44 Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 1 / Wednesday, January 2, 2002 / Proposed Rules 

1 18 CFR 284.12(c)(3)(i)(A) (2001).

2Regulation of Short-Term Natural Gas 

Transportation Services, Order No. 637, 65 FR 

10156 (Feb. 25, 2000), FERC Stats. & Regs. 

Regulations Preambles [July 1996–December 2000] 

¶ 31,091 (Feb. 9, 2000).

3Standards For Business Practices Of Interstate 

Natural Gas Pipelines, Order No. 587, 61 FR 39053 

(Jul. 26, 1996), FERC Stats. & Regs. Regulations 

Preambles [July 1996–December 2000] ¶ 31,038 (Jul. 

17, 1996), Order No. 587–B, 62 FR 5521 (Feb. 6, 

1997), FERC Stats. & Regs. Regulations Preambles 

[July 1996–December 2000] ¶ 31,046 (Jan. 30, 1997), 

Order No. 587–C, 62 FR 10684 (Mar. 10, 1997), 

FERC Stats. & Regs. Regulations Preambles [July 

1996–December 2000] ¶ 31,050 (Mar. 4, 1997), 

Order No. 587–G, 63 FR 20072 (Apr. 23, 1998), 

FERC Stats. & Regs. Regulations Preambles [July 

1996–December 2000] ¶ 31,062 (Apr. 16, 1998), 

Order No. 587–H, 63 FR 39509 (July 23, 1998), 

FERC Stats. & Regs. Regulations Preambles [July 

1996–December 2000] ¶ 31,063 (July 15, 1998); 

Order No. 587–I, 63 FR 53565 (Oct. 6, 1998), FERC 

Stats. & Regs. Regulations Preambles [July 1996–

December 2000] ¶ 31,067 (Sept. 29, 1998), Order 

No. 587–K, 64 FR 17276 (Apr. 9, 1999), FERC Stats. 

& Regs. Regulations Preambles [July 1996–

December 2000] ¶ 31,072 (Apr. 2, 1999); Order No. 

587–M, 65 FR 77285 (Dec. 11, 2000), FERC Stats. 

& Regs. Regulations Preambles [July 1996–

December 2000] ¶ 31,114 (Dec. 11, 2000).

as specified by paragraphs (c)(1), (c)(2), or 

(c)(3) of this AD, as applicable, terminates the 

requirements of this AD. 

(1) For Model A300 series airplanes: 

Replacement of the fillet panel assemblies, if 

accomplished, must be done as specified by 

paragraph (c)(1)(i) or (c)(1)(ii) of this AD. 

(i) For airplanes in the common pylon 

configuration: In accordance with Airbus 

Service Bulletin A300–54–0095, Revision 01, 

dated January 3, 2001, or Revision 02, dated 

September 7, 2001. 

(ii) For airplanes in the basic pylon 

configuration: In accordance with Airbus 

Service Bulletin A300–54–0095, Revision 02, 

dated September 7, 2001. 

(2) For Model A300 F4–605R airplanes and 

Model A300 B4–600 and A300 B4–600R 

series airplanes: Replacement of the fillet 

panel assemblies, if accomplished, must be 

done in accordance with Airbus Service 

Bulletin A300–54–6032, Revision 03, dated 

January 3, 2001. 

(3) For Model A310 series airplanes: 

Replacement of the fillet panel assemblies, if 

accomplished, must be done in accordance 

with Airbus Service Bulletin A310–54–2033, 

Revision 01, dated January 3, 2001. 

Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(d) An alternative method of compliance or 

adjustment of the compliance time that 

provides an acceptable level of safety may be 

used if approved by the Manager, 

International Branch, ANM–116, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, FAA. Operators shall 

submit their requests through an appropriate 

FAA Principal Maintenance Inspector, who 

may add comments and then send it to the 

Manager, International Branch, ANM–116.

Note 4: Information concerning the 

existence of approved alternative methods of 

compliance with this AD, if any, may be 

obtained from the International Branch, 

ANM–116.

Special Flight Permits 

(e) Special flight permits may be issued in 

accordance with sections 21.197 and 21.199 

of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 

21.197 and 21.199) to operate the airplane to 

a location where the requirements of this AD 

can be accomplished.

Issued in Renton, Washington, on 

December 26, 2001. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 01–32197 Filed 12–31–01; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–U

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Part 284 

(Docket No. RM96–1–020) 

Standards for Business Practices of 

Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines 

Issued December 20, 2001.

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, Energy.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission is proposing to 

amend § 284.12 of its regulations 

governing standards for conducting 

business practices with interstate 

natural gas pipelines. The Commission 

is proposing to incorporate by reference 

the most recent version of the standards, 

Version 1.5, promulgated August 18, 

2001 by the Gas Industry Standards 

Board (GISB). Version 1.5 of the GISB 

standards can be obtained from GISB at 

1100 Louisiana, Suite 4925, Houston, 

TX 77002, 713–356–0060, http://

www.gisb.org.

DATES: Comments are due February 1, 

2002.

ADDRESSES: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 

Washington, DC, 20426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Goldenberg, Office of the 

General Counsel, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 888 First 

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, 

(202) 208–2294 

Marvin Rosenberg, Office of Markets, 

Tariffs, and Rates, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 888 First 

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, 

(202) 208–1283 

Kay Morice, Office of Markets, Tariffs, 

and Rates, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208–

0507

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

1. The Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission (Commission) proposes to 

amend § 284.12 of its open access 

regulations governing standards for 

conducting business practices and 

electronic communications with 

interstate natural gas pipelines. The 

Commission is proposing to adopt the 

most recent version, Version 1.5, of the 

consensus industry standards, 

promulgated by the Gas Industry 

Standards Board (GISB). The 

Commission also is proposing to remove 

§ 284.12(a) of its regulations dealing 

with pipeline Electronic Bulletin Boards 

(EBBs), since all pipelines are required 

under Commission regulations to 

provide all electronic communications 

and conduct all electronic transactions 

using the public Internet.1 The proposed 

rule is intended to benefit the public by 

adopting the most recent and up-to-date 

standards governing electronic 

communication that includes new 

shipper options such as title transfer 

tracking, as well as standards for 

imbalance netting and trading and 

uniform procedures for implementation 

of aspects of Order No. 637.2

2. Background 

3. Since 1996, in the Order No. 587 

series,3 the Commission has adopted 

regulations to standardize the business 

practices and communication 

methodologies of interstate pipelines in 

order to create a more integrated and 

efficient pipeline grid. In this series of 

orders, the Commission incorporated by 

reference consensus standards 

developed by GISB, a private consensus 

standards developer composed of 

members from all segments of the 

natural gas industry. GISB is an 

accredited standards organization under 

the auspices of the American National 

Standards Institute (ANSI).

4. On October 19, 2001, GISB filed 

with the Commission a report informing 

the Commission that it had adopted a 

new version of its standards, Version 

1.5. On December 3, 2001, GISB filed 

with the Commission a report listing 

errata to the Version 1.5 standards. 

Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 1 / Wednesday, January 2, 2002 / Proposed Rules 45

4The incorporation includes the errata sheets 

published by GISB.

5Pursuant to the regulations regarding 

incorporation by reference, copies of Version 1.5 of 

the standards are available from GISB. 5 U.S.C. 552 

(a)(1); 1 CFR 51 (2001).

6 GISB standard 1.3.78 provides that 

implementation of TTT not take place until eight 

months after publication of the TTT standards in 

the GISB standards manual (which took place on 

August 18, 2001), and the Commission proposes to 

adopt that recommendation.

7 In Version 1.5, GISB made the following 

changes to its standards. It added Principles 1.1.20, 

1.1.21 and 2.1.5; Definitions 1.2.13 through 1.2.19, 

2.2.2, 2.2.3, and 4.2.20; Standards 1.3.64 through 

1.3.78, 2.3.36 through 2.3.50, 3.3.26, 4.3.86, 4.3.87, 

and 5.3.43; and Data Sets 2.4.7 through 2.4.16. It 

revised Standards 1.3.2, 1.3.54, 1.3.61, 1.3.63, 

2.3.30, 2.3.32, 2.3.34, 4.3.16, 4.3.23, 4.3.35, 5.3.2, 

5.3.22, 5.3.24, 5.3.31, 5.3.32, and 5.3.33, and Data 

Sets 1.4.1 through 1.4.7, 2.4.1, 2.4.3 through 2.4.6, 

3.4.1, 3.4.2, 3.4.4, 5.4.1 through 5.4.10, 5.4.12, 

5.4.13, and 5.4.16 through 5.4.19. It deleted 

Principles 4.1.5 and 4.1.8, and Standard 4.3.77.

8 18 CFR 284.12 (c)(2)(ii) (2001).

9The Commission also is continuing its previous 

practice by proposing to exclude standards 2.3.29 

dealing with operational balancing agreements 

(OBAs), 2.3.30 dealing with netting and trading of 

imbalances, and 4.3.4 dealing with retention of 

electronic data. The Commission has issued its own 

regulations in these areas (18 CFR 284.12(c)(2)(i) 

(OBAs), (c)(2)(ii) (netting and trading of 

imbalances), and (c)(3)(v) (record retention)), so that 

incorporation of the GISB standards is unnecessary 

and may cause confusion as to the applicable 

Commission requirements.

10This process first requires a super-majority vote 

of 17 out of 25 members of GISB’s Executive 

Committee with support from at least two members 

from each of the five industry segments—interstate 

pipelines, local distribution companies, gas 

producers, end-users, and services (including 

marketers and computer service providers). For 

final approval, 67% of GISB’s general membership 

must ratify the standards.

11Pub. L. No. 104–113, § 12(d), 110 Stat. 775 

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

12 18 CFR 284.12 (c)(1)(ii) (2001); Order No. 637, 

65 FR at 10191, FERC Stats. & Regs. Regulations 

Preambles [July 1996–December 2000] ¶ 31,091, at 

31,297.

13CCT refers to Central Clock Time, which 

includes an adjustment for day light savings time. 

See 18 CFR 284.12(b)(1)(i), Nominations Related 

Standards 1.3.1 (2001). Under the GISB standards, 

a gas day runs from 9 a.m. central clock time (CCT) 

on Day 1 to 9 a.m. CCT the next day (Day 2). 18 

CFR 284.12(b)(1)(i), Nominations Related Standards 

1.3.1 (2001).

14 18 CFR 284.12(b)(1)(i) (2001), Nominations 

Related Standard 1.3.2 (2001).

5. GISB reports that its newest version 

contains some of the following 

highlights: modifications to the data set, 

data element, and code value tables to 

support Internet web page standards 

and the transition of EBBs to the 

Internet; business practice standards 

and data sets governing imbalance 

netting and trading (although standards 

for electronic data interchange of the 

imbalance netting and trading are still 

in process); standards for title transfer 

tracking (TTT), with a recommendation 

from the GISB Executive Committee that 

these standards be implemented no 

earlier than eight months from 

publication of these standards on 

August 18, 2001; and standards to 

support the implementation of Order 

No. 637 (additional standards are still 

being considered at the subcommittee 

level). GISB also reports that its 

electronic delivery mechanism 

standards include modifications related 

to the surety assessment performed by 

Sandia National Laboratories on the 

GISB Electronic Delivery Mechanism 

(EDM) standards.

6. Discussion

7. The Commission is proposing to 

adopt Version 1.5 4 of GISB’s consensus 

standards.5 Pipelines would be required 

to implement the standards three 

months after a final rule is issued.6

8. Version 1.5 of the GISB standards 

provides added flexibility to shippers, 

standardizes additional business 

practices, and update and improves the 

current standards.7 The principal 

changes occur in the areas of title 

transfer tracking, imbalance netting and 

trading, and improvement of the 

standards for conducting business 

transactions electronically over the 

Internet. Version 1.5 incorporates a 

series of standards (Standards 1.3.64 

through 1.3.78) providing that natural 

gas pipelines track title transfers at 

pooling points. These standards will 

provide shippers with greater flexibility 

in structuring business transactions, and 

will enhance the liquidity of the natural 

gas market by providing for accurate 

accounting of gas purchase and sale 

transactions and integrating such 

transactions into the pipeline 

scheduling process. Version 1.5 

includes new standards (standards 

2.3.36 through 2.3.50) for transmitting 

statements of allocation and 

implementing imbalance netting and 

trading as required by the Commission’s 

regulations.8 Version 1.5 also updates 

and improves the standards by 

modifying the electronic 

communication standards to better 

support Internet web page standards 

and the transition of EBBs to the 

Internet and by effectuating changes to 

accommodate the recommendations of 

Sandia National Laboratories. 

Commission adoption of these standards 

will keep the Commission regulations 

current.9

9. GISB approved the standards under 

its consensus procedures.10 As the 

Commission found in Order No. 587, 

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 all segments of the 

industry. Moreover, since the industry 

itself has to conduct business under 

these standards, the Commission’s 

regulations should reflect those 

standards that have the widest possible 

support. In § 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (NTT&AA), Congress 

affirmatively requires federal agencies to 

use technical standards developed by 

voluntary consensus standards 

organizations, like GISB, as means to 

carry out policy objectives or 

activities.11

10. While comments are requested on 

all of the GISB standards, the 

Commission specifically requests 

comment on whether it should adopt 

revised standard 5.3.2 dealing with the 

timeline for capacity release 

transactions. The revision to standard 

5.3.2 in Version 1.5 was made in 

response to Order No. 637 in which the 

Commission adopted a regulation 

requiring pipelines to provide 

scheduling equality between capacity 

release transactions and pipeline 

transportation services.12 The regulation 

states:

11. Pipelines must permit shippers 

acquiring released capacity to submit a 

nomination at the earliest available 

nomination opportunity after the 

acquisition of capacity. If the pipeline 

requires the replacement shipper to 

enter into a contract, the contract must 

be issued within one hour after the 

pipeline has been notified of the release, 

but the requirement for contracting must 

not inhibit the ability of the replacement 

shipper to submit a nomination at the 

earliest available nomination 

opportunity.

12. GISB standards adopted by the 

Commission currently provide for four 

nomination cycles: a timely nomination 

at 11:30 a.m. to take effect at 9 a.m. 

central clock time (CCT) 13 the next gas 

day, an Evening nomination at 6 p.m. 

CCT to take effect at 9 a.m. CCT the next 

gas day, an Intra-Day 1 nomination at 10 

a.m. CCT to take effect at 5:00 p.m. CCT 

on the same gas day, and an Intra-Day 

2 nomination at 5 p.m. CCT to take 

effect at 9 p.m. CCT on the same gas 

day.14 In implementing the scheduling 

equality requirement, the Commission 

held that a replacement shipper under 

a capacity release transaction must be 

able to nominate coincident with 

notification to the pipeline of a prearranged capacity release transaction or 

coincident with the award of capacity 

46 Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 1 / Wednesday, January 2, 2002 / Proposed Rules 

15Colorado Interstate Gas Company, 95 FERC 

¶ 61,321, at 62,111–12 (2001), 97 FERC ¶ 61,011 

(2001). See, e.g., Kinder Morgan Interstate Gas 

Transmission, LLC, 97 FERC ¶ 61,062 (2001); MIGC, 

Inc, 97 FERC ¶ 61,042 (2001); National Fuel Gas 

Supply Corporation, 96 FERC ¶ 61,182, at 61,804–

805 (2001); Paiute Pipeline Company, 96 FERC 

¶ 61,167, at 61,748–49 (2001); Transcontinental Gas 

Pipe Line Corporation, 96 FERC ¶ 61, 352, at 62,323 

(2001); Trailblazer Pipeline Company, 97 FERC 

¶ 61,056 (2001).

16Colorado Interstate Gas Company, 95 FERC 

¶ 61,321, at 62,111–12 (2001).

17 18 CFR 284.12(b)(1)(v) (2001), Capacity Release 

Related Standard 5.3.2 (2001).

18Colorado Interstate Gas Company, 95 FERC 

¶ 61,321, at 62,111–12 (2001).

19Biddable releases of one year or more have a 

three day bidding period.

20 18 CFR 284.12(c)(3)(i)(A) (2001).

21Current §§ 284.12(c)(3)(ii) and (v) contain 

similar posting requirements for Internet 

communication as existing § 284.12(a) does for 

EBBs, so retention of § 284.12(a) would be 

duplicative and unnecessary.

subject to the Commission’s bidding 

requirements.15

13. With respect to pre-arranged 

capacity release transactions not subject 

to bidding, the Commission found that 

releasing shippers should be able to 

inform the pipeline of such prearranged 

deals at any of the four nomination 

opportunities and the replacement 

shipper should be able to submit a 

nomination at the time the pipeline is 

informed of the release. For example, if 

the pipeline is informed of a capacity 

release transaction at the 6 p.m. CCT 

timely nomination timeline, the 

replacement shipper should be 

permitted to submit an evening 

nomination for the next gas day at 6 

p.m.16

14. With respect to capacity release 

transactions subject to bidding, the 

Commission found that shippers should 

be able to nominate coincident with the 

award of capacity. For example, under 

the existing Version 1.4 of the GISB 

standards, award notification for shortterm biddable capacity release 

transactions is made at 5 p.m.17 The 

Commission found that replacement 

shippers should be permitted to submit 

a nomination at the 5 p.m. Intra-Day 2 

cycle for that capacity award.18

15. In Version 1.5, GISB made a 

number of changes to its timeline for 

capacity release transactions (standard 

5.3.2). It reconfigured its timeline for 

short-term biddable releases (less than 

one year) so that posting of bidding will 

begin at 12 p.m. on a business day with 

the award of capacity made by 3:00 

p.m.19 The standard then provides that 

‘‘contract issued within one hour of 

award posting (with a new contract 

number, when applicable); nomination 

possible beginning at the next available 

nomination cycle for the effective date 

of the contract. (Central Clock Time).’’

Thus, under the reconfigured timeline a 

shipper awarded capacity at 3 p.m. can 

make a nomination at the next available 

nomination cycle (the 5 p.m. Intra-Day 

2 Nomination cycle). This appears to be 

the same result obtained under the 

Commission’s implementation of Order 

No. 637.

16. However, with respect to nonbiddable pre-arranged capacity release 

transactions not subject to bidding, the 

GISB Version 1.5 standard differs from 

the implementation process established 

by the Commission. Under the GISB 

standard, shippers must notify the 

pipeline of a pre-arranged capacity 

release transaction one-hour prior to the 

nomination deadline. For example, the 

standard for the Timely Nomination 

states: ‘‘posting of prearranged deals not 

subject to bid are due by 10:30 A.M. on 

a Business Day; contract issued within 

one hour of award posting (with a new 

contract number, when applicable); 

nomination possible beginning at the 

next available nomination cycle for the 

effective date of the contract. (Central 

Clock Time).’’ The requirement for onehour prior notice is not consistent with 

the Commission’s implementation of 

Order No. 637 in which the Commission 

required pipelines to permit notice 

coincident with the nomination 

deadline (e.g., 11:30 a.m. notice for an 

11:30 a.m. nomination). 

17. The Commission requests 

comment on whether it should adopt 

the one-hour prior notice requirement in 

GISB standard 5.3.2. Comments should 

discuss the benefits or detriments of 

adopting the one-hour prior notice 

requirement notwithstanding that 

pipelines already are required to 

implement scheduling equality without 

such prior notice. 

18. In addition, the Commission is 

proposing to eliminate existing 

§ 284.12(a) dealing with Electronic 

Bulletin Boards (EBBs) to clean up its 

regulations. In 1998, in Order No. 587–

G, the Commission required pipelines to 

provide all electronic information and 

to conduct electronic transactions using 

the public Internet.20 At that time, the 

Commission retained its regulations 

governing EBBs to provide for a 

transition period as pipelines began the 

process of converting from EBBs to 

Internet communication. At this time, 

the transition to Internet 

communication should be complete and 

continuation of regulations regarding 

EBB communication, therefore, no 

longer appears necessary.21

19. Notice of Use of Voluntary 

Consensus Standards

20. Office of Management and Budget 

Circular A–119 (§ 11) (February 10, 

1998) provides that Federal Agencies 

should publish a request for comment in 

a NOPR when the agency is seeking to 

issue or revise a regulation containing a 

standard identifying whether a 

voluntary consensus standard or a 

government-unique standard is being 

proposed. In this NOPR, the 

Commission is proposing to incorporate 

by reference Version 1.5 (August 18, 

2001) of the voluntary consensus 

standards developed by GISB.

21. Information Collection Statement 

22. The following collections of 

information contained in this proposed 

rule have been submitted to the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review under Section 3507(d) of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 

U.S.C. 3507(d). The Commission solicits 

comments on the Commission’s 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. The following 

burden estimates include the costs for 

implementing GISB’s Version 1.5 

standards which incorporate the most 

recent and up-to-date standards 

governing electronic communication 

including new shipper options such as 

title transfer tracking, as well as 

standards for imbalance netting and 

trading and uniform procedures for 

implementation of aspects of Order No. 

637. The burden estimates are primarily 

related to start-up for implementing the 

latest version of the standards and will 

not be on-going costs.

Data collection Number of

respondents 

Number of

responses per 

respondent 

Hours per

response 

Total number

of hours 

FERC–545 ....................................................................................................... 93 1 38 3,534 

Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 1 / Wednesday, January 2, 2002 / Proposed Rules 47

22 5 CFR 1320.11.

23Order No. 486, Regulations Implementing the 

National Environmental Policy Act, 52 FR 47897 

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

1986–1990 ¶ 30,783 (1987).

24 18 CFR 380.4.

25See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5), 

380.4(a)(27).

26 5 U.S.C. 601–612.

Data collection Number of

respondents 

Number of

responses per 

respondent 

Hours per

response 

Total number

of hours 

FERC–549C ..................................................................................................... 93 1 4,526 420,918 

Total annual Hours for Collection 

(Reporting and Recordkeeping, (if appropriate) = 424,452 

23. Information Collection Costs: The Commission seeks comments on the costs to comply with these requirements. 

It has projected the average annualized cost for all respondents to be the following:

FERC–545 FERC–549C 

Annualized Capital/Startup Costs ............................................................................................................................ $198,857 $23,684,934 

Annualized Costs (Operations & Maintenance) ...................................................................................................... 0 0 

Total Annualized Costs .................................................................................................................................... 198,857 23,684,934 

24. OMB regulations 22 require OMB 

to approve certain information 

collection requirements imposed by 

agency rule. The Commission is 

submitting notification of this proposed 

rule to OMB.

Title: FERC–545, Gas Pipeline Rates: 

Rate Change (Non-Formal); FERC–549C, 

Standards for Business Practices of 

Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines. 

Action: Proposed collections. 

OMB Control No.: 1902–0154, 1902–

0174. 

Respondents: Business or other for 

profit, (Interstate natural gas pipelines 

(Not applicable to small business.)) 

Frequency of Responses: One-time 

implementation (business procedures, 

capital/start-up). 

25. Necessity of Information: This 

proposed rule, if implemented, would 

upgrade the Commission’s current 

business practice and communication 

standards to the latest edition approved 

by GISB (Version 1.5). These standards 

include new shipper options such as 

title transfer tracking, as well as 

standards for imbalance netting and 

trading and uniform procedures for 

implementation of aspects of Order No. 

637. The implementation of these 

standards are necessary to increase the 

efficiency of the pipeline grid. 

26. The information collection 

requirements of this proposed rule will 

be reported directly to the industry 

users. The implementation of these data 

requirements will help the Commission 

carry out its responsibilities under the 

Natural Gas Act to monitor activities of 

the natural gas industry to ensure its 

competitiveness and to assure the 

improved efficiency of the industry’s 

operations. The Commission’s Office of 

Markets, Tariffs and Rates will use the 

data in rate proceedings to review rate 

and tariff changes by natural gas 

companies for the transportation of gas, 

for general industry oversight, and to 

supplement the documentation used 

during the Commission’s audit process. 

27. Internal Review: The Commission 

has reviewed the requirements 

pertaining to business practices and 

electronic communication with natural 

gas interstate pipelines and made a 

determination that the proposed 

revisions are necessary to establish a 

more efficient and integrated pipeline 

grid. Requiring such information 

ensures both a common means of 

communication and common business 

practices which provide participants 

engaged in transactions with interstate 

pipelines with timely information and 

uniform business procedures across 

multiple pipelines. These requirements 

conform to the Commission’s plan for 

efficient information collection, 

communication, and management 

within the natural gas industry. The 

Commission has assured itself, by 

means of its internal review, that there 

is specific, objective support for the 

burden estimates associated with the 

information requirements. 

28. Interested persons may obtain 

information on the reporting 

requirements by contacting the 

following: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20426, [Attention: 

Michael Miller, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer, Phone: (202) 208–

1415, fax: (202) 208–2425 email: 

michael.miller@ferc.fed.us]. 

29. Comments concerning the 

collection of information(s) and the 

associated burden estimate(s), should be 

sent to the contact listed above and to 

the Office of Management and Budget, 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Washington, D.C. 20503 

[Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, phone: 

(202) 395–7318, fax: (202) 395–7285].

30. Environmental Analysis

31. 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.23 The Commission has 

categorically excluded certain actions 

from these requirements as not having a 

significant effect on the human 

environment.24 The actions proposed 

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 

sales, exchange, and transportation of 

natural gas that requires no construction 

of facilities.25 Therefore, an 

environmental assessment is 

unnecessary and has not been prepared 

in this NOPR.

32. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Certification

33. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 

1980 (RFA) 26 generally requires a 

description and analysis of final rules 

that will have significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The regulations proposed here 

impose requirements only on interstate 

pipelines, which are not small 

businesses, and, these requirements are, 

in fact, designed to benefit all 

customers, including small businesses. 

Accordingly, pursuant to § 605(b) of the 

RFA, the Commission hereby certifies 

that the regulations proposed herein 

will not have a significant adverse 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities.

34. Comment Procedures

35. The Commission invites interested 

persons to submit written comments on 

the matters and issues proposed in this 

48 Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 1 / Wednesday, January 2, 2002 / Proposed Rules 

notice to be adopted, including any 

related matters or alternative proposals 

that commenters may wish to discuss. 

Comments are due February 1, 2002. 

Comments may be filed either in paper 

format or electronically. Those filing 

electronically do not need to make a 

paper filing. 

36. For paper filings, the original and 

14 copies of such comments should be 

submitted to the Office of the Secretary, 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20426 and should refer to Docket No. 

RM96–1–020. 

37. Documents filed electronically via 

the Internet must be prepared in 

WordPerfect, MS Word, Portable 

Document Format, or ASCII format. To 

file the document, access the 

Commission’s Website at www.ferc.gov

and click on ‘‘Make An E-Filing,’’ and 

then follow the instructions for each 

screen. First time users will have to 

establish a user name and password. 

The Commission will send an automatic 

acknowledgment to the sender’s e-mail 

address upon receipt of comments. User 

assistance for electronic filing is 

available at 202–208–0258 or by e-mail 

to efiling@ferc.fed.us. Comments should 

not be submitted to the e-mail address. 

38. All comments will be placed in 

the Commission’s public files and will 

be available for inspection in the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room at 

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

20426, during regular business hours. 

Additionally, all comments may be 

viewed, printed, or downloaded 

remotely via the Internet through 

FERC’s Homepage using the RIMS link. 

User assistance for RIMS is available at 

202–208–2222, or by e-mail to 

rimsmaster@ferc.fed.us.

39. Document Availability

40. 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 

FERC’s homepage (http://www.ferc.gov)

and in FERC’s Public Reference Room 

during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. 

to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First 

Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 

20426. 

41. From FERC’s homepage on the 

Internet, this information is available in 

both the Commission Issuance Posting 

System (CIPS) and the Records and 

Information Management System 

(RIMS). 

42. CIPS provides access to the texts 

of formal documents issued by the 

Commission since November 14, 1994. 

43. CIPS can be accessed using the 

CIPS link or the Documents & Filing 

link. The full text of this document is 

available on CIPS in ASCII and 

WordPerfect 8.0 format for viewing, 

printing, and/or downloading. 

44. RIMS contains images of 

documents submitted to and issued by 

the Commission after November 16, 

1981. Documents from November 1995 

to the present can be viewed and 

printed from FERC’s homepage using 

the RIMS link or the Documents & 

Filing link. Descriptions of documents 

back to November 16, 1981, are also 

available from RIMS-on-the-Web; 

requests for copies of these and other 

older documents should be submitted to 

the Public Reference Room. 

45. User assistance is available for 

RIMS, CIPS, and the Web site during 

normal business hours from our Help 

line at (202) 208–2222 (e-mail to 

WebMaster@ferc.fed.us) or the Public 

Reference at (202) 208–1371 (e-mail to 

public.referenceroom@ferc.fed.us). 

46. During normal business hours, 

documents can also be viewed and/or 

printed in FERC’s Public Reference 

Room, where RIMS, CIPS, and the FERC 

Web site are available. User assistance is 

also available.

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 284 

Continental shelf, Incorporation by 

reference, Natural gas, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements.

By direction of the Commission. 

Linwood A. Watson, Jr., 

Acting Secretary.

In consideration of the foregoing, the 

Commission proposes to amend part 

284, Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal 

Regulations, 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. 717–717w, 3301–

3432; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7532; 43 U.S.C. 1331–

1356.

2. Section 284.12 is amended as 

follows:

§ 284.12 [Amended] 

a. Paragraph (a) is removed and 

paragraphs (b) and (c) are redesignated 

as paragraphs (a) and (b), respectively. 

b. In newly redesignated paragraphs 

(a)(1)(i), (ii), (iii), and (v), revise all 

references to ‘‘Version 1.4, August 31, 

1999’’ to read ‘‘Version 1.5, August 18, 

2001.’’

c. In newly redesignated paragraph 

(a)(1)(iv), revise all references to 

‘‘Version 1.4, November 15, 1999’’ to 

read ‘‘Version 1.5, August 18, 2001.’’

[FR Doc. 01–32004 Filed 12–31–01; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service 

26 CFR Part 1 

[REG–142299–01] [REG–209135–88] 

RIN 1545–BA36 and 1545–AW92 

Certain Transfers of Property to 

Regulated Investment Companies and 

Real Estate Investment Trusts

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

by cross-reference to temporary 

regulations. 

SUMMARY: This document contains 

proposed regulations that apply to 

certain transactions or events that result 

in a Regulated Investment Company 

[RIC] or Real Estate Investment Trust 

[REIT] owning property that has a basis 

determined by reference to a C 

corporation’s basis in the property. The 

text of the temporary regulations 

published in the Rules and Regulations 

section of this issue of the Federal 

Register serves as the text of this 

proposed regulation.

DATES: Written or electronic comments 

must be received by April 2, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send submissions to: 

CC:ITA:RU [REG–142299–01], room 

5226, Internal Revenue Service, POB 

7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, 

DC 20044. Submissions may be hand 

delivered Monday through Friday 

between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

to CC:ITA:RU [REG–142299–01], 

Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue 

Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC or sent to the IRS 

Internet site at: http://www.irs.gov/

taxregs/reglist.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Concerning the proposed regulations, 

Lisa A. Fuller, (202) 622–7750; 

concerning submissions of comments, 

Donna Poindexter (202) 622–7180 (not 

toll-free numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The collection of information 

contained in this notice of proposed 

rulemaking has been submitted to the 

Office of Management and Budget for 

review in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44