97518 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 236 / Monday, December 9, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

From To MEA MAA 

*MEA IS ESTABLISHED WITH A GAP IN NAVIGATION SIGNAL COVERAGE. 

FAIRBANKS, AK VORTAC ............................................... NORTHWAY, AK VORTAC ............................................. 18000 45000 

§ 95.7589 Jet Route J589 Is Amended To Delete 

ROSEBURG, OR VOR/DME ............................................ CORVALLIS, OR VOR/DME ............................................ 18000 45000 

CORVALLIS, OR VOR/DME ............................................ U.S. CANADIAN BORDER .............................................. 28000 45000 

Airway segment Changeover points 

From To Distance From 

§ 95.8003 VOR Federal Airways Changeover Points 

V495 Is Amended To Delete Changeover Point 

WHATCOM, WA VORTAC ............................................... VICTORIA, CA VOR/DME ............................................... 10 WHATCOM 

SEATTLE, WA VORTAC .................................................. VICTORIA, CA VOR/DME ............................................... 50 SEATTLE 

§ 95.8005 Jet Routes Changeover Points 

J502 Is Amended To Delete Changeover Point 

SEATTLE, WA VORTAC .................................................. VICTORIA, CA VOR/DME ............................................... 50 SEATTLE 

J589 Is Amended To Delete Changeover Point 

CORVALLIS, OR VOR/DME ............................................ VICTORIA, CA VOR/DME ............................................... 100 CORVALLIS 

[FR Doc. 2024–28429 Filed 12–6–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Part 284 

[Docket No. RM96–1–043; Order No. 587– 

AA] 

Standards for Business Practices of 

Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission amends its 

regulations to incorporate by reference, 

with certain enumerated exceptions, the 

latest version (Version 4.0) of Standards 

for Business Practices of Interstate 

Natural Gas Pipelines adopted by the 

Wholesale Gas Quadrant (WGQ) of the 

North American Energy Standards 

Board (NAESB). NAESB’s revisions in 

this version of the standards are 

designed to promote greater efficiency 

and reliability of the natural gas 

industry’s operations and strengthen the 

cybersecurity protections provided 

within the standards. 

DATES: 

Effective date: This rule is effective 

February 7, 2025. 

Compliance date: Compliance filings 

required by this final rule are due on 

February 3, 2025. Compliance with the 

standards incorporated by reference in 

this rule is required by August 1, 2025. 

Incorporation by reference: The 

incorporation by reference of certain 

publications listed in this rule is 

approved by the Director of the Federal 

Register as of February 7, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jerry Chiang (Technical Issues), Office 

of Energy Policy and Innovation, 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502– 

8786 

Oscar F. Santillana (Technical Issues), 

Office of Energy Market Regulation, 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502– 

6392 

Carla Pettus (Legal Issues), Office of the 

General Counsel, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 888 First 

Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, 

(202) 502–8361 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

Paragraph 

Nos. 

I. Overview ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 

II. Background ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 

III. Discussion ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 

A. The NAESB WGQ Version 4.0 Business Practice Standards ................................................................................................ 13 

1. WGQ Cybersecurity Related Standards .................................................................................................................................. 15 

2. Other Standards Modifications ................................................................................................................................................. 16 

3. Standards Not Incorporated by Reference .............................................................................................................................. 22 

B. Required Compliance Filings ................................................................................................................................................... 23 

C. Implementation Procedures ..................................................................................................................................................... 24 

IV. Notice of Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards ........................................................................................................................ 30 

V. Incorporation by Reference ............................................................................................................................................................. 31 

VI. Information Collection Statement ................................................................................................................................................... 43 

VII. Environmental Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................. 50 

VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Act .............................................................................................................................................................. 51 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 236 / Monday, December 9, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 97519 

1As explained below, we are not incorporating by 

reference in this final rule the optional model 

contracts and the eTariff-related standards included 

in the North American Energy Standards Board 

(NAESB) Wholesale Gas Quadrant (WGQ) Version 

4.0 package of business practice standards. 

2As explained below, NAESB has developed and 

adopted, in conjunction with Sandia National 

Laboratories, a series of business practice standards 

to strengthen the cybersecurity protections 

provided within the standards. 

3This series of orders began with the 

Commission’s issuance of Order No. 587, Standards 

for Business Practices of Interstate Natural. Gas 

Pipelines. 61 FR 39053 (July 26, 1996), FERC Stats. 

& Regs. ¶ 31,038 (1996) (cross-referenced at 76 

FERC ¶ 61,042). 

4Sandia is a multidisciplinary national laboratory 

and federally funded research and development 

center for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) 

National Nuclear Security Administration that 

supports numerous federal, state, and local 

government agencies, companies, and 

organizations. 

5 In April 2017, NAESB announced that Sandia, 

through funding provided by DOE, would be 

performing a surety assessment of the NAESB 

standards. As determined by Sandia and DOE, the 

purpose of the surety assessment was to analyze 

cybersecurity elements within the standards, 

focusing on four areas: (1) the NAESB Certification 

Program for Accredited Certification Authorities, 

including the Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ)- 

012 Public Key Infrastructure Business Practice 

Standards, the NAESB Accreditation Requirements 

for Authorized Certificate Authorities, and the 

Authorized Certification Authority Process; (2) the 

WEQ Open Access Same-Time Information Systems 

suite of standards; (3) the WGQ and Retail Markets 

Quadrant internet Electronic Transport (IET) and 

Quadrant Electronic Delivery Mechanism (EDM) 

Related Standards Manual; and (4) a high-level 

dependency analysis between the gas and electric 

markets to evaluate the different security paradigms 

the markets employ. 

6Standards for Bus. Pracs. of Interstate Nat. Gas 

Pipelines, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 89 FR 

23954 (Apr. 4, 2024), 186 FERC ¶ 61,196 (2024) 

(WGQ Version 4.0 NOPR). 

7NAESB WGQ implemented the minor 

correction, Minor Correction MC24002, on May 17, 

2024, which modifies NAESB WGQ Standard No. 

3.4.1—Transportation/Sales Invoice included in the 

WGQ Invoicing Related Standards. 8NAESB states that the standard changes are to 

ensure the hierarchal structure of the dataset 

complied with the Accredited Standards Institute 

X12 Transaction Set 811 Consolidated Service 

Invoice/Statement. 9AGA Comments at 1. AGA also expresses its 

disappointment that Standards Request No. 23001 

was not part of the proposed revisions. AGA 

Comments at 1–2. These comments do not pertain 

to this final rule, and thus, will not be addressed. 10 INGAA Comments at 2. 

Paragraph 

Nos. 

X. Effective Date and Congressional Notification ............................................................................................................................... 57 

I. Overview 

1. In this final rule, the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission 

(Commission) amends its regulations at 

18 CFR 284.12 to incorporate by 

reference, with certain enumerated 

exceptions,1 the latest version (WGQ 

Version 4.0) of business practice 

standards applicable to natural gas 

pipelines. On October 2, 2023, NAESB 

reported to the Commission that it had 

approved WGQ Version 4.0 to replace 

the currently incorporated version 

(Version 3.2) of those business practice 

standards. On May 21, 2024, NAESB 

reported a minor correction to WGQ 

Version 4.0. This final rule requires 

interstate natural gas pipelines to file 

compliance filings with the Commission 

by February 3, 2025, with an effective 

date of the tariff records of August 1, 

2025. 

2. The implementation of these 

standards will promote greater 

efficiency and reliability of the natural 

gas industry’s operations and strengthen 

the cybersecurity protections provided 

within the standards.2

II. Background 

3. 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 system. These 

regulations have been promulgated in 

the Order No. 587 series of orders,3

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 

3.2) of those business practice 

standards. 

4. On October 2, 2023, NAESB filed 

a report (Informational Report) 

informing the Commission that it had 

adopted and ratified WGQ Version 4.0 

of its business practice standards 

applicable to interstate natural gas 

pipelines. WGQ Version 4.0 includes 

business practice standards developed 

and modified in response to industry 

requests and directives from the NAESB 

Board of Directors. This version also 

includes the standards developed in 

response to the recommendations of 

Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia),4

which in 2019 issued a DOE-sponsored 

cybersecurity surety assessment of the 

NAESB standards.5

5. NAESB’s Informational Report 

identifies all the changes made to the 

WGQ Version 3.2 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. 

6. On March 21, 2024, the 

Commission issued a Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking proposing to 

amend its regulations to incorporate by 

reference, with certain enumerated 

exceptions, the WGQ Version 4.0 

business practice standards applicable 

to interstate natural gas pipelines.6

7. On May 21, 2024, NAESB 

submitted, and the Commission noticed 

for comment, an errata filing to update 

the Informational Report, noting a minor 

correction to an existing WGQ 

standard.7 The standard supports the 

communication of invoices between 

trading partners, including transactions 

for natural gas transportation and sales 

and related charges and/or allowances. 

NAESB states that it adopted and 

ratified the changes for that standard on 

March 23, 2020, which became effective 

on November 3, 2020, but were 

inadvertently omitted from WGQ 

Version 3.2 and WGQ Version 4.0. The 

minor correction revised the Electronic 

Delivery Mechanism (EDI) X12 Mapping 

Guidelines for existing WGQ standard 

3.4.1—Transportation/Sales Invoice to 

add code values for five data elements.8

8. In response to the WGQ Version 4.0 

NOPR, the American Gas Association 

(AGA) and the Interstate Natural Gas 

Association (INGAA) filed comments. 

AGA expresses support of the 

Commission’s proposed rulemaking as 

well as the minor correction submitted 

by NAESB on May 21, 2024.9 INGAA 

also supports the Commission’s 

proposed rulemaking but urges that the 

Commission not implement the final 

rule during the winter heating season, 

and thus, requests that the 

implementation date of the final rule 

should not be earlier than April 1, 

2025.10

III. Discussion 

9. In the WGQ Version 4.0 NOPR, the 

Commission proposed to incorporate by 

reference in its regulations the NAESB 

WGQ Version 4.0 business practice 

standards, with the exception of 

NAESB’s standards specifying the terms 

of optional model contracts and the 

eTariff-related standards. No 

commenters opposed the Commission’s 

proposal. 


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97520 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 236 / Monday, December 9, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

11Public Law 104–113, 12(d), 110 Stat. 775 

(1996). 

12Natural gas transportation service is provided 

by interstate pipelines, intrastate pipelines, natural 

gas gathering pipelines, and local distribution 

companies; all are referred to as ‘‘transportation 

service providers.’’ 

13 Informational Report at 4. 

14The matrix identifies the data elements needed 

to communicate the results of the allocation 

process. 

15 Informational Report at 5. 

16See, e.g., Standards for Bus. Practices of 

Interstate Nat. Gas Pipelines, Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking, 86 FR 12879 (March 5, 2021), 174 

FERC ¶ 61,103, at P 19 (2021) (Version 3.2 NOPR). 

17 Id.; Standards for Bus. Practices of Interstate 

Nat. Gas Pipelines, Order No. 587–V, 77 FR 43711 

(Jul. 26, 2012), 140 FERC ¶ 61,036, at P 11 n.11 

(2012). 

10. In this final rule, we adopt the 

proposal to incorporate by reference, in 

our regulations, the NAESB WGQ 

Version 4.0 business practice standards, 

with certain exceptions. As an initial 

matter, we note that the WGQ Version 

4.0 business practice standards include 

modifications, reservations, deletions, 

and additions to the following set of 

Version 3.2 WGQ Standards. (Each set 

of Business Practice Standards is 

referred to as a manual.) 

Manual Business practice standards 

0 .......... Additional Standards. 

2 .......... Flowing Gas Related Standards. 

3 .......... Invoicing Related Standards. 

4 .......... Quadrant Electronic Delivery Mechanism 

Standards. 

5 .......... Capacity Release Related Standards. 

10 ........ WGQ/REQ/RGQ Internet Electronic Transport. 

Additionally, the WGQ Version 4.0 

business practice standards include one 

new manual of standards: 

Manual Business practice standards 

12 ........ Cybersecurity Related Standards. 

11. We require compliance filings be 

made by February 3, 2025, with an 

effective date of August 1, 2025. as more 

fully described below. 

12. We discuss below some specific 

aspects of NAESB’s Informational 

Report. 

A. The NAESB WGQ Version 4.0 

Business Practice Standards 

13. NAESB used its consensus 

procedures to develop and approve the 

WGQ Version 4.0 business practice 

standards. As the Commission found in 

Order No. 587, the 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, since the industry 

itself must conduct 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 (NTT&AA),11 Congress 

affirmatively requires federal agencies to 

use technical standards developed by 

voluntary consensus standards 

organizations, like NAESB, as means to 

carry out policy objectives or activities. 

14. We incorporate by reference into 

the Commission’s regulations the WGQ 

Version 4.0 business practice standards, 

with the exception of NAESB’s 

standards specifying the terms of 

optional model contracts and the 

eTariff-related standards, as discussed 

below. 

1. WGQ Cybersecurity Related 

Standards 

15. The new WGQ Cybersecurity 

Related Standards Manual consolidates 

existing NAESB cybersecurity-related 

standards from various NAESB 

standards manuals into a single manual. 

This consolidation should make the 

NAESB and Commission processes for 

revising NAESB cybersecurity standards 

easier and faster to help match the fast 

pace of changes in cybersecurity 

practices. These standards focus on 

strengthening the cybersecurity 

practices used by the industry through 

the mitigation of potential 

vulnerabilities and the use of secure 

communication and encryption 

methodologies. 

2. Other Standards Modifications 

16. In response to industry request, 

WGQ Version 4.0 adds new data 

elements to the WGQ Additional 

Standards and the WGQ Capacity 

Release Related Standards and modifies 

existing data elements in the WGQ 

Flowing Gas Related Standards and the 

WGQ Invoicing Related Standards to 

improve efficiencies of business 

processes for transportation service 

providers and parties interacting with 

these entities.12

17. The revised WGQ Additional 

Standards add a new data element, 

‘‘Cycle Indicator,’’ to the data set for the 

Storage Information standard to address 

technical details for reporting natural 

gas storage balances and the activities 

that affect storage balances. The new 

sender’s option data element ‘‘Cycle 

Indicator’’ will support the reporting of 

storage information data for each cycle 

while also allowing parties receiving 

such information to distinguish between 

the data more easily for individual 

transactions.13

18. Revisions to the WGQ Flowing 

Gas Related Business Practice Standards 

include a change to the ‘‘Service 

Requester Contract’’ data element from 

‘‘not used’’ to ‘‘mutually agreed,’’ for 

allocation of natural gas between parties 

under two pre-determined allocation 

transaction types, found within the 

allocation matrix included as part of 

WGQ Standard 2.4.3.14

19. NAESB revised the WGQ 

Invoicing Related Standards by 

modifying the ‘‘Charge Type Rate’’ data 

element contained in the data set for the 

Transportation/Sales Invoice standard 

to allow for the identification of 

multiple rates that may be applicable for 

a single transaction or service. The 

modification to the data element allows 

transportation service providers to use a 

‘‘null’’ value in circumstances where 

information describing the applicable 

charge type rate is included as part of 

miscellaneous notes. This change will 

allow transportation service providers to 

make available a summary of the 

amount due for each line item of an 

invoice with detailed, breakout 

information regarding the applicable 

rate and make it easier for a customer to 

ascertain the final charge amount.15

20. The revised WGQ Capacity 

Release Related Standards add a new 

sender’s option data element, ‘‘Location 

Indicator Data,’’ to the Transactional 

Reporting—Capacity Release standard to 

provide a mechanism for a 

transportation service provider to 

communicate the locations at which a 

discounted rate is offered as well as if 

the rate is associated with a single 

location, multiple locations, or all 

locations. 

21. Also included in WGQ Version 4.0 

is a previous revision to an existing 

WGQ Invoicing Related Standard that 

modifies the ‘‘Electronic Delivery 

Mechanism (EDI) X12 Mapping 

Guidelines’’ by adding code values for 

five data elements to WGQ Standard 

3.4.1—Transportation/Sales Invoice to 

ensure the hierarchal structure of the 

dataset complied with the Accredited 

Standards Institute X12 Transaction Set 

811 Consolidated Service Invoice/ 

Statement. 

3. Standards Not Incorporated by 

Reference 

22. We continue our past practice 16 of 

not incorporating by reference into our 

regulations the WGQ standard contracts 

relating to the sale of natural gas 

because we do not require the use of 

these contracts.17 Thus, we also do not 

incorporate by reference the WGQ 4.0 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 236 / Monday, December 9, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 97521 

18 Version 3.2 NOPR, 174 FERC ¶ 61,103 at P 19; 

Elec. Tariff Filings, Order No. 714, 73 FR 57515 

(Oct. 3, 2008), 124 FERC ¶ 61,270 (2008). 

19To aid in compliance, promptly after issuance 

of this final rule, we will post a sample tariff record 

on the Commission’s website that may be accessed 

at www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/elibrary. All interstate 

natural gas pipelines are to file their tariff records 

in conformance with this sample tariff record. 

20Order No. 587–V, 140 FERC ¶ 61,036 at PP 36– 

39. 

21Trans-Union Interstate Pipeline L.P., 141 FERC 

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

Compliance Order); Version 3.2 NOPR, 174 FERC 

¶ 61,103 at P 21. 

22Shippers can use the Commission’s electronic 

tariff system to locate the tariff record containing 

the NAESB standards, which will indicate the 

docket in which any waiver or extension of time 

was granted. 

23Order No. 587–V, 140 FERC ¶ 61,036. 

24Order No. 587–V Compliance Order, 141 FERC 

¶ 61,167 at PP 4, 38 (a pipeline does not need to 

seek a waiver for standards that address business 

practices that the pipeline does not offer). 

25Public Law 104–113, 12(d), 110 Stat. 775 

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

26 1 CFR 51.5 (2023). See Incorporation by 

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

Contracts Related Standards Manual. In 

addition, consistent with our findings in 

past proceedings, we do not incorporate 

by reference the WGQ eTariff Related 

Standards because the Commission has 

previously adopted and posted its 

standards and protocols for electronic 

tariff filings based on NAESB 

standards.18

B. Required Compliance Filings 

23. As suggested by INGAA, we will 

delay implementation of this final rule 

until after the 2024–2025 winter heating 

period. To implement the standards that 

we are incorporating by reference in this 

final rule, we will require each 

interstate natural gas pipeline to file a 

separate tariff record reflecting the 

changed standards by February 3, 

2025.19 In response to INGAA’s concern 

that the Commission could require 

implementation of this final rule during 

the winter heating season, we will 

require the compliance filings to be 

made with an effective date of August 

1, 2025. We are adopting this 

implementation schedule to give the 

interstate natural gas pipelines subject 

to these standards adequate time to 

implement these changes. 

C. Implementation Procedures 

24. We will continue the compliance 

filing requirements as revised and 

prescribed in Order No. 587–V to 

increase the transparency of the 

interstate natural gas 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.20 We require each interstate 

natural gas pipeline to submit its 

compliance filing no later than February 

3, 2025. 

25. Consistent with the Commission’s 

practice since Order No. 587–V, each 

interstate natural gas pipeline must 

designate a single tariff section under 

which every NAESB WGQ Standard 

incorporated by reference by the 

Commission is listed.21 In that tariff 

section, the pipeline must list for each 

standard: 

(a) whether the standard is incorporated by 

reference; 

(b) for those standards not incorporated by 

reference, the tariff provision that complies 

with the standard; or 

(c) for those standards with which the 

pipeline does not comply, an explanatory 

statement, including an indication of 

whether the pipeline has been granted a 

waiver, extension of time, or other variance 

with respect to compliance with the 

standard.22

26. Likewise, consistent with past 

practice, we will post on our eLibrary 

website (under Docket No. RM96–1– 

043) a sample tariff format, to provide 

filers with an illustrative example to aid 

them in preparing their compliance 

filings. 

27. Consistent with our policy since 

Order No. 587–V,23 entities may request 

waivers under the requirements set forth 

in Order No. 587–V and the 

Commission will then evaluate those 

requests at that time.24

28. 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 the 

Commission granted a waiver or 

extension of time, and the docket 

number or order citation to the 

proceeding in which the Commission 

granted the waiver or extension of time. 

The pipeline also must present an 

explanation for why such waiver or 

extension of time should remain in force 

with regard to the WGQ Version 4.0 

Standards. 

29. This implementation approach 

continues the Commission’s practice of 

having pipelines include in their tariffs 

a common location that identifies the 

way in which the pipeline is 

incorporating all the NAESB WGQ 

Standards and the standards with which 

it is required to comply. 

IV. Notice of Use of Voluntary 

Consensus Standards 

30. Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) Circular A–119 (section 11) (Feb. 

10, 1998) provides that when a federal 

agency issues or revises a regulation 

containing a standard, the agency 

should publish a statement in the final 

rule stating whether the adopted 

standard is a voluntary consensus 

standard or a government-unique 

standard. In this final rule, we are 

incorporating by reference voluntary 

consensus standards developed by 

NAESB’s WGQ. In section 12(d) of 

NTT&AA, Congress affirmatively 

requires federal agencies to use 

technical standards developed by 

voluntary consensus standards 

organizations to carry out policy 

objectives or activities determined by 

the agencies unless use of such 

standards would be inconsistent with 

applicable law or otherwise 

impractical.25

V. Incorporation by Reference 

31. The Office of the Federal Register 

requires agencies incorporating material 

by reference in final rules to discuss the 

ways that the materials it incorporates 

by reference are reasonably available to 

interested parties and how interested 

parties can obtain the materials.26 The 

regulations also require agencies to 

summarize, in the preamble of the final 

rule, the material it incorporates by 

reference. The standards that we are 

incorporating by reference in this final 

rule consist of seven suites of NAESB 

WGQ Business Practice Standards, 

which include a minor correction to the 

invoicing related standards, that address 

a variety of topics and are designed to 

streamline the transactional processes 

for the wholesale natural 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; WGQ Invoicing Related 

Business Practice Standards, with WGQ 

Invoicing Related Standards Minor 

Correction MC24002; WGQ Quadrant 

Electronic Delivery Mechanism Related 

Business Practice Standards; WGQ 

Capacity Release Related Business 

Practice Standards; and WGQ 

Cybersecurity Related Standards. 

32. As noted above, included in the 

standards incorporated by reference is 

the WGQ Invoicing Related Standards 

Minor Correction (MC 24002), which is 

an errata to update the Informational 

Report to the existing standard which 

supports the communication of invoices 

between trading partners. 

33. We summarize these standards 

below. The WGQ Additional Business 

Practice Standards address six areas: 

Creditworthiness; Storage Information; 


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97522 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 236 / Monday, December 9, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

27For more information on Locklizard, please 

refer to the company’s website: 

www.locklizard.com. 

28 5 CFR 1320.11 (2023). 

29FERC–545 covers rate change filings made by 

natural gas pipelines, including tariff changes. 

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 natural gas and electric 

industries in daily operational 

communications between gas 

transportation service providers and 

gas-fired power plants. These standards 

include requirements for 

communicating anticipated power 

generation fuel needs 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 for the 

transportation service provider’s 

reporting of its operational capacity, 

total scheduled quantity, and 

operationally available capacity. 

• The Unsubscribed Capacity related 

standards define requirements for the 

transportation service provider’s 

reporting of its 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. 

34. 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. 

35. 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. 

36. The WGQ 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). 

37. The WGQ 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/EDM transfers, batch flat 

file/EDM transfers, informational 

postings websites, Electronic Bulletin 

Boards/EDM, and interactive flat file/ 

EDM. 

38. The WGQ 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. 

39. The WGQ Cybersecurity Related 

Standards consolidate existing NAESB 

cybersecurity-related standards from 

various standards manuals into a single 

manual. These standards define the 

requirements for ensuring the security 

of electronic communications and 

transactions among parties. 

40. Commission regulations provide 

that copies of the standards 

incorporated by reference may be 

obtained through purchase or otherwise 

from the North American Energy 

Standards Board, 801 Travis Street, 

Suite 1675, Houston, TX 77002; phone: 

(713) 356–0060; website: 

www.naesb.org/. The standards can also 

be reviewed without purchasing them. 

41. 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 $8,000, which 

entitles them to full participation in 

NAESB and enables them to obtain 

these standards at no additional cost. 

Non-members may obtain any of the ten 

individual standards manuals for $250 

per manual, which in the case of these 

standards would total $2,500 for all ten 

manuals. Non-members also may obtain 

the complete set of Standards Manuals 

for $2,000. 

42. NAESB provides ample 

opportunities for non-members, 

including agents, subsidiaries, and 

affiliates of NAESB members, to obtain 

access to the copyrighted standards 

through a no-cost limited copyright 

waiver. The limited copyright waivers 

are issued by the NAESB office and are 

granted to non-members on a case-bycase basis for the purpose of evaluating 

standards prior to purchase and/or 

reviewing the standards to prepare 

comments to a regulatory agency. 

Following the granting of a limited 

copyright waiver, the non-member is 

provided with read-only access to the 

standards through the end of the 

comment period or some other set 

period of time via Locklizard Safeguard 

Secure Viewer.27 NAESB will grant one 

limited copyright wavier per company 

for each set of standards or final actions. 

Any entity seeking a limited copyright 

waiver should contact the NAESB 

office. 

VI. Information Collection Statement 

43. The OMB regulations require that 

OMB approve certain reporting, record 

keeping, and public disclosure 

requirements (information collection) 

imposed by an agency.28 Therefore, we 

are submitting our 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. 

44. The Commission solicited 

comments on our 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. 

45. Public Reporting Burden: The 

burden estimates for this final rule are 

for one-time implementation of the 

information collection requirements of 

this final rule (including tariff filing, 

documentation of the process and 

procedures, and information technology 

work). 

46. The collections of information 

related to this final rule fall under 

FERC–545 (Gas Pipeline Rates: Rate 

Change (Non-Formal)) 29 and FERC– 

549C (Standards for Business Practices 


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30FERC–549C covers Standards for Business 

Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines. 

31The 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. 

32The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits) 

provided in this section is based on the salary 

figures for March 2024 posted on June 18, 2024 by 

the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Utilities sector 

(available at www.bls.gov/oes/current/ 

naics3221000.htm) and scaled to reflect benefits 

using the relative importance of employer costs for 

employee compensation (available at https://

www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm). The 

hourly estimates for salary plus benefits are: 

Computer and Information Systems Manager 

(Occupation Code: 11–3021), $115.47. 

Computer and Information Analysts (Occupation 

Code: 15–1221, $87.19. 

Electrical Engineer (Occupation Code: 17–2071), 

$79.31. 

Legal (Occupation Code: 23–0000), $162.66. 

The average hourly cost (salary plus benefits), 

weighting these skill sets evenly, is $111.16. We 

round it to $111/hour. 

of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines).30

The following estimates of reporting 

burden are related only to this Final 

Rule and include the costs to pipelines 

for compliance with the Commission’s 

directives in this final rule. The burden 

estimates are primarily related to 

implementing these standards and 

regulations and will not result in 

ongoing costs. 

RM96–1–043 NOPR (STANDARDS FOR BUSINESS PRACTICES OF INTERSTATE NATURAL GAS PIPELINES) 

Number of 

respondents 31

Annual 

number of 

responses per 

respondent 

Total 

number of 

responses 

Average 

burden hr. 

per response 

Total annual 

burden hours 

& total 

annual cost 32

Annual 

costs per 

respondent 

($) 

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

FERC–545 (one-time) ............... 193 1 193 10 hrs.; $1,110 ................ 1,930 hrs.; $214,230 ........... $1,110 

FERC–549C (one-time) ............. 193 1 193 100 hrs.; $11,100 ............ 19,300 hrs.; $2,142,300 ...... $11,100 

Total ................................... ........................ ........................ 386 ......................................... 21,230 hrs.; $2,356,530.

The one-time burden (for both the 

FERC–545 and FERC–549C) would take 

place in Year 1 and will be averaged 

over 3 years as follows: 

FERC–545: 1,930 ÷ 3 = 643.33 hours/year 

over 3 years 

FERC–549C: 19,300 ÷ 3 = 6,433.33 hours/year 

over 3 years 

The responses and burden for Years 1–3 

would total respectively as follows: 

Year 1: 64.33 responses; 643.33 hours (FERC– 

545); 6,433.33 hours (FERC–549C) 

Year 2: 64.33 responses; 643.33 hours (FERC– 

545); 6,433.33 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: In response 

to NAESB’s standard development 

activities, the Commission has 

determined that the revisions the 

Commission makes in this final rule to 

its regulations would make minor 

adjustments to the standards previously 

adopted by the Commission. The 

standards consolidate the cybersecurity 

standards in one standards manual for 

ease of reference and revision, deleting 

one element in the Data Dictionary for 

internet ET included in the WGQ 

Cybersecurity Related Standards and 

makes numerous minor changes 

throughout the corresponding manual 

and the WGQ EDM Related Standards to 

correct typographical and capitalization 

errors. 

47. Further, in response to industry 

requests or through the normal course of 

WGQ activities, the Commission has 

determined that the revisions the 

Commission makes in this final rule to 

its regulations would upgrade current 

business practices and communication 

standards by specifically: (1) adding a 

new data element, ‘‘Cycle Indicator,’’ to 

the data set for the Storage Information 

standard to address technical details for 

the reporting of storage balances and the 

activities that affect storage balances; (2) 

revising the data element ‘‘Service 

Requester Contract’’ contained in the 

data set for the Flowing Gas Related 

Allocation standard to identify the 

applicable contract and to support the 

communication of the results of 

processes used to allocate the actual 

flow of gas quantities to parties involved 

in a transaction; (3) modifying the 

‘‘Charge Type Rate’’ data element 

contained in the data set for the 

Transportation/Sales Invoice standard 

that allows for the identification of 

multiple rates that may be applicable for 

a single transaction or service; (4) 

adding a new sender’s option data 

element, ‘‘Location Indicator Data,’’ to 

the Transactional Reporting—Capacity 

Release standard to improve efficiencies 

by providing a mechanism for a 

transportation service provider to 

communicate the locations at which a 

discounted rate is offered as well as if 

the rate is associated with a single 

location, multiple locations, or all 

locations; (5) adding code values for five 

data elements to the EDI X12 Mapping 

Guidelines in the Transportation/Sales 

Invoice standard to ensure the 

hierarchal structure of the dataset 

complied with the Accredited Standards 

Institute X12 Transaction Set 811 

Consolidated Service Invoice/Statement. 

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 interstate natural 

gas pipelines adopted by NAESB and 

has determined that the revisions the 

Commission makes in this final rule to 

its regulations are necessary to promote 

greater efficiency and reliability of the 

natural gas industry’s operations and 

strengthen cybersecurity protections. 

These requirements conform to our plan 

for efficient information collection, 

communication, and management 

within the natural gas pipeline industry. 

The Commission has determined 

through its internal review that there is 

specific, objective support for the 

burden estimates associated with the 

information requirements. 

48. Interested persons may obtain 

information on the reporting 

requirements by contacting the 

following: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20426; email: 

DataClearance@ferc.gov. 

49. Comments concerning the 

collection of information(s) and the 

associated burden estimate(s), should be 


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97524 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 236 / Monday, December 9, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

33Regulations Implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act, Order No. 486, 52 FR 

47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs. 

Preambles 1986–1990 ¶ 30,783 (1987) (crossreferenced at 41 FERC ¶ 61,284). 

34See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5), and 

380.4(a)(27) (2023). 

35 5 U.S.C. 601–612. 

36See 5 U.S.C. 601(3) citing section 3 of the Small 

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

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

business that is independently owned and operated, 

and that is not dominant in its field of operation. 

37 13 CFR 121.201 (Subsector 486-Pipeline 

Transportation; North American Industry 

Classification System code 486210; Pipeline 

Transportation of Natural Gas) (2023). ‘‘Annual 

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

38This number is derived by dividing the total 

cost figure by the number of respondents. 

$2,356,530/193 = $12,210. 

39 5 U.S.C. 605(b). 

sent to the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, the Office of 

Management and Budget, Washington, 

DC 20503; attention: Desk Officer for the 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

phone: (202) 395–0710; fax: (202) 395– 

4718. A copy of the comments on 

information collection should also be 

sent to the Commission, in Docket No. 

RM96–1–043 by any of the following 

methods: 

• eFiling at Commission’s website: 

www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp; 

• U.S. Postal Service Mail: Persons 

unable to file electronically may mail 

similar pleadings to the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street 

NE, Washington, DC 20426; or 

• Delivery of filings other than by 

eFiling or the U.S. Postal Service should 

be delivered to Health and Human 

Services, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, 

Rockville, Maryland 20852. 

VII. Environmental Analysis 

50. 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.33 The actions that we take 

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 facilities.34 Therefore, 

an environmental review is unnecessary 

and has not been prepared as part of this 

final rule. 

VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

51. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 

1980 (RFA) 35 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 an analysis if proposed regulations 

would not have such an effect. 

52. As we stated in the WGQ Version 

4.0 NOPR, approximately 193 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,36 which is currently defined for 

natural gas pipelines as a company that, 

in combination with its affiliates, has 

total annual receipts of $41.5 million or 

less.37 For the year 2022, only 14 

potential respondents not affiliated with 

larger companies had annual revenues 

in combination with their affiliates of 

$41.5 million or less and therefore could 

be considered a small entity under the 

RFA. This represents about eight 

percent of the total universe of potential 

respondents that may have a significant 

burden imposed on them. We estimate 

that the one-time implementation cost 

of the proposals in this final rule is 

$2,356,530 (or $12,210 per entity, 

regardless of entity size).38 We do not 

consider the estimated $12,210 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. 

53. Accordingly, pursuant to section 

605(b) of the RFA,39 the regulations 

proposed herein should not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

IX. Document Availability 

54. 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 

(www.ferc.gov/). 

55. 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. 

56. 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; phone: 

(202) 502–8371, TTY (202) 502–8659; 

email: public.referenceroom@ferc.gov. 

X. Effective Date and Congressional 

Notification 

57. These regulations are effective 

February 7, 2025. The Commission has 

determined, with the concurrence of the 

Administrator of the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs of 

OMB, that this rule is not a ‘‘major rule’’ 

as defined in section 351 of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996. This final rule is 

being submitted to the Senate, House, 

and Government Accountability Office. 

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 284 

Continental shelf, Incorporation by 

reference, Natural gas, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

By direction of the Commission. 

Issued: November 22, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Secretary. 

In consideration of the foregoing, the 

Commission amends 18 CFR part 284 as 

follows. 

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. Amend § 284.12 by: 

■ A. Revising paragraphs (a)(1)(i) 

through (vii); 

■ B. Adding paragraph (a)(1)(viii); and 

■ C. Revising paragraph (a)(2). 

The revisions and additions read as 

follows: 

§ 284.12 Standards for pipeline business 

operations and communications. 

(a) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(i) WGQ Additional Standards 

(Version 4.0, September 29, 2023); 

(ii) WGQ Nominations Related 

Standards (Version 4.0, September 29, 

2023); 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 236 / Monday, December 9, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 97525 

(iii) WGQ Flowing Gas Related 

Standards (Version 4.0, September 29, 

2023); 

(iv) WGQ Invoicing Related Standards 

(Version 4.0, September 29, 2023); 

(v) WGQ Invoicing Related Standards 

Minor Correction/Clarification 

MC24002, approved by the WGQ on 

May 2, 2024 (Minor Correction/ 

Clarification MC24002 was 

implemented on May 17, 2024). 

(vi) WGQ Quadrant Electronic 

Delivery Mechanism Related Standards 

(Version 4.0, September 29, 2023); 

(vii) WGQ Capacity Release Related 

Standards (Version 4.0, September 29, 

2023); and 

(viii) WGQ Cybersecurity Related 

Standards (Version 4.0, September 29, 

2023) 

(2) The material listed paragraph 

(a)(1) is incorporated by reference into 

this section with the approval of the 

Director of the Federal Register under 5 

U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. All 

approved material is available for 

inspection at the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission and at the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). For assistance 

in viewing the material, contact the 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

at: 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 

20426 phone: 202–502–8371; email: 

public.referenceroom@ferc.gov; website: 

https://www.ferc.gov. For information 

on the availability of this material at 

NARA, visit www.archives.gov/federalregister/cfr/ibr-locations or email 

fr.inspection@nara.gov. The material 

also may be obtained from the North 

American Energy Standards Board, 801 

Travis Street, Suite 1675, Houston, TX 

77002; phone: (713) 356–0060; website: 

https://www.naesb.org/. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–28090 Filed 12–6–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Office of the Attorney General 

28 CFR Part 50 

[Docket No. OAG 177; AG Order No. 6101– 

2024] 

RIN 1105–AB62 

Guidelines and Limitations for 

Settlement Agreements Involving 

Payments to Non-Governmental Third 

Parties 

AGENCY: Department of Justice. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule adopts without 

change the interim final rule issued by 

the Department of Justice 

(‘‘Department’’ or ‘‘DOJ’’) on May 10, 

2022, that revoked a prohibition on the 

inclusion of provisions in settlement 

agreements directing or providing for a 

payment or loan to a non-governmental 

person or entity not a party to the 

dispute, subject to limited exceptions. 

DATES: This rule is effective December 9, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert Hinchman, Senior Counsel, 

Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department 

of Justice, telephone (202) 514–8059 

(not a toll-free number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Department has established a docket for 

this action on the www.regulations.gov 

site under Docket DOJ–OAG–2022– 

0001. All documents in the docket are 

listed on the http://www.regulations.gov 

website. 

I. Summary of This Rulemaking 

A. Overview of This Rule 

On December 16, 2020, the 

Department issued a regulation 

prohibiting, subject to limited 

exceptions, the inclusion of provisions 

in settlement agreements directing or 

providing for a payment or loan, in cash 

or in kind, to any non-governmental 

person or entity not a party to a dispute. 

Prohibition on Settlement Payments to 

Non-Governmental Third Parties, 85 FR 

81409 (‘‘the December 2020 Rule’’) 

(adding 28 CFR 50.28). On May 10, 

2022, DOJ published for public 

comment an interim final rule (‘‘IFR’’) 

that revoked the December 2020 Rule, 

Guidelines and Limitations for 

Settlement Agreements Involving 

Payments to Non-Governmental Third 

Parties, 87 FR 27936. 

The IFR also solicited public 

comment on an Attorney General 

memorandum posted on the DOJ 

website in conjunction with the IFR, the 

Memorandum for the Heads of 

Department Components and United 

States Attorneys from the Attorney 

General, Re: Guidelines and Limitations 

for Settlement Agreements Involving 

Payments to Non-Governmental Third 

Parties (May 5, 2022) (the ‘‘May 2022 

Memorandum’’), https://

www.justice.gov/d9/pages/attachments/ 

2022/05/05/02._ag_guidlines_and_

limitations_memorandum_0.pdf (last 

visited Oct. 31, 2024). 

This preamble responds to comments 

received on the IFR. As reflected in this 

preamble, the Department is not making 

any changes to the rule or to the May 

2022 Memorandum. 

That said, DOJ is using the 

opportunity of this final rule to publicly 

announce that it will add two 

provisions to the section of the Justice 

Manual (https://www.justice.gov/jm/ 

justice-manual) addressing third-party 

payments, section 1–17.000, Settlement 

Agreements Involving Payments to NonGovernmental Third Parties, as 

discussed later in this preamble. 

B. Background Explanation for This 

Rule 

The Department, as explained in this 

preamble, has concluded that its action 

in May 2022 to revoke 28 CFR 50.28 and 

establish the current policy continues to 

be appropriate. The Department has 

authority to settle litigation incident to 

the Attorney General’s power to 

supervise litigation for the United 

States. Authority of the United States to 

Enter Settlements Limiting the Future 

Exercise of Executive Branch Discretion, 

23 Op. O.L.C. 126, 135 (1999) 

(‘‘Authority of the United States to Enter 

Settlements’’). The Department regularly 

settles civil and criminal matters to 

compensate victims, redress harms, and 

punish and deter unlawful conduct 

without the costs and delay that can 

accompany trials. For decades and 

across Administrations, Department 

components entered into settlement 

agreements that involved payments to 

certain third parties as a means of 

addressing harms arising from 

violations of Federal law. 

It has been the consistent view of the 

Office of Legal Counsel (‘‘OLC’’), 

acknowledged when the December 2020 

Rule was promulgated, that settlements 

involving payments to nongovernmental third parties can comport 

with the Miscellaneous Receipts Act 

(‘‘MRA’’), 31 U.S.C. 3302(b). See 

Memorandum for William P. Barr, 

Attorney General, from Steven A. Engel, 

Assistant Attorney General, Office of 

Legal Counsel, Re: Final Rule 

Prohibiting Settlement Payments to 

Non-Governmental Third Parties at 2 

(Dec. 4, 2020) (‘‘December 2020 OLC 

Memo’’) (citing Application of the 

Government Corporation Control Act 

and the Miscellaneous Receipts Act to 

the Canadian Softwood Lumber 

Settlement Agreement, 30 Op. O.L.C. 

111, 119 (2006) (‘‘Softwood Lumber’’)), 

https://www.justice.gov/oip/foia-library/ 

foia-processed/general_topics/ 

settlement_guidelines_third_parties_2_

14_23/download (last visited Oct. 31, 

2024). 

In 2017, the Attorney General issued 

a memorandum prohibiting Department 

attorneys from entering into case 

resolutions in civil and criminal matters 

providing for certain third-party 

payments. See Memorandum for All 

Component Heads and United States 

Attorneys from the Attorney General, 


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