57512 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 193 / Friday, October 3, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

1The FCPIAA, Pub. L. 101–410 (1990), and the 

relevant amendments to the FCPIAA contained in 

the DCIA, Public Law 104–134 (1996), are codified 

at 28 U.S.C. 2461 note. 

2The DCIA also requires that the range of 

minimum and maximum CMPs be adjusted, if 

applicable. This is not applicable to the 

Commission because, for the relevant CMPs within 

the Commission’s jurisdiction, the Act provides 

only for maximum amounts that can be assessed for 

each violation of the Act or the rules and orders 

thereunder; the Act does not set forth any minimum 

penalties. Therefore, the remainder of this release 

will refer only to CMP maximums. 

3Specifically, the FCPIAA states: 

The purpose of [the FCPIAA] is to establish a 

mechanism that shall— 

(1) Allow for regular adjustment for inflation of 

civil monetary penalties; 

(2) Maintain the deterrent effect of civil monetary 

penalties and promote compliance with the law; 

and 

(3) Improve the collection by the Federal 

Government of civil monetary penalties. 

4Section 13103(a) of the Farm Bill states: 

(a) ENFORCEMENT POWERS OF THE 

COMMISSION.—Section 6(c) of the Commodity 

Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 9, 15) is amended in clause 

(3) of the 10th sentence— 

(1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘assess such person’’; 

and 

(2) by inserting after ‘‘each such violation’’ the 

following: 

‘‘, or (B) in any case of manipulation or attempted 

manipulation in violation of this subsection, 

subsection (d) of this section, or section 9(a)(2), a 

civil penalty of not more than the greater of 

$1,000,000 or triple the monetary gain to the person 

for each such violation,’’. 

Section 13103(b) of the Farm Bill states: 

(b) NONENFORCEMENT OF RULES OF 

GOVERNMENT OR OTHER VIOLATIONS.— 

Section 6b of such Act (7 U.S.C. 13a) is 

amended— 

(1) In the first sentence, by inserting before the 

period at the end the following: ‘‘, or, in any case 

of manipulation or attempted manipulation in 

violation of section 6(c), 6(d), or 9(a)(2), a civil 

penalty of not more than $1,000,000 for each such 

violation’’; and 

(2) In the second sentence, by inserting before the 

period at the end the following: ‘‘, except that if the 

failure or refusal to obey or comply with the order 

involved any offense under section 9(a)(2), the 

registered entity, director, officer, agent, or 

employee shall be guilty of a felony and, on 

conviction, shall be subject to penalties under 

section 9(a)(2)’’. 

Section 13103(c) of the Farm Bill states: 

(c) ACTION TO ENJOIN OR RESTRAIN 

VIOLATIONS.—Section 6c(d) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

13a–1(d)) is amended by striking all that precedes 

paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

‘‘(d) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any action brought under 

this section, the Commission may seek and the 

court shall have jurisdiction to impose, on a proper 

showing, on any person found in the action to have 

committed any violation— 

‘‘(A) a civil penalty in the amount of not more 

than the greater of $100,000 or triple the monetary 

gain to the person for each violation; or 

‘‘(B) in any case of manipulation or attempted 

manipulation in violation of section 6(c), 6(d), or 

9(a)(2), a civil penalty in the amount of not more 

than the greater of $1,000,000 or triple the monetary 

gain to the person for each violation.’’ 

5 7 U.S.C. 9, 13a and 13a–1. 

Telecommunications and ‘‘Information 

Security’’, Part 2 Information Security, 

Export Control Classification Number 

(ECCN) 5E992 is amended by revising 

the License Requirements section and 

the List of Items Controlled section, to 

read as follows: 

5E992 ‘‘Information Security’’ 

‘‘technology’’, not controlled by 5E002. 

License Requirements 

* * * * * 

Control(s) Country chart 

AT applies to entire entry .. AT Column 1. 

* * * * * 

List of Items Controlled 

* * * * * 

Items: 

a. ‘‘Technology’’ n.e.s., for the 

‘‘development’’, ‘‘production’’ or ‘‘use’’ of 

equipment controlled by 5A992.a, 

‘‘information security’’or cryptologic 

equipment controlled by 5A992.b or 

‘‘software’’ controlled by 5D992.a or b. 

b. ‘‘Technology’’, n.e.s., for the ‘‘use’’ of 

mass market commodities controlled by 

5A992.c or mass market ‘‘software’’ 

controlled by 5D992.c. 

Dated: September 26, 2008. 

Christopher R. Wall, 

Assistant Secretary for Export 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. E8–23201 Filed 10–2–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–33–P 

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING 

COMMISSION 

17 CFR Part 143 

RIN 3038–AC13 

Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties 

for Inflation 

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures 

Trading Commission (Commission) is 

amending its rule which governs the 

maximum amount of civil monetary 

penalties, to adjust for inflation. This 

rule sets forth the maximum, inflationadjusted dollar amount for civil 

monetary penalties (CMPs) assessable 

for violations of the Commodity 

Exchange Act (Act) and Commission 

rules and orders thereunder. The rule, 

as amended, implements the Federal 

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

of 1990, as amended by the Debt 

Collection Improvement Act of 1996. 

The rules also reflect the higher 

penalties enacted this year by Congress 

for violations of the Act prohibiting 

manipulation and attempted 

manipulation. 

DATES: Effective Date: October 23, 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thuy Dinh, Esq., Office of General 

Counsel, at (202) 418–5128 or 

tdinh@cftc.gov; or Richard Foelber, Esq., 

Division of Enforcement, at (202) 418– 

5347 or rfoelber@cftc.gov, Commodity 

Futures Trading Commission, 1155 21st 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20581. 

This document also is available at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990 (FCPIAA), as 

amended by the Debt Collection 

Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA),1

requires the head of each Federal agency 

to adjust by regulation, at least once 

every four years, the maximum amount 

of CMPs provided by law within the 

jurisdiction of that agency by the cost of 

living adjustment defined in the 

FCPIAA, as amended.2 Because the 

purposes of the inflation adjustments 

include maintaining the deterrent effect 

of CMPs and promoting compliance 

with the law, the Commission monitors 

the impact of inflation on its CMP 

maximums and adjusts them as needed 

to implement the requirements and 

purposes of the FCPIAA.3

Congress this year enacted the CFTC 

Reauthorization Act of 2008 at Title XIII 

of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 

Act of 2008, P.L. 110–246, 122 Stat. 

1651 (eff. May 22, 2008)(Farm Bill). 

Section 13103(a)–(c) amends sections 

6(c), 6b and 6c of the Act, in each case 

increasing the maximum civil monetary 

penalty that may be imposed ‘‘in any 

case of manipulation or attempted 

manipulation’’ in violation of section 

6(c), 6(d), or 9(a)(2) to ‘‘the greater of 

$1,000,000 or triple the monetary gain’’ 

to the violator.4

II. Relevant Commission CMPs 

The inflation adjustment requirement 

applies to: 

[A]ny penalty, fine or other sanction 

that— 

(A) Is for a specific monetary amount 

as provided by Federal law; or 

(ii) Has a maximum amount provided 

for by Federal law; and 

(B) Is assessed or enforced by an 

agency pursuant to Federal law; and 

(C) Is assessed or enforced pursuant to 

an administrative proceeding or a civil 

action in the Federal courts[.] 28 U.S.C. 

2661 note. The Act provides for CMPs 

that meet the above definition, and are 

therefore subject to the inflation 

adjustment, in three instances: Sections 

6(c), 6b, and 6c of the Act.5


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 193 / Friday, October 3, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 57513 

6The Consumer Price Index means the Consumer 

Price Index for all urban consumers (CPI–U) 

published by the Department of Labor. Interested 

parties may find the relevant Consumer Price Index 

over the Internet. To access this information, go to 

the Consumer Price Index Home Page at: http:// 

www.bls.gov/data/. Under the Prices and Living 

Conditions Section, select Most Requested Statistics 

for CPI—All Urban Consumers (Current Series). 

Then check the box for CPI for U.S. All Items, 

1967=100–CUUR0000AA0, and click the Retrieve 

Data button. 

7The Consumer Price Index for all-urban 

consumers published by the Department of Labor 

for June 2007 was 624.129, and for June 2004 was 

568.2. Therefore, the relevant inflation adjustment 

factor equals 624.129 divided by 568.2. The result 

is a 9.8 percent increase in the CPI between June 

2003 and June 2007. Accordingly, our inflation 

adjustment factor is 9.8 percent, or 0.0984 for 

computational purposes. 

8The current CMP maximum listed in Rule 143.8, 

as amended in 2004, for purposes of Sections 6(c) 

and 6c of the Act is $130,000. The current CMP 

maximum for purposes of Section 6b of the Act is 

$625,000. 

Accordingly, the calculations for the raw inflation 

increase are the following: 

Sections 6(c) and 6c: (0.0984 × $130,000) = 

$12,792 

Section 6b: (0.0984 × $625,000) = $61,500 

9The FCPIAA, as amended by the DCIA, provides 

in relevant part that any increase ‘‘shall be rounded 

to the nearest— 

(5) multiple of $10,000 in the case of penalties 

greater than $100,000 but less than or equal to 

$200,000; and 

(6) multiple of $25,000 in the case of penalties 

greater than $200,000.’’ 

Accordingly, the raw inflation increase for 

purposes of Sections 6(c) and 6c of the Act 

($12,792) is rounded to $10,000, while the raw 

inflation increase for purposes of Section 6b 

($61,500) is rounded to $50,000. 

10For purposes of Sections 6(c) and 6c of the Act, 

the rounded inflation increase ($10,000) is added to 

the current CMP maximum ($130,000), totaling 

$140,000. For purposes of Section 6b of the Act, the 

rounded inflation increase ($50,000) is added to the 

current CMP maximum ($575,000), totaling 

$625,000. 

11See also Landgraf v. USI Film Products, 511 

U.S. 244 (1994) (holding that there is a presumption 

against retroactivity in changes to damage remedies 

or civil penalties in the absence of clear statutory 

language to the contrary). 

12U.S.C. 553(b) generally requires notice of 

proposed rulemaking to be published in the Federal 

Register. That provision states, however, that 

‘‘[e]xcept when notice or hearing is required by 

statute, [notice is not required]— 

(A) [for] interpretive rules, general statements of 

policy, or rules of agency organization, procedure, 

or practice; or 

(B) when the agency for good cause finds (and 

incorporates the finding and a brief statement of 

reasons therefor in the rules issued) that notice and 

public procedure thereon are impracticable, 

unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.’’ 

Penalties may be assessed in a 

Commission administrative proceeding 

pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Act, 7 

U.S.C. 9, against ‘‘any person’’ found by 

the Commission to have: 

(1) Engaged in the manipulation of the 

price of any commodity, in interstate 

commerce, or for future delivery; 

(2) Willfully made a false or 

misleading statement or omitted a 

material fact in an application or report 

filed with the Commission; or 

(3) Violated any provision of the Act 

or the Commission’s rules, regulations 

or orders thereunder. 

Penalties may be assessed in a 

Commission administrative proceeding 

pursuant to Section 6b of the Act, 7 

U.S.C. 13a, against: (1) Any registered 

entity that the Commission finds is not 

enforcing or has not enforced its rules, 

or (2) any registered entity, or any 

director, officer, agent, or employee of 

any registered entity, that is violating or 

has violated any of the provisions of the 

Act or the Commission’s rules, 

regulations or orders thereunder. 

Penalties may be assessed pursuant to 

Section 6c of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 13a–l, 

against ‘‘any person’’ found by ‘‘the 

proper district court of the United 

States’’ to have committed any violation 

of any provision of the Act or any rule, 

regulation or order thereunder. 

III. Relevant Cost-of-Living Adjustment 

The formula for determining the costof-living adjustment, first defined by the 

FCPIAA, and amended by the DCIA, 

consists of a four-step process. 

The first step entails determining the 

inflation adjustment factor. This is done 

by calculating the percentage increase 

by which the Consumer Price Index for 

the month of June of the calendar year 

preceding the adjustment exceeds the 

Consumer Price Index for the month of 

June of the calendar year in which the 

amount of such civil monetary penalty 

was last set or adjusted pursuant to 

law.6 Accordingly, the inflation 

adjustment factor for the present 

adjustment equals the Consumer Price 

Index for all-urban consumers 

published by the Department of Labor 

for June 2007 (i.e., June of the year 

preceding this year), divided by that 

index for June 2004.7

Once the inflation adjustment factor is 

determined, it is then multiplied by the 

current maximum CMP set forth in Rule 

143.8 to calculate the raw inflation 

increase.8 This raw inflation increase is 

then rounded according to the 

guidelines set forth by the FCPIAA.9

Finally, once the inflation increase has 

been rounded pursuant to the FCPIAA, 

it is added to the current CMP 

maximum to obtain the new CMP 

maximum penalty.10 As a result, the 

maximum, inflation-adjusted CMP for 

each violation of the Act or Commission 

rules or orders thereunder assessed 

against any person pursuant to Sections 

6(c) and 6c of the Act will be $140,000 

or triple the monetary gain to such 

person for each violation, and $675,000 

for each such violation when assessed 

pursuant to Section 6b of the Act. 

The FCPIAA provides that ‘‘any 

increase under [FCPIAA] in a civil 

monetary penalty shall apply only to 

violations which occur after the date the 

increase takes effect.’’ 11 Thus, the new 

CMP maximum may be applied only to 

violations of the Act that occur after the 

effective date of this amendment, 

October 23, 2004. The new statutory 

maximum for manipulation and 

attempted manipulation shall apply to 

violations that occur after the effective 

date of the Farm Bill, i.e., May 22, 2008. 

IV. Related Matters 

A. Notice Requirement 

This amendment to Rule 143.8 will 

implement a statutory change regarding 

agency procedure or practice within the 

meaning of 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(A) and 

therefore does not require notice.12 The 

Commission also believes that 

opportunity for public comment is 

unnecessary under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B). 

This amendment does not effect any 

substantive change in Commission 

rules, nor alter any obligation that a 

party has under Commission rules, 

regulations or orders. No party must 

change its manner of doing business, 

either with the public or the 

Commission, to comply with the rule 

amendment. This change is undertaken 

pursuant to a statutory requirement that 

all agencies make such adjustments and 

is intended to prevent inflation from 

eroding the deterrent effect of CMPs. 

The change also recognizes amendments 

to the Act contained in the Farm Bill. 

While higher maximum CMPs may 

expose persons to potentially higher 

financial liability, in nominal terms, for 

violations of the Act or Commission 

rules or orders thereunder, the rule 

amendment does not require that the 

maximum penalty be imposed on any 

party, nor does it alter any substantive 

due process rights that a party has in an 

administrative proceeding or a court of 

law that protect against imposition of 

excessive penalties. Further, as 

previously noted, the rule amendment 

applies only to violations of the Act or 

Commission rules or orders that occur 

after the effective date of this 

amendment. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq., requires that agencies 

consider the impact of their rules on 

small businesses. The amended rule 

potentially will affect those persons 

who are found by the Commission or 

the Federal courts to have violated the 


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57514 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 193 / Friday, October 3, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

13Section 6(e) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 9a(1), directs 

the Commission to ‘‘consider the appropriateness of 

[a] penalty to the gravity violation’’ when assessing 

a CMP pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Act. In 

addition, the Commission’s penalty guidelines state 

that the Commission, when assessing any CMP, will 

consider the gravity of the offense in question. In 

assessing the gravity of an offense, the Community 

may consider such factors as whether the violations 

resulted in harm to the victims, whether the 

violations involved core provisions of the Act, and 

whether the violator acted intentionally or 

willfully, as well as other factors. See CFTC Policy 

Statement Relating to the Commission’s Authority 

to Impose Civil Money Penalties and Futures SelfRegulatory Organizations’ Authority to Impose 

Sanction; Penalty Guidelines, [1994–1996 Transfer 

Binder] Comm. Fut. L. Rep. (CCH) ¶ 26,265 (CFTC 

November 1994). 

14Any agency that regulates the activities of small 

entities must establish a policy or program to 

reduce and, when appropriate, to waive civil 

penalties for violations of statutory or regulatory 

requirements by small entities. An agency is not 

required to reduce or waive civil penalties, 

however, if: (1) An entity has been the subject of 

multiple enforcement actions; (2) an entity’s 

violations involve willful or criminal conduct; or 

(3) the violations involve serious health, safety or 

environmental threats. See Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 

(‘‘SBREFA’’), Public Law 104–121, § 223, 110 Stat. 

862 (March 29, 1996). The Commission takes these 

provisions of SBREFA into account when it 

considers whether to seek or impose a civil 

monetary penalty in a particular case involving a 

small entity. 

Act or Commission rules or orders. 

Some of these affected parties could be 

small businesses. Nevertheless, the 

Acting Chairman, on behalf of the 

Commission, certifies that this rule will 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities. While the Commission 

recognizes that certain persons assessed 

a CMP for violating Act or Commission 

rules or orders may be small businesses, 

the rule does not mandate the 

imposition of the maximum CMP set 

forth in the rule on any party. As is 

currently the case, the imposition of the 

maximum CMP will occur only where 

the administrative law judge, the 

Commission or a Federal court finds 

that the gravity of the offense warrants 

a CMP in that amount.13

The rule should not increase in real 

terms the economic burden of the 

maximum CMPs set forth in the Act. 

Instead, the rule implements a statutory 

requirement that agencies adjust for 

inflation existing CMPs so that the real 

economic value of such penalties, and 

therefore the Congressionally-intended 

deterrent effect of such CMPs, is not 

reduced over time by inflation. Nor does 

the rule impose any new, affirmative 

duty on any party or change any 

existing requirements, and thus no party 

who is currently complying with the 

Act and Commission regulations will 

incur any expense in order to comply 

with the amended rule. Therefore, the 

Commission believes that this final rule 

will not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities.14

C. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3507(d), which 

imposes certain requirements on 

Federal agencies, including the 

Commission, connection with their 

conducting or sponsoring any collection 

of information as defined by the PRA, 

does not apply to this rule. The 

Commission believes this rule 

amendment does not contain 

information collection requirements that 

require the approval of the Office of 

Management and Budget. 

List of Subjects in 17 CFR Part 143 

Civil monetary penalty, Claims. 

■ In consideration of the foregoing and 

pursuant to authority contained in 

Sections 6(c), 6b and 6c of the Act, 7 

U.S.C. 9, 13a, and 13a–1(d), and 28 

U.S.C. 2461 note as amended by Pub. L. 

104–134, the Commission hereby 

amends part 143 of chapter I of title 17 

of the Code of Federal Regulations as 

follows: 

PART 143—COLLECTION OF CLAIMS 

OWED THE UNITED STATES ARISING 

FROM ACTIVITIES UNDER THE 

COMMISSION’S JURISDICTION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 143 

reads as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 9 and 15, 9a, 12a(5), 

13a, 13a–1(d) and 13(a); 31 U.S.C. 3701– 

3719; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note. 

■ 2. Section 143.8 is amended by 

revising paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 143.8 Inflation-adjusted civil monetary 

penalties. 

(a) Unless otherwise amended by an 

act of Congress, the inflation-adjusted 

maximum civil monetary penalty for 

each violation of the Commodity 

Exchange Act or the rules or orders 

promulgated thereunder that may be 

assessed or enforced by the Commission 

under the Commodity Exchange Act 

pursuant to an administrative 

proceeding or a civil action in Federal 

court will be: 

(1) Except as provided in paragraph 

(v) hereof, for each violation for which 

a civil monetary penalty is assessed 

against any person (other than a 

registered entity) pursuant to Section 

6(c) of the Commodity Exchange Act, 7 

U.S.C. 9: 

(i) For violations committed between 

November 27, 1996 and October 22, 

2000, not more than the greater of 

$110,000 or triple the monetary gain to 

such person for each such violation; 

(ii) For violations committed between 

October 23, 2000 and October 22, 2004, 

not more than the greater of $120,000 or 

triple the monetary gain to such person 

for each such violation; 

(iii) For violations committed between 

October 23, 2004 and October 22, 2008, 

not more than the greater of $130,000 or 

triple the monetary gain to such person 

for each such violation; and 

(iv) For violations committed on or 

after October 23, 2008, not more than 

the greater of $140,000 or triple the 

monetary gain to such person for each 

such violation; provided that— 

(v) In any case of manipulation or 

attempted manipulation in violation of 

Section 6(c), 6(d), or 9(a)(2) of the Act 

committed on or after May 22, 2008, not 

more than the greater of $1,000,000 or 

triple the monetary gain to such person 

for each such violation; and 

(2) Except as provided in paragraph 

(v) hereof, for each violation for which 

a civil monetary penalty is assessed 

against any registered entity or other 

person pursuant to Section 6c of the 

Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 13a– 

l: 

(i) For violations committed between 

November 27, 1996 and October 22, 

2000, not more than the greater of 

$110,000 or triple the monetary gain to 

such person for each such violation; 

(ii) For violations committed between 

October 23, 2000 and October 22, 2004, 

not more than the greater of $120,000 or 

triple the monetary gain to such person 

for each such violation; 

(iii) For violations committed between 

October 23, 2004 and October 22, 2008, 

not more than the greater of $130,000 or 

triple the monetary gain to such person 

for each such violation; and 

(iv) For violations committed on or 

after October 23, 2008, not more than 

the greater of $140,000 or triple the 

monetary gain to such person for each 

such violation; provided that— 

(v) In any case of manipulation or 

attempted manipulation in violation of 

Section 6(c), 6(d), or 9(a)(2) of the Act 

committed on or after May 22, 2008, not 

more than the greater of $1,000,000 or 

triple the monetary gain to such person 

for each such violation; 

(3) For each violation for which a civil 

monetary penalty is assessed against 

any registered entity or any director, 

officer, agent, or employee of any 

registered entity pursuant to Section 6b 

of the Commodity Exchange Act, 7 

U.S.C. 13a: 

(i) For violations committed between 

November 27, 1996 and October 22, 

2000, not more than $550,000 for each 

such violation; 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 193 / Friday, October 3, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 57515 

(ii) For violations committed between 

October 23, 2000 and October 22, 2004, 

not more than $575,000 for each such 

violation; 

(iii) For violations committed between 

October 23, 2004 and October 22, 2008, 

not more than $625,000 for each such 

violation; and 

(iv) For violations committed on or 

after October 23, 2008, not more than 

the greater of $675,000 or triple the 

monetary gain to such person for each 

such violation, provided that— 

(v) In any case of manipulation or 

attempted manipulation in violation of 

Section 6(c), 6(d), or 9(a)(2) of the Act 

committed on or after May 22, 2008, not 

more than the greater of $1,000,000 or 

triple the monetary gain each such 

violation. 

* * * * * 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 

30, 2008 by the Commission. 

David A. Stawick, 

Secretary of the Commission. 

[FR Doc. E8–23417 Filed 10–2–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6351–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Parts 35, 131, 154, 157, 250, 

281, 284, 300, 341, 344, 346, 347, 348, 

375 and 385 

[Docket No. RM01–5–000; Order No. 714] 

Electronic Tariff Filings 

Issued September 19, 2008. 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, DOE. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission is revising its 

regulations to require that all tariffs and 

tariff revisions and rate change 

applications for the public utilities, 

natural gas pipelines, oil pipelines and 

power administrations be filed 

electronically according to a set of 

standards developed in conjunction 

with the North American Energy 

Standards Board. This rule is part of the 

Commission’s efforts to comply with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, the 

Government Paperwork Elimination Act 

(GPEA), and the E–Government Act of 

2002 by developing the capability to file 

electronically with the Commission via 

the Internet. Electronic filing reduces 

physical storage space needs and 

document processing time, provides for 

easier tracking of document filing 

activity; potentially reduces mailing and 

courier fees; allows concurrent access to 

the tariff filing by multiple parties as 

well as the ability to download and 

print tariff filings; and provides 

automatic e-mail notification to an 

applicant of receipt of the filing and 

whether or not it has been accepted. 

Upon implementation of this rule, the 

Commission will no longer accept tariff 

filings submitted in paper format. 

DATES: Effective Dates: This rule will 

become effective November 3, 2008. 

Implementation will begin April 1, 2010 

pursuant to a six month staggered 

schedule. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

H. Keith Pierce (Technical Information), 

Office of Energy Market Regulation, 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502– 

8525, Keith.Pierce@ferc.gov. 

Anthony Barracchini (IT Information), 

Office of the Executive Director, 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502– 

8940, Anthony.Barracchini@ferc.gov. 

Andre Goodson (Legal Information), 

Office of the General Counsel, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20426, (202) 502–8560, 

Andre.Goodson@ferc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Paragraph 

number 

I. Background .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 2. 

II. Discussion .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 9. 

A. Electronic Filing Requirements ................................................................................................................................................. 15. 

1. Companies Required to File Tariffs Electronically ............................................................................................................ 15. 

2. Procedures for Making Tariff Filings .................................................................................................................................. 16. 

3. XML Schema and Tariff Database ....................................................................................................................................... 23. 

B. Tariff Filing Requirements ......................................................................................................................................................... 33. 

1. Sheets or Section Filing Requirements ............................................................................................................................... 35. 

2. Gas and Electric Open Access Transmission Tariffs ......................................................................................................... 40. 

3. Versioning ............................................................................................................................................................................ 46. 

4. Marked Tariff Changes ........................................................................................................................................................ 52. 

5. Clean Tariff Sheets Filed as Attachments .......................................................................................................................... 58. 

6. Joint, Shared, and Section 206 Filings ............................................................................................................................... 60. 

a. Joint Tariff Filings ......................................................................................................................................................... 61. 

b. Shared Tariffs ................................................................................................................................................................ 65. 

c. Section 206 Filings Related to ISOs/RTOs .................................................................................................................. 74. 

C. Other Business Practice Changes ............................................................................................................................................... 77. 

1. Electronic Service ................................................................................................................................................................ 77. 

2. Attachment Documents ....................................................................................................................................................... 79. 

3. Withdrawal of Pending Tariff Filings and Amendments to Tariff Filings ....................................................................... 80. 

4. Motions ................................................................................................................................................................................. 83. 

5. Rate Sheets for Tariff Filings by Intrastate and Hinshaw Pipelines ................................................................................. 84. 

D. Regulatory Text ........................................................................................................................................................................... 86. 

E. Transition Procedures ................................................................................................................................................................. 87. 

1. Testing of Software .............................................................................................................................................................. 87. 

2. Baseline Tariff Filings ......................................................................................................................................................... 92. 

3. Implementation Date for eTariff .......................................................................................................................................... 102. 

III. Information Collection Statement .................................................................................................................................................... 105. 

A. Comments on the NOPR’s Burden Estimates ........................................................................................................................... 107. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with RULES