Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 104 / Wednesday, June 2, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 29503 

1 Interstate & Intrastate Nat. Gas Pipelines; Rate 

Changes Relating to Fed. Income Tax Rate, Order 

No. 849, 83 FR 36672 (July 30, 2018), 164 FERC 

¶ 61,031 (2018). 

2An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to 

titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the 

budget for fiscal year 2018, Public Law 115–97, 131 

Stat. 2054 (2017) (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act). 

Implementation Guide, (WEQ Version 

003.3, March 30, 2020); 

(xiv) WEQ–015, Measurement and 

Verification of Wholesale Electricity 

Demand Response (WEQ Version 003.3, 

March 30, 2020); 

(xv) WEQ–021, Measurement and 

Verification of Energy Efficiency 

Products (WEQ Version 003.3, March 

30, 2020); 

(xvi) WEQ–022, Electric Industry 

Registry (WEQ Version 003.3, March 30, 

2020); and 

(xvii) WEQ–023, Modeling. (WEQ 

Version 003.3, March 30, 2020). 

Note: The following appendix will not be 

published in the Code of Federal Regulations 

Appendix I 

STANDARDS AFFECTED BY THE REVISIONS TO IMPLEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS FOLLOWING SANDIA’S SURETY

ASSESSMENT ON CYBERSECURITY

Standard Revisions 

WEQ–000–1 

Deleted seven abbreviations/acronyms ................................................... DNS—Domain Name Service. 

IPCP—Internet Protocol Control Protocol. 

NTP—Network Time Protocol. 

PPP—Point to Point Protocol. 

SLIP—Serial Line Internet Protocol. 

SNMP—Simple Network Management Protocol. 

SSL—Secure Sockets Layer. 

Added one abbreviation/acronym ............................................................. OWASP—Open Web Application Security Project. 

WEQ–001 

Revised one standard .............................................................................. WEQ–001–13.1.3.3. 

WEQ–002 

Revised 14 standards ............................................................................... WEQ–002–2.3. 

WEQ–002–2.4. 

WEQ–002–4.2.1.1. 

WEQ–002–4.2.1.2. 

WEQ–002–4.2.1.3. 

WEQ–002–4.2.2. 

WEQ–002–5. 

WEQ–002–5.1.1. 

WEQ–002–5.1.2. 

WEQ–002–5.1.3. 

WEQ–002–5.6. 

WEQ–002–101.2.3.1. 

WEQ–002–101.3.3.2. 

WEQ–002–101.3.3.3. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11352 Filed 6–1–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Parts 154, 260, and 284 

[Docket Nos. RM18–11–002 and RP18–415– 

002; Order No. 849–B] 

Interstate and Intrastate Natural Gas 

Pipelines; Rate Changes Relating to 

Federal Income Tax Rate American 

Forest & Paper Association 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: Order No. 849 adopted 

procedures for determining which 

jurisdictional natural gas pipelines may 

be collecting unjust and unreasonable 

rates in light of the income tax 

reductions provided by the Tax Cuts 

and Jobs Act and the Commission’s 

revised policy and precedent 

concerning tax allowances to address 

the double recovery issue identified by 

United Airlines, Inc. v. FERC. These 

procedures also allowed interstate 

natural gas pipelines to voluntarily 

reduce their rates. In this final rule, the 

Commission finds that there are no 

more expected filings that will make use 

of these special procedures, which are 

uniquely tied to the Tax Cuts and Jobs 

Act, and that all existing proceedings 

under these procedures have closed. 

Therefore, the Commission removes the 

procedures from the Code of Federal 

Regulations as obsolete. 

DATES: This rule is effective August 2, 

2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Vince Mareino (Legal Information), 

Office of the General Counsel, 888 First 

Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 

502–6167, Vince.Mareino@ferc.gov. 

Laura Kane (Technical Information), 

Office of Energy Market Regulation, 888 

First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, 

(202) 502–8653, Laura.Kane@ferc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

1. On July 18, 2018, the Commission 

issued a final rule 1 (Order No. 849) 

adopting procedures for determining 

which jurisdictional natural gas 

pipelines may be collecting unjust and 

unreasonable rates in light of the 

income tax reductions provided by the 

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2 and the 

Commission’s Revised Policy 


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29504 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 104 / Wednesday, June 2, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

3 Inquiry Regarding the Commission’s Policy for 

Recovery of Income Tax Costs, 81 FR 94366 (Dec. 

23, 2016), 162 FERC ¶ 61,227 (Revised Policy 

Statement), order on reh’g, 83 FR 12362 (March 21, 

2018), 164 FERC ¶ 61,030 (2018) (Revised Policy 

Statement Rehearing). 

4SFPP, L.P., Opinion No. 511–C, 162 FERC 

¶ 61,228, at P 9 (2018). 

5 827 F.3d 122 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (United Airlines). 

For purposes of this order, the Revised Policy 

Statement, United Airlines, and Opinion No. 511– 

C will collectively be referred to as ‘‘United Airlines 

Issuances.’’ 

6 Interstate & Intrastate Nat. Gas Pipelines; Rate 

Changes Relating to Fed. Income Tax Rate, Order 

No. 849–A, 84 FR 17739 (April 26, 2019), 167 FERC 

¶ 61,051 (2019). 

7 15 U.S.C. 717i(a), 717m(a). 

8 15 U.S.C. 717c. 

9 15 U.S.C. 717d. 

10 18 CFR 260.402. 

11 18 CFR 154.404. 

12 15 U.S.C. 3371. 

13Section 1(c) of the NGA, 15 U.S.C. 717(c), 

exempts from the Commission’s NGA jurisdiction 

those pipelines which transport gas in interstate 

commerce if: (1) They receive natural gas at or 

within the boundary of a state, (2) all the gas is 

consumed within that state, and (3) the pipeline is 

regulated by a state Commission. This is known as 

the Hinshaw exemption. 

14 18 CFR 284.123(i). 

15Order No. 849–A, 167 FERC ¶ 61,051 at P 4. 

16Contract Reporting Requirements of Intrastate 

Nat. Gas Cos., Order No. 735, 75 FR 29404 (May 

26, 2010), 131 FERC ¶ 61,150, at P 96, order on 

reh’g, Order No. 735–A, 75 FR 80685 (Dec. 23, 

2010), 133 FERC ¶ 61,216 (2010); see also 

Hattiesburg Indus. Gas Sales, L.L.C., 134 FERC 

¶ 61,236 (2011) (imposing a five-year rate review 

requirement on Hattiesburg Industrial Gas Sales, 

L.L.C.). 

17 44 U.S.C. 3501–3521. 

Statement 3 and precedent 4 concerning 

tax allowances to address the double 

recovery issue identified by United 

Airlines, Inc. v. FERC.5 These 

procedures also allowed interstate 

natural gas pipelines to voluntarily 

reduce their rates. On April 18, 2019, 

the Commission denied all outstanding 

requests for rehearing and reaffirmed 

the Commission’s determinations in 

Order No. 849 (Order No. 849–A).6

2. Order No. 849 established a 

requirement, pursuant to sections 10 

and 14(a) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA),7

that all interstate natural gas companies 

with cost-based stated rates that filed a 

2017 FERC Form No. 2 or 2–A must file 

the FERC Form No. 501–G informational 

filing for the purpose of evaluating the 

impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and 

the United Airlines Issuances on 

interstate natural gas pipelines’ revenue 

requirements. In addition to the FERC 

Form No. 501–G filing requirement, the 

Commission provided four options for 

each interstate natural gas pipeline to 

make a filing to address the changes to 

the pipeline’s recovery of tax costs or 

explain why no action is needed: (1) A 

limited NGA section 4 8 rate reduction 

filing (Option 1), (2) a commitment to 

file a general section 4 rate case or 

prepackaged settlement in the near 

future (Option 2), (3) an explanation 

why no rate change is needed (Option 

3), and (4) no action (Option 4). These 

procedures were intended to encourage 

natural gas pipelines to voluntarily 

reduce their rates to the extent the tax 

changes result in their over-recovering 

their cost of service, while also 

providing the Commission and 

stakeholders information necessary to 

take targeted actions under NGA section 

5 9 where necessary to achieve just and 

reasonable rates. 

3. Order No. 849 made three changes 

to the Code of Federal Regulations. 

First, new § 260.402 of the 

Commission’s regulations established 

the FERC Form No. 501–G filing 

requirement described above.10 Second, 

new § 154.404 of the Commission’s 

regulations established the regulations 

necessary to govern Option 1, the 

limited NGA section 4 rate reduction 

filings.11 Options 2, 3, and 4 above did 

not require any change in regulations, as 

they could proceed under preexisting 

regulatory authority. Third, new 

§ 284.123(i) of the Commission’s 

regulations provided procedures for 

section 311 of the National Gas Policy 

Act of 1978 (NGPA) 12 and Hinshaw 13

pipelines to establish fair and equitable 

rates for their interstate services.14

II. Discussion 

4. In Order No. 849, the Commission 

identified 129 interstate natural gas 

pipelines with cost-based rates that 

were required to file the FERC Form No. 

501–G, codified in § 260.402. As of the 

date of Order No. 849–A, the 

Commission had received filings from 

all 129 identified pipelines.15 As of 

April 15, 2021, all of these FERC Form 

No. 501–G filings have been accepted 

for filing, and the proceedings 

terminated. Because Order No. 849 

established a one-time reporting 

requirement tied to a past event, it 

would not apply to any new pipelines 

that may enter the market in the future. 

Therefore, the regulations implemented 

in Order No. 849 are no longer needed, 

and we hereby remove § 260.402 from 

the Commission’s regulations. 

5. Eleven pipelines chose Option 1, 

codified in § 154.404. Under Option 1, 

pipelines could only choose to make 

these limited NGA section 4 rate 

reduction filings at the time of their 

FERC Form No. 501–G filings. Just as no 

new FERC Form No. 501–G filings are 

possible, likewise no new filings under 

§ 154.404 are possible. 

6. For any of these limited NGA 

section 4 rate reduction filings that 

proceeded to hearing, § 154.404 also 

governs the process by which these 

hearings are adjudicated, so it would 

not have been reasonable to remove 

§ 154.404 before all the existing hearings 

concluded, either with the acceptance of 

a settlement or with the publication of 

an Initial Decision. There are no 

remaining dockets that are either in an 

Option 1 hearing or eligible to be set for 

an Option 1 hearing. As a result, the 

regulations governing this type of 

limited NGA section 4 rate reduction 

filings are no longer needed. We shall 

therefore remove § 154.404 of the 

Commission’s regulations. 

7. Order No. 849 also established 

separate regulations under § 284.123(i) 

to address the unique jurisdictional 

situation of section 311 and Hinshaw 

pipelines, which have their interstate 

rates regulated by the Commission, but 

which are primarily regulated at the 

state level. Under pre-existing policy, 

the Commission reviews the rates of 

section 311 and Hinshaw pipelines 

every five years on a rolling basis.16

Section 284.123(i), in brief, provided a 

mechanism to lower these pipelines’ 

interstate rates prior to their five-year 

review, in the event that state 

government regulators also adjusted 

their rates in light of the recent changes 

in tax code and tax policy. In the threeand-a-half years from the passage of the 

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in November 

2017 until the present, almost all 

section 311 and Hinshaw pipelines have 

either come before the Commission for 

their five-year review, or have come 

before the Commission for an out-ofcycle rate review, whether due to 

§ 284.123(i), voluntary action, or the 

other requirements of section 284 of the 

Commission’s regulations that can 

compel an out-of-cycle rate review. The 

Commission, through its own review, 

finds it is unlikely that the remaining 

section 311 and Hinshaw pipelines will 

trigger § 284.123(i), and in any event all 

are due for their five-year review in the 

near future under the Commission’s preexisting policy. As a result, the special 

circumstances presented by the Tax 

Cuts and Jobs Act that required 

§ 284.123(i) are no longer present. We 

shall therefore remove § 284.123(i) of 

the Commission’s regulations. 

III. Regulatory Requirements 

A. Information Collection Statement 

8. The Paperwork Reduction Act 17

requires each Federal agency to seek 

and obtain the Office of Management 

and Budget’s (OMB) approval before 

undertaking a collection of information 

(including reporting, record keeping, 

and public disclosure requirements) 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 104 / Wednesday, June 2, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 29505 

18FERC–501G has also been referenced as FERC 

Form No. 501–G. 

19 18 CFR 260.402 (as revised). 

20 18 CFR 154.404 (as revised). 

21 18 CFR 154.312. 

22The estimate for hours is based on the 

estimated average hours per response for the FERC– 

545 (OMB Control No. 1902–0154), with general 

NGA section 4, 18 CFR 154.312 filings weighted at 

a ratio of 20 to one. 

23 18 CFR 284.123(i) (as revised). 

24Estimate of number of respondents assumes 

that states will act within one year to reduce NGPA 

section 311 and Hinshaw pipeline rates to reflect 

the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. 

25Number of unique respondents = (One-time 

Report) + (NGPA rate filing). 

directed to ten or more persons or 

contained in a rule of general 

applicability. OMB regulations require 

approval of certain information 

collection requirements contemplated 

by final rules (including deletion, 

revision, or implementation of new 

requirements). 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 the 

collection of information unless the 

collection of information displays a 

valid OMB control number. The 

following discussion describes and 

analyzes the collection of information to 

be deleted by this final rule. 

9. Public Reporting Burden: In this 

final rule, the Commission eliminates 

FERC Form No. 501–G 18 (One-time 

Report on Rate Effect of the Tax Cuts 

and Jobs Act). This final rule eliminates 

an existing data collection, FERC–501G 

(OMB Control No. 1902–0302). Order 

No. 849 (in Docket No. RM18–11–000) 

allowed the Commission to determine 

which jurisdictional natural gas 

pipelines may be collecting unjust and 

unreasonable rates in light of the recent 

reduction in the corporate income tax 

rate in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and 

changes to the Commission’s income tax 

allowance policies following the United 

Airlines decision. FERC Form No. 501– 

G collected information as to whether 

the pipeline was a pass-through entity. 

FERC Form No. 501–G collected income 

and balance sheet statement financial 

data from all NGA pipelines that have 

stated cost-based rates on file with the 

Commission. NGA pipelines whose 

rates were examined in a general rate 

case under section 4 of the NGA or in 

an investigation under section 5 of the 

NGA were not required to file FERC 

Form No. 501–G. 

10. The Commission identified 129 

interstate natural gas pipelines with 

cost-based rates that were required to 

file the adopted FERC Form No. 501–G. 

Interstate natural gas pipelines had four 

options as to how to address the results 

of the formula contained in the FERC 

Form No. 501–G. Each option has a 

different burden profile and a different 

cost per response. Companies made 

their own business decisions as to 

which option they selected. This final 

rule eliminates FERC Form No. 501–G 

which reduces burden on all applicants. 

11. All burden from FERC Form No. 

501–G has already been incurred. For 

informational purposes, the previous 

estimate of burden and cost for the nowcomplete FERC Form No. 501–G 

collection follows. 

FERC–501G—RATE CHANGES RELATING TO FEDERAL CORPORATE INCOME TAX RATE FOR INTERSTATE NATURAL GAS

PIPELINES, TO BE ELIMINATED BY THE FINAL RULE IN DOCKET NO. RM18–11–002 

Respondents 

Responses 

per 

respondent 

Total 

responses 

Average 

burden hour 

per response 

Average 

cost per 

response 

Total 

burden hours 

Total cost 

($) 

(1) (2) (1) * (2) = (3) (4) (5) (1) * (4) = (6) (1) * (5) = (7) 

Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines With Cost-Based Rates 

FERC Form No. 501– 

G, One-time Report 

(reduction) 19 ............. 129 1 * 129 * 9 hrs. * $756 * 1,161 * $97,524 

Optional Response 

No Response (reduction) ........................... 51 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Case for no change (reduction) ..................... 62 1 62 5 420 310 26,040 

Limited Sec 4 filing (reduction) 20 ................. 15 1 15 6 504 90 7,560 

General Sec. 4 filing 

(reduction) 21 ............. 1 1 1 22 512 42,968 512 42,968 

NGPA Section 311 and Hinshaw Pipelines With Cost-Based Rates 

NGPA rate filing (reduction) 23 ....................... 24 15 1 15 24 2,015 360 30,225 

Total, To Be Eliminated by RM18– 

11–002 .............. 25 144 ........................ * 222 ........................ ........................ * 2,433 * 204,317 

* (reduction). 

12. This final rule eliminates all 

information collection and 

recordkeeping requirements associated 

with RM18–11–000. The removal of the 

FERC–501G eliminates the estimated 

annual information collection burden 

(2,433 hours) and cost ($204,317) 

associated with FERC–501G (OMB 

Control No. 1902–0302). 

B. Environmental Analysis 

13. The Commission is required to 

prepare an Environmental Assessment 

or an Environmental Impact Statement 


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29506 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 104 / Wednesday, June 2, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

26Regulations Implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Order No. 486, 

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

¶ 30,783 (1987) (cross-referenced at 41 FERC 

¶ 61,284). 27See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii) and (a)(5). 28 5 U.S.C. 601–612. 29 5 U.S.C. 605(b). 30Order No. 849, 164 FERC ¶ 61,031 at P 296. 31 In Order No. 849, the Commission determined 

3.9% of the total potential NGA respondents and 

5.1% of the total NGPA section 311 and Hinshaw 

pipelines could be considered a small entity. 

Eliminating the filing requirement would eliminate 

any burden and cost from FERC–501G for small and 

large entities. 32 5 U.S.C. 553(b). 

for any action that may have a 

significant adverse effect on the human 

environment.26 The actions taken here 

fall within categorical exclusions in the 

Commission’s regulations for rules 

regarding information gathering, 

analysis, and dissemination.27

Therefore, an environmental review is 

unnecessary and has not been prepared 

in this rulemaking. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

14. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 

1980 (RFA) 28 generally requires a 

description and analysis of final rules 

that will have significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The RFA mandates 

consideration of regulatory alternatives 

that accomplish the stated objectives of 

a rulemaking while minimizing any 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. In 

lieu of preparing a regulatory flexibility 

analysis, an agency may certify that a 

final rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities.29 In Order No. 

849, the Commission found that the 

institution of the new regulations would 

not have a significant impact on a 

substantial number of small entities.30

Most of the natural gas pipelines 

regulated by the Commission do not fall 

within the RFA’s definition of a small 

entity.31 For the same reasons, removing 

these regulations will not have a 

significant impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. 

D. Document Availability 

15. 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 (http://

www.ferc.gov). At this time, the 

Commission has suspended access to 

the Commission’s Public Reference 

Room due to the President’s March 13, 

2020 proclamation declaring a National 

Emergency concerning the Novel 

Coronavirus Disease (COVID–19). 

16. 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. 

17. User assistance is available for 

eLibrary and the Commission’s website 

during normal business hours from 

FERC Online Support at 202–502–6652 

(toll free at 1–866–208–3676) or email at 

ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the 

Public Reference Room at (202) 502– 

8371, TTY (202) 502–8659. Email the 

Public Reference Room at 

public.referenceroom@ferc.gov. 

E. Effective Date and Congressional 

Notification 

18. These regulations are effective 

August 2, 2021. This rule does not alter 

the substantive rights or interests of any 

interested persons, and it merely 

removes certain outdated and 

nonessential natural gas regulations 

from the Commission’s body of 

regulations on a prospective basis. 

Therefore, prior notice and comment 

under section 4 of the Administrative 

Procedure Act (APA) 32 are unnecessary. 

The Commission has determined that 

this rule is not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined 

in section 351 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996. 

List of Subjects 

18 CFR Part 154 

Natural gas, Pipelines, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

18 CFR Part 260 

Natural gas, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

18 CFR Part 284 

Continental shelf, Natural gas, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

By the Commission. 

Issued: May 20, 2021. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

In consideration of the foregoing, the 

Commission amends parts 154, 260, & 

284, chapter I, title 18, Code of Federal 

Regulations, as follows: 

PART 154—RATE SCHEDULES AND 

TARIFFS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 154 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717–717w; 31 U.S.C. 

9701; 42 U.S.C. 7102–7352. 

§ 154.404 [Removed] 

■ 2. Remove § 154.404. 

PART 260—STATEMENTS AND 

REPORTS (SCHEDULES) 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 260 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717–717w, 3301– 

3432; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352. 

§ 260.402 [Removed] 

■ 4. Remove § 260.402. 

PART 284—CERTAIN SALES AND 

TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS 

UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY 

ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED 

AUTHORITIES 

■ 5. 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. 

§ 284.123 [Amended] 

■ 6. In § 284.123, remove paragraph (i). 

[FR Doc. 2021–11353 Filed 6–1–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Drug Enforcement Administration 

21 CFR Part 1308 

[Docket No. DEA–658] 

Schedules of Controlled Substances: 

Placement of Remimazolam in 

Schedule IV 

AGENCY: Drug Enforcement 

Administration, Department of Justice. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule adopts, 

without change, an interim final rule 

with request for comments published in 

the Federal Register on October 6, 2020, 

placing the substance remimazolam, 

including its salts, isomers, and salts of 

isomers whenever the existence of such 

salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is 

possible, in schedule IV of the 

Controlled Substances Act. With the 

issuance of this final rule, DEA 

maintains remimazolam, including its 

salts, isomers, and salts of isomers 

whenever the existence of such salts, 


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