[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 246 (Friday, December 21, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65944-65945]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-31443]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP02-45-000]


Texas Eastern Transmission, LP; Notice of Application

December 17, 2001.
    Take notice that on December 7, 2001, Texas Eastern Transmission, 
LP (Texas Eastern), 5400 Westheimer Court, Houston, Texas 77056-5310, 
filed in Docket No. CP02-45-000 an application pursuant to sections 
7(b) and 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act for approval for it (i) to 
construct, own, operate, and maintain a 150-foot 20-inch diameter 
pipeline interconnect with Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company and 9.6 miles 
of 24-inch diameter lateral pipeline, three meter stations and three 
regulators and appurtenant facilities in Scioto County, Ohio and 
Lawrence County, Ohio; (ii) to implement a new lateral line only 
transportation service (Rate Schedule MLS-1) which is also proposed in 
Docket No. CP02-17-000; and (iii) to establish an incremental maximum 
recourse rate of $1.112 for service of 250,000 Dth/d to a proposed Duke 
Energy Hanging Rock, LLC (Hanging Rock) power plant in Lawrence County, 
Ohio under the new Rate Schedule MLS-1. The lateral has a design 
capacity of 288,920 Dth/d.
    Copies of this filing are on file with the Commission and are 
available for public inspection. This filing may also

[[Page 65945]]

be viewed on the web at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``RIMS'' link, 
select ``Docket#'' and follow the instructions (call 202-208-2222 for 
assistance). Any questions regarding the application should be directed 
to Steven E. Tillman, Director, Regulatory Affairs, at (713) 627-5044, 
(713) 627-5947 (Fax), Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation, P. O. Box 
1642, Houston, Texas 77251-1642.
    Texas Eastern requests that the Commission issue a final 
certificate by June 1, 2002. Texas Eastern says this is needed to allow 
it to complete construction of the proposed facilities to meet the 
November 1, 2002 date for test gas requested by Hanging Rock.
    The proposed Rate Schedule MLS-1, included in Exhibit P of the 
application, will be available to any party requesting firm or 
interruptible transportation service on a portion of Texas Eastern's 
system designated as a Market Lateral. The proposed service will be 
provided as a ``lateral line only'' service with no transportation 
rights, secondary or otherwise, other than on the designated Market 
Lateral. The MLS-1 service will allow a firm contracting customer to 
designate in the MLS-1 Service Agreement the Maximum Daily Quantity 
(MDQ) and Maximum Hourly Quantity to be delivered, not to exceed the 
customer's MDQ for the Gas Day. A firm customer will be required to pay 
for any incremental facilities required to provide the customer's 
requested service. Firm customers under Rate Schedule MLS-1 will have 
secondary and capacity release rights only on the Market Lateral. The 
firm hourly rights will be applicable only as to flows between the 
Primary Receipt Point and Primary Delivery Point(s) on the Market 
Lateral. Hanging Rock will have non-firm hourly rates at other points 
on the lateral.
    Texas Eastern says that the proposal will have no impact on rates 
charged to existing customers. The cost of the facilities is estimated 
to be $15,080,000. The maximum recourse rate for Hanging Rock's service 
pursuant to Rate Schedule MLS-1 is a 100 percent incremental 
reservation rate of $ 1.112 per Dth. This rate is based on proposed 
incremental facility costs with costs for the unsubscribed capacity of 
33,920 Dth/d assigned to interruptible MLS-1 service. Texas Eastern 
says it has used its rate of return and other factors from Docket No. 
RP90-119 to derive this incremental rate. An adjustment was made to 
reflect the current 35% federal income tax rate.
    There are two ways to become involved in the Commission's review of 
this project. First, any person wishing to obtain legal status by 
becoming a party to the proceedings for this project should, on or 
before January 7, 2002, file with the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426, a motion to 
intervene in accordance with the requirements of the Commission's rules 
of practice and procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211) and the 
regulations under the Natural Gas Act (18 CFR 157.10). A person 
obtaining party status will be placed on the service list maintained by 
the Secretary of the Commission and will receive copies of all 
documents filed by the applicant and by all other parties. A party must 
submit 14 copies of filings made with the Commission and must mail a 
copy to the applicant and to every other party in the proceeding. Only 
parties to the proceeding can ask for appellate court review of 
Commission orders in the proceeding.
    However, a person does not have to intervene in order to have their 
comments considered. The second way to participate is by filing with 
the Secretary of the Commission, as soon as possible, an original and 
two copies of comments in support of or in opposition to this project. 
The Commission will consider these comments in determining the 
appropriate action to be taken, but the filing of comments alone will 
not serve to make the filer a party to the proceeding. The Commission's 
rules require that persons filing comments in opposition to the project 
provide copies of their protests only to the party or parties directly 
involved in the protest.
    Persons who wish to comment only on the environmental review of 
this project should submit an original and two copies of their comments 
to the Secretary of the Commission. Environmental commenters will be 
placed on the Commission's environmental mailing list, will receive 
copies of the environmental documents, and will be notified of meetings 
associated with the Commission's environmental review process.
    Environmental commenters will not be required to serve copies of 
filed documents on all other parties. However, the non-party commenters 
will not receive copies of all documents filed by other parties or 
issued by the Commission (except for the mailing of environmental 
documents issued by the Commission) and will not have the right to seek 
court review of the Commission's final order.
    The Commission may issue a preliminary determination on non-
environmental issues prior to the completion of its review of the 
environmental aspects of the project. This preliminary determination 
typically considers such issues as the need for the project and its 
economic effect on existing customers of the applicant, on other 
pipelines in the area, and on landowners and communities. The 
Commission considers the extent to which the applicant may need to 
exercise eminent domain to obtain rights-of-way for the proposed 
project and balances that against the non-environmental benefits to be 
provided by the project. Therefore, if a person has comments on 
community and landowner impacts from this proposal, it is important 
either to file comments or to intervene as early in the process as 
possible. If the Commission decides to set the application for a formal 
hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, the Commission will issue 
another notice describing that process. At the end of the Commission's 
review process, a final Commission order approving or denying a 
certificate will be issued.
    Comments, protests and interventions may be filed electronically 
via the Internet in lieu of paper. See, 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and 
the instructions on the Commission's web site under the ``e-Filing'' 
link.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-31443 Filed 12-20-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P