Thomas O. Mann,

Acting Director, Office of Hearings and

Appeals.

Decision List No. 76; Week of March 9

Through March 13, 1998

Appeals

Dr. Nicolas Dominguez, 313/10/98,

VFA–0377, VFA–0378, VFA–0379