Proposed Rule (Published)

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In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, send your
request to your principal inspector or
responsible Flight Standards Office, as
appropriate. If sending information directly
to the manager of the International Validation
Branch, mail it to the address identified in
paragraph (n) of this AD. Information may be
emailed to: [email protected].
Before using any approved AMOC, notify
your appropriate principal inspector, or
lacking a principal inspector, the manager of
the responsible Flight Standards Office.
(2) Contacting the Manufacturer: For any
requirement in this AD to obtain instructions
from a manufacturer, the instructions must
be accomplished using a method approved
by the Manager, International Validation
Branch, FAA; or EASA; or Airbus SAS’s
EASA Design Organization Approval (DOA).
If approved by the DOA, the approval must
include the DOA-authorized signature.
(3) Required for Compliance (RC): Except
as required by paragraph (m)(2) of this AD,
if any service information contains
procedures or tests that are identified as RC,
those procedures and tests must be done to
comply with this AD; any procedures or tests
that are not identified as RC are
recommended. Those procedures and tests
that are not identified as RC may be deviated
from using accepted methods in accordance
with the operator’s maintenance or
inspection program without obtaining
approval of an AMOC, provided the
procedures and tests identified as RC can be
done and the airplane can be put back in an
airworthy condition. Any substitutions or
changes to procedures or tests identified as
RC require approval of an AMOC.
(n) Additional Information
For more information about this AD,
contact Dan Rodina, Aviation Safety
Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite
410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: 206–231–
3225; email: [email protected].
(o) Material Incorporated by Reference
(1) The Director of the Federal Register
approved the incorporation by reference
(IBR) of the service information listed in this
paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR
part 51.
(2) You must use this service information
as applicable to do the actions required by
this AD, unless this AD specifies otherwise.
(3) The following service information was
approved for IBR on [DATE 35 DAYS AFTER
PUBLICATION OF THE FINAL RULE].
(i) European Union Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) AD 2024–0009, dated January 9,
2024.
(ii) [Reserved]

(4) The following service information was
approved for IBR on November 29, 2019 (84
FR 56935, October 24, 2019).
(i) Airbus A300–600 Airworthiness
Limitations Section (ALS), Part 2, ‘‘Damage
Tolerant Airworthiness Limitation Items
(DT–ALI),’’ Revision 03, dated December 14,
2018.
(ii) [Reserved]
(5) For EASA AD 2024–0009, contact
EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668
Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999
000; email [email protected]; website
easa.europa.eu. You may find this EASA AD
on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu.
(6) For Airbus SAS material, contact
Airbus SAS, Airworthiness Office—EAW,
Rond-Point Emile Dewoitine No: 2, 31700
Blagnac Cedex, France; telephone +33 5 61
93 36 96; fax +33 5 61 93 44 51; email
[email protected]; website
airbus.com.
(7) You may view this material that is
incorporated by reference at the FAA,
Airworthiness Products Section, Operational
Safety Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des
Moines, WA. For information on the
availability of this material at the FAA, call
206–231–3195.
(8) You may view this material at the
National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA). For information on
the availability of this material at NARA,
visit www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/
ibr-locations, or email fr.inspection@
nara.gov.
Issued on March 28, 2024.
Victor Wicklund,
Deputy Director, Compliance & Airworthiness
Division, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–06994 Filed 4–4–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
18 CFR Part 284
[Docket No. RM96–1–043]

Standards for Business Practices of
Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
AGENCY:

The Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission proposes to

SUMMARY:

amend its regulations to incorporate by
reference, with certain enumerated
exceptions, the latest version (Version
4.0) of Standards for Business Practices
of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines
adopted by the Wholesale Gas Quadrant
of the North American Energy Standards
Board (NAESB).
DATES: Comments are due June 4, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Comments, identified by
docket number, may be filed in the
following ways. Electronic filing
through https://www.ferc.gov/ is
preferred.
• Electronic Filing: Documents must
be filed in acceptable native
applications and print-to-PDF, but not
in scanned or picture format.
• For those unable to file
electronically, comments may be filed
by U.S. Postal Service mail or by hand
(including courier) delivery.
Æ Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only:
Addressed to: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the
Commission, 888 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20426.
Æ Hand (Including Courier) Delivery:
Deliver to: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue,
Rockville, MD 20852.
The Comment Procedures section of
this document contains more detailed
filing procedures.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jerry Chiang (Technical Issues), Office
of Energy Policy and Innovation,
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–
8786
Oscar F. Santillana (Technical Issues),
Office of Energy Market Regulation,
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–
6392
Carla Pettus (Legal Issues), Office of the
General Counsel, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426,
(202) 502–8361
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents

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Paragraph Nos.
I. Overview ....................................................................................................................................................................................
II. Background ...............................................................................................................................................................................
III. Discussion ...............................................................................................................................................................................
A. Modifications to Previous Version of Standards ............................................................................................................
1. WGQ Cybersecurity Related Standards ....................................................................................................................
2. Other Standards Modifications .................................................................................................................................
B. Standards Proposed Not To Be Incorporated by Reference ...........................................................................................
C. Proposed Implementation Procedures .............................................................................................................................
IV. Notice of Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards ................................................................................................................
V. Incorporation by Reference .....................................................................................................................................................

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Paragraph Nos.

VI. Information Collection Statement ..........................................................................................................................................
VII. Environmental Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................
VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Act ...................................................................................................................................................
IX. Comment Procedures .............................................................................................................................................................
X. Document Availability ............................................................................................................................................................

I. Overview
1. The Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (Commission) proposes to
amend its regulations at 18 CFR 284.12
to incorporate by reference, with certain
enumerated exceptions,1 the latest
version (Version 4.0) of Standards for
Business Practices of Interstate Natural
Gas Pipelines adopted by the Wholesale
Gas Quadrant (WGQ) of the North
American Energy Standards Board
(NAESB) applicable to interstate natural
gas pipelines. NAESB is an American
National Standards Institute-accredited,
non-profit standards development
organization formed for the purpose of
developing voluntary standards and
model business practices that promote
more competitive and efficient natural
gas and electric markets. On October 2,
2023, NAESB filed a notice that it had
approved Version 4.0 to replace the
currently incorporated version (Version
3.2) of those business practice standards
(Informational Report).2 The
implementation of these standards and
regulations will promote greater
efficiency and reliability of the natural
gas industries’ operations and
strengthen the cybersecurity protections
provided within the standards.3

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II. Background
2. Since 1996, the Commission has
adopted in its regulations NAESB’s
business practice standards and
communication methodologies of
interstate natural gas pipelines to create
a more integrated and efficient pipeline
network system. These regulations have
been promulgated in the Order No. 587
series of orders,4 wherein the
1 As explained below, we are not proposing in
this proposed rule to incorporate by reference the
two new model addendums supporting the NAESB
Base Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Natural
Gas, NAESB WGQ Standard 6.3.1.RG Renewable
Natural Gas Addendum and WGQ Standard
6.3.1.CG Certified Gas Addendum, included in the
NAESB WGQ Version 4.0 package of business
practice standards.
2 See NAESB WGQ Business Practice Standards
Version 4.0 Report, Docket No. RM96–1–043, (Oct.
2, 2023).
3 As explained below, NAESB has developed and
adopted, in conjunction with Sandia National
Laboratories, a series of business practice standards
to strengthen the cybersecurity protections
provided within the standards.
4 This series of orders began with the
Commission’s issuance of Standards for Bus.
Practices of Interstate Nat. Gas Pipelines, Order No.
587, 61 FR 39053 (July 26, 1996), FERC Stats. &

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Commission incorporated by reference
the standards for interstate natural gas
pipeline business practices and
electronic communications developed
by NAESB’s WGQ. Upon incorporation
by reference, this version of the
standards will replace the currently
incorporated version (Version 3.2) of
those business practice standards.
3. On October 2, 2023, NAESB filed
a report informing the Commission that
it had adopted and ratified WGQ
Version 4.0 of its business practice
standards applicable to interstate
natural gas pipelines. WGQ Version 4.0
includes business practice standards
developed and modified in response to
industry requests and directives from
the NAESB Board of Directors. This
version also includes the standards
developed in response to the
recommendations of Sandia National
Laboratory (Sandia),5 which in 2019
issued a cybersecurity surety assessment
of the NAESB standards sponsored by
DOE.6
4. The NAESB Informational Report
identifies all the changes made to the
WGQ Version 3.2 standards and
summarizes the deliberations that led to
the changes. It also identifies changes to
the existing standards that were
considered but not adopted due to a
lack of consensus or other reasons.
Regs. ¶ 31,038 (1996) (cross-referenced at 76 FERC
¶ 61,042).
5 Sandia is a multidisciplinary national laboratory
and federally funded research and development
center for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE)
National Nuclear Security Administration that
supports numerous federal, state, and local
government agencies, companies, and
organizations.
6 In April 2017, NAESB announced that Sandia,
through funding provided by DOE, would be
performing a surety assessment of the NAESB
standards. As determined by Sandia and DOE, the
purpose of the surety assessment was to analyze
cybersecurity elements within the standards,
focusing on four areas: (1) the NAESB Certification
Program for Accredited Certification Authorities,
including the Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ)–
012 Public Key Infrastructure Business Practice
Standards, the NAESB Accreditation Requirements
for Authorized Certificate Authorities, and the
Authorized Certification Authority Process; (2) the
WEQ Open Access Same-Time Information Systems
suite of standards; (3) the WGQ and Retail Markets
Quadrant internet Electronic Transport (IET) and
Quadrant Electronic Delivery Mechanism (EDM)
Related Standards Manual; and (4) a high-level
dependency analysis between the gas and electric
markets to evaluate the different security paradigms
the markets employ.

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43
46
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III. Discussion
5. In this notice of proposed
rulemaking (NOPR), we propose to
incorporate by reference, in our
regulations, Version 4.0 of the NAESB
WGQ consensus business practice
standards, with certain exceptions.7 In
the subsections that follow, we provide
the summary required by the Office of
Federal Register regulations. As an
initial matter, we note that the WGQ
Version 4.0 Standards include
modifications, reservations, and
additions to the following set of existing
WGQ Standards, i.e., the Version 3.2
Business Practice Standards. (Each set
of Business Practice Standards is
referred to as a manual.)
Business Practice Standards
Additional Standards
Flowing Gas Related Standards
Invoicing Related Standards
Quadrant Electronic Delivery
Mechanism Standards
Capacity Release Related Standards
Contracts Related Standards
WGQ/REQ/RGQ Internet Electronic
Transport
Additionally, the WGQ Version 4.0
Business Practice Standards include one
new manual of standards:
Cybersecurity Related Standards
6. We propose that compliance filings
made in accordance with a final rule be
made 120 days after issuance of a final
rule in this proceeding or, if the
compliance filing date falls on a
weekend or holiday, on the first
business day thereafter, with an
effective date 180 days from the date
compliance filings are due in this
proceeding or, if the effective date falls
on a weekend or holiday, the first
business day thereafter.
7. 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
industry participants representing all
segments of the industry. Moreover,
because the industry conducts business
under these standards, the
Commission’s regulations should reflect
7 In the discussion below we identify the NAESB
WGQ Version 4.0 Standards that we propose not to
incorporate by reference.

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those standards that have the widest
possible support. In section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and
Advancement Act of 1995, Congress
affirmatively requires Federal Agencies
to use technical standards developed by
voluntary consensus standards
organizations, like NAESB, to carry out
policy objectives or activities.
8. We discuss below some specific
aspects of NAESB’s Informational
Report.
A. Modifications to Previous Version of
Standards

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1. WGQ Cybersecurity Related
Standards
9. WGQ Version 4.0 added a new
standards manual for NAESB
cybersecurity-related standards. This
new set of standards consolidates
existing NAESB cybersecurity-related
standards into a single manual. This
consolidation should make the NAESB
and Commission processes for revising
NAESB cybersecurity standards easier
and faster to help match the fast pace of
changes in cybersecurity practices.
These standards focus on strengthening
the cybersecurity practices utilized by
the industry through the mitigation of
potential vulnerabilities and the use of
secure communication and encryption
methodologies.
2. Other Standards Modifications
10. In response to industry request,
Version 4.0 adds new data elements to
the WGQ Additional Standards and
Capacity Release Related Standards and
modifies existing data elements in the
Flowing Gas Related Standards and
Invoicing Related Standards to improve
efficiencies of business processes for
transportation service providers 8 and
parties interacting with these entities.
11. NAESB revised the WGQ
Additional Standards by adding a new
data element, ‘‘Cycle Indicator,’’ to the
data set for the Storage Information
standard to address technical details for
reporting natural gas storage balances
and the activities that affect storage
balances. NAESB states the new
sender’s option data element ‘‘Cycle
Indicator’’ will support the reporting of
storage information data for each cycle
while also allowing parties receiving
such information to distinguish between
the data more easily for individual
transactions.9
12. NAESB revised the Flowing Gas
Related Business Practice Standards to
8 Natural gas transportation service is provided by
interstate pipelines, intrastate pipelines, natural gas
gathering pipelines, and local distribution
companies; all are referred to as ‘‘transportation
service providers.’’
9 Informational Report at 4.

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change the ‘‘Service Requester Contract’’
data element from ‘‘not used’’ to
‘‘mutually agreed,’’ for allocation of
natural gas between parties under two
pre-determined allocation transaction
types, found within the allocation
matrix included as part of WGQ
Standard 2.4.3.10
13. NAESB revised the WGQ
Invoicing Related Standards by
modifying the ‘‘Charge Type Rate’’ data
element contained in the data set for the
Transportation/Sales Invoice standard
to allow for the identification of
multiple rates that may be applicable for
a single transaction or service. The
modification to the data element allows
transportation service providers to use a
‘‘null’’ value in circumstances where
information describing the applicable
charge type rate is included as part of
miscellaneous notes. NAESB states this
change will allow transportation service
providers to make available a summary
of the amount due for each line item of
an invoice with detailed, breakout
information regarding the applicable
rate and make it easier for a customer to
ascertain the final charge amount.11
14. NAESB revised the Capacity
Release Related Standards by adding a
new sender’s option data element,
‘‘Location Indicator Data,’’ to the
Transactional Reporting—Capacity
Release standard to provide a
mechanism for a transportation service
provider to communicate the locations
at which a discounted rate is offered as
well as if the rate is associated with a
single location, multiple locations, or all
locations.
B. Standards Proposed Not To Be
Incorporated by Reference
15. We propose to continue our past
practice 12 of not incorporating by
reference into our regulations any
optional model contracts because we do
not require the use of these contracts.13
In addition, consistent with our findings
in past proceedings, we are not
proposing to incorporate by reference
the Wholesale Electric Quadrant/WGQ
eTariff Related Standards because the
Commission has previously adopted
and posted its standards and protocols
10 The matrix identifies the data elements needed
to communicate the results of the allocation
process.
11 Informational Report at 5.
12 See, e.g., Standards for Bus. Practices of
Interstate Nat. Gas Pipelines, Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, 86 FR 12879 (Mar. 5, 2021), 174 FERC
¶ 61,103, at P 19 (2021) (Version 3.2 NOPR).
13 Id.; Standards for Bus. Practices of Interstate
Nat. Gas Pipelines, Order No. 587–V, 77 FR 43711
(Jul. 26, 2012), 140 FERC ¶ 61,036, at P 11 n.11
(2012).

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for electronic tariff filings based on
NAESB standards.14
C. Proposed Implementation Procedures
16. We propose to continue the
compliance filing requirements as
revised and prescribed in Order No.
587–V to increase the transparency of
the interstate natural gas pipelines’
incorporation by reference of the
NAESB WGQ Standards so that shippers
and the Commission will know which
tariff provision(s) implements each
standard as well as the status of each
standard.15
17. We propose that compliance
filings made in accordance with a final
rule be made 120 days after issuance of
a final rule in this proceeding or, if the
compliance filing date falls on a
weekend or holiday, on the first
business day thereafter, with an
effective date 180 days from the date
compliance filings are due in this
proceeding or, if the effective date falls
on a weekend or holiday, the first
business day thereafter. As the
Commission found in Order No. 587–V,
adoption of the revised compliance
filing requirements increases the
transparency of the interstate natural gas
pipelines’ incorporation by reference of
the NAESB WGQ Standards so that
shippers and the Commission will know
which tariff provision(s) implements
each standard as well as the status of
each standard.16
18. Consistent with the Commission’s
practice since Order No. 587–V, each
interstate natural gas pipeline must
designate a single tariff section under
which every NAESB WGQ Standard
incorporated by reference by the
Commission is listed.17 For each
standard, the pipeline must specify in
the tariff section or tariff record(s)
listing all the NAESB standards:
(a) whether the standard is
incorporated by reference;
(b) for those standards not
incorporated by reference, the tariff
provision that complies with the
standard; or
(c) for those standards with which the
pipeline does not comply, an
explanatory statement, including an
indication of whether the pipeline has
been granted a waiver, extension of
14 Version 3.2 NOPR, 174 FERC ¶ 61,103 at P 19;
Elec. Tariff Filings, Order No. 714, 73 FR 57515
(Oct. 3, 2008), 124 FERC ¶ 61,270 (2008).
15 Order No. 587–V, 140 FERC ¶ 61,036 at PP 36–
39.
16 Trans-Union Interstate Pipeline L.P., 141 FERC
¶ 61,167, at P 36 (2012) (Order No. 587–V
Compliance Order).
17 Id. P 36; Version 3.2 NOPR, 174 FERC ¶ 61,103
at P 21.

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time, or other variance with respect to
compliance with the standard.18
19. Likewise, consistent with past
practice, we will post on our eLibrary
website (under Docket No. RM96–1–
043) a sample tariff format, to provide
filers with an illustrative example to aid
them in preparing their compliance
filings.
20. Consistent with our policy since
Order No. 587–V,19 entities may request
waivers under the requirements set forth
in Order No. 587–V and the
Commission will then evaluate those
requests at that time.20
21. If the pipeline is requesting a
continuation of an existing waiver or
extension of time, it must include a
table in its transmittal letter that
identifies the standard for which the
Commission granted a waiver or
extension of time, and the docket
number or order citation to the
proceeding in which the Commission
granted the waiver or extension of time.
The pipeline also must present an
explanation for why such waiver or
extension of time should remain in force
with regard to the WGQ Version 4.0
Standards.
22. This continues the Commission’s
practice of having pipelines include in
their tariffs a common location that
identifies the way in which the pipeline
is incorporating all the NAESB WGQ
Standards and the standards with which
it is required to comply.
IV. Notice of Use of Voluntary
Consensus Standards
23. Office of Management and Budget
Circular A 119 (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 proposing to
adopt a voluntary consensus standard or
a government-unique standard. In this
NOPR, we are proposing to incorporate
by reference voluntary consensus
standards developed by the WGQ.

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V. Incorporation by Reference
24. The Office of the Federal Register
requires agencies proposing to
incorporate material by reference to
discuss the ways that the materials it
incorporates by reference are reasonably
available to interested parties and how
interested parties can obtain the
18 Shippers can use the Commission’s electronic
tariff system to locate the tariff record containing
the NAESB standards, which will indicate the
docket in which any waiver or extension of time
was granted.
19 Order No. 587–V, 140 FERC ¶ 61,036.
20 Order No. 587–V Compliance Order, 141 FERC
¶ 61,167 at PP 4, 38 (a pipeline does not need to
seek a waiver for standards that address business
practices that the pipeline does not offer).

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materials. The regulations also require
agencies to summarize, in the preamble
of the final rule, the material that it
incorporates by reference. The standards
we are proposing to incorporate by
reference consist of seven suites of
NAESB WGQ Business Practice
Standards that address a variety of
topics and are designed to streamline
the transactional processes for the
wholesale natural gas industry by
promoting a more competitive and
efficient market. These include the
WGQ Additional Business Practice
Standards, WGQ Nominations Related
Business Practice Standards, WGQ
Flowing Gas Related Standards, WGQ
Invoicing Related Business Practice
Standards, Quadrant Electronic Delivery
Mechanism Related Business Practice
Standards, Capacity Release Related
Business Practice Standards, and WGQ
Cybersecurity Related Standards. We
summarize these standards below.
25. The WGQ Additional Standards
address six areas: Creditworthiness;
Storage Information; Gas/Electric
Operational Communications;
Operational Capacity; Unsubscribed
Capacity; and Location Data Download.
• The Creditworthiness related
standards describe requirements for the
exchange of information, notification,
and communication between parties
during the creditworthiness evaluation
process.
• The Storage Information related
standards define the information to be
provided to natural gas service
requesters related to storage activities
and/or balances.
• The Gas/Electric Operational
Communications related standards
define communication protocols
intended to improve coordination
between the natural gas and electric
industries in daily operational
communications between gas
transportation service providers and
gas-fired power plants. These standards
include requirements for
communicating anticipated power
generation fuel needs for the upcoming
day as well as any operating problems
that might hinder gas-fired power plants
from receiving contractual gas
quantities.
• The Operational Capacity related
standards define requirements for the
transportation service provider’s
reporting of its operational capacity,
total scheduled quantity, and
operationally available capacity.
• The Unsubscribed Capacity related
standards define requirements for the
transportation service provider’s
reporting of its available unsubscribed
capacity.

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• The Location Data Download
related standards define requirements
for the use of codes assigned by the
transportation service provider for
locations and common codes for parties
communicating electronically.
26. The WGQ Nominations Related
Standards define the process by which
a natural gas service requester with a
natural gas transportation contract
nominates (or requests) service from a
pipeline or a transportation service
provider for the delivery of natural gas.
27. The WGQ Flowing Gas Related
Standards define the business processes
related to the communication of
entitlement rights of flowing gas at a
location, of the entitlement rights on a
contractual basis, of the management of
imbalances, and of the measurement
and gas quality information of the actual
flow of gas.
28. The WGQ Invoicing Related
Standards Manual defines the process
for the communication of charges for
services rendered (Invoice),
communication of details about funds
rendered in payment for services
rendered (Payment Remittance), and
communication of the financial status of
a customer’s account (Statement of
Account).
29. The WEQ Quadrant Electronic
Delivery Mechanism Related Standards
define the framework for the electronic
dissemination and communication of
information between parties in the
North American wholesale gas
marketplace for Electronic Data
Interchange/EDM transfers, batch flat
file/EDM transfers, informational
postings websites, Electronic Bulletin
Boards/EDM, and interactive flat file/
EDM.
30. The WEQ Capacity Release
Related Standards define the business
processes for communication of
information related to the selling of all
or any portion of a transmission service
requester’s contract rights.
31. The WEQ Internet Electronic
Transport Related Standards define the
implementation of various technologies
necessary to communicate transactions
and other electronic data using standard
protocols for electronic commerce over
the internet between trading partners.
32. The WGQ Cybersecurity Related
Standards Manual defines the
requirements for ensuring the security
of electronic communications and
transactions among parties. Commission
regulations provide that copies of the
standards incorporated by reference
may be obtained through purchase or
otherwise from the North American
Energy Standards Board, 801 Travis
Street, Suite 1675, Houston, TX 77002,
Phone: (713) 356–0060, website: http://

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www.naesb.org/. The standards can also
be reviewed without purchasing them.
33. The procedures used by NAESB
make its standards reasonably available
to those affected by Commission
regulations, which generally is
comprised of entities that have the
means to acquire the information they
need to effectively participate in
Commission proceedings. Participants
can join NAESB, for an annual
membership cost of $8,000, which
entitles them to full participation in
NAESB and enables them to obtain
these standards at no additional cost.
Non-members may obtain any of the ten
individual standards manuals for $250
per manual, which in the case of these
standards would total $2,500 for all ten
manuals. Non-members also may obtain
the complete set of Standards Manuals
for $2,000.
34. NAESB provides ample
opportunities for non-members,
including agents, subsidiaries, and
affiliates of NAESB members, to obtain
access to the copyrighted standards
through a no-cost limited copyright
waiver. The limited copyright waivers
are issued by the NAESB office and are
granted to non-members on a case-bycase basis for the purpose of evaluating
standards prior to purchase and/or
reviewing the standards to prepare

comments to a regulatory agency.
Following the granting of a limited
copyright waiver, the non-member is
provided with read-only access to the
standards through the end of the
comment period or some other set
period of time via Locklizard Safeguard
Secure Viewer.21 NAESB will grant one
limited copyright waiver per company
for each set of standards or final actions.
Any entity seeking a limited copyright
waiver should contact the NAESB
office.
VI. Information Collection Statement
35. The Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) regulations require that
OMB approve certain reporting, record
keeping, and public disclosure
requirements (information collection)
imposed by an agency. 22 Therefore, we
are submitting our proposed
information collection to OMB for
review in accordance with section
3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995. Upon approval of a collection
of information, OMB will assign an
OMB control number and an expiration
date. Respondents subject to the filing
requirements of a rule will not be
penalized for failing to respond to these
collections of information unless the
collection of information displays a
valid OMB control number.

36. We solicit comments on our need
for this information, whether the
information will have practical utility,
the accuracy of the provided burden
estimates, ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected, and any suggested methods
for minimizing respondents’ burden,
including the use of automated
information techniques.
37. Public Reporting Burden: The
Commission’s burden estimates for the
proposals in this NOPR are for one-time
implementation of the information
collection requirements of this NOPR
(including tariff filing, documentation of
the process and procedures, and
information technology work).
38. The collections of information
related to this NOPR fall under FERC–
545 (Gas Pipeline Rates: Rate Change
(Non-Formal)) 23 and FERC–549C
(Standards for Business Practices of
Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines).24 The
following estimates of reporting burden
are related only to this NOPR and
anticipate the costs to interstate natural
gas pipelines for compliance with our
proposals in this NOPR. The burden
estimates are primarily related to
implementing these standards and
regulations and will not result in
ongoing costs.

RM96–1–043 NOPR (STANDARDS FOR BUSINESS PRACTICES OF INTERSTATE NATURAL GAS PIPELINES)
Number of
respondents 25

Annual
number of
responses per
respondent

Total
number of
responses

Average
burden hr.
per response

Total annual
burden hours
& total
annual cost 26

Annual
costs per
respondent
($)

(1)

(2)

(1) * (2) = (3)

(4)

(3) * (4) = (5)

(5) / (1) = (6)

FERC–545 (one-time) ...............
FERC–549C (one-time) .............

193
193

1
1

193
193

10 hrs.; $1,010 ................
100 hrs.; $10,100 ............

1,930 hrs.; $194,930 ...........
19,300 hrs.; $1,949,300 ......

$1,010
10,100

Total ...................................

........................

........................

386

.........................................

21,230 hrs.; $1,977,580 ......

............................

The one-time burden (for both the
FERC–545 and FERC–549C) would take
place in Year 1 as follows:

khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS

FERC–545: 193 entities × 1 response/
entity (10 hours/response × $101/
hour) = $194,930
FERC–549C: 193 entities × 1 response/
entity (100 hours × $101/hour) =
$1,949,300
21 For more information on Locklizard, please
refer to the company’s website: https://
www.locklizard.com.
22 5 CFR 1320.11 (2020).
23 FERC–545 covers rate change filings made by
natural gas pipelines, including tariff changes.
24 FERC–549C covers Standards for Business
Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines.
25 The number of respondents is the number of
entities in which a change in burden from the
current standards to the proposed exists, not the

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The responses and burden for Years
1–2 would total respectively as follows:
Year 1: 97 responses; 970 hours (FERC–
545); 9,700 hours (FERC–549C)
Year 2: 96 responses; 960 hours (FERC–
545); 9,600 hours (FERC–549C)
Title: FERC–545, Gas Pipeline Rates:
Rates Change (Non-Formal); FERC–
549C, Standards for Business Practices
of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines.

Action: Proposed information
collections.
OMB Control Nos.: 1902–0154 (FERC–
545), 1902–0174 (FERC–549C).
Respondents: Business or other for
profit (e.g., Natural Gas Pipelines,
applicable to only a few small
businesses).

total number of entities from the current or
proposed standards that are applicable.
26 The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits)
provided in this section is based on the salary
figures for May 2022 posted on April 25, 2023 by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Utilities sector
(https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics3_
221000.htm) and scaled to reflect benefits using the
relative importance of employer costs for employee
compensation from September 12, 2023 (https://
www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm). The
hourly estimates for salary plus benefits are:

Computer and Information Systems Manager
(Occupation Code: 11–3021), $101.58.
Computer and Information Analysts (Occupation
Code: 15–1120(1221), $87.42.
Electrical Engineer (Occupation Code: 17–2071),
$70.19.
Legal (Occupation Code: 23–0000), $142.65.
The average hourly cost (salary plus benefits),
weighting these skill sets evenly, is $100.50. We
round it to $101/hour.

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khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 67 / Friday, April 5, 2024 / Proposed Rules
Frequency of Responses: One-time
implementation (related to business
procedures, capital/start-up).
Necessity of Information: In response
to NAESB’s standard development
activities, the proposals in this NOPR
would, if implemented, make minor
adjustments to the standards previously
adopted by the Commission. The
standards consolidate the cybersecurity
standards in one standards manual for
ease of reference and revision, deleting
one element in the Data Dictionary for
Internet ET included in the WGQ
Cybersecurity Related Standards and
makes numerous minor changes
throughout the corresponding manual
and the WGQ QEDM Related Standards
to correct typographical and
capitalization errors.
39. Further, in response to industry
requests or through the normal course of
WGQ activities, the proposals in this
NOPR would, if implemented, upgrade
current business practices and
communication standards by
specifically: (1) adding a new data
element, ‘‘Cycle Indicator,’’ to the data
set for the Storage Information standard
to address technical details for the
reporting of storage balances and the
activities that affect storage balances; (2)
revising the data element ‘‘Service
Requester Contract’’ contained in the
data set for the Flowing Gas Related
Allocation standard to identify the
applicable contract and to support the
communication of the results of
processes used to allocate the actual
flow of gas quantities to parties involved
in a transaction; (3) modifying the
‘‘Charge Type Rate’’ data element
contained in the data set for the
Transportation/Sales Invoice standard
that allows for the identification of
multiple rates that may be applicable for
a single transaction or service; and (4)
adding a new sender’s option data
element, ‘‘Location Indicator Data,’’ to
the Transactional Reporting—Capacity
Release standard to improve efficiencies
by providing a mechanism for a
transportation service provider to
communicate the locations at which a
discounted rate is offered as well as if
the rate is associated with a single
location, multiple locations, or all
locations. In addition, the Commission’s
Office of Enforcement will use the data
for general industry oversight.
Internal Review: We have reviewed
the requirements pertaining to business
practices of interstate natural gas
pipelines and made a preliminary
determination that the proposed
revisions are necessary to establish a
more efficient and integrated pipeline
network. These requirements conform to
our plan for efficient information

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collection, communication, and
management within the natural gas
pipeline industries. We determined
through our internal review that there is
specific, objective support for the
burden estimates associated with the
information requirements.
40. Interested persons may obtain
information on the reporting
requirements by contacting the
following: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20426 [email:
[email protected]].
41. Comments concerning the
collection of information(s) and the
associated burden estimate(s), should be
sent to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, the Office of
Management and Budget, Washington,
DC 20503 [Attention: Desk Officer for
the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, telephone: (202) 395–
0710; fax: (202) 395–4718]. A copy of
the comments on information collection
should also be sent to the Commission,
in Docket No. RM96–1–043 by any of
the following methods:
• eFiling at Commission’s Website:
http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
efiling.asp;
• U.S. Postal Service Mail: Persons
unable to file electronically may mail
similar pleadings to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street
NE, Washington, DC 20426; or
• Delivery of filings other than by
eFiling or the U.S. Postal Service should
be delivered to Health and Human
Services, 12225 Wilkins Avenue,
Rockville, Maryland 20852.
VII. Environmental Analysis
42. 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.27 The actions that we
propose to take here fall within
categorical exclusions in the
Commission’s regulations for rules that
are clarifying, corrective, or procedural,
for information gathering, analysis, and
dissemination, and for rules regarding
sales, exchange, and transportation of
natural gas that require no construction
of facilities.28 Therefore, an
environmental review is unnecessary
and has not been prepared as part of this
NOPR.
27 Reguls. Implementing the Nat’l Env’t Pol’y Act,
Order No. 486, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC
Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,783 (1987) (cross-referenced at 41
FERC ¶ 61,284).
28 See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5), &
380.4(a)(27) (2023).

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VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Act
43. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of
1980 (RFA) 29 generally requires a
description and analysis of proposed
rules that will have significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. The
Commission is not required to make
such an analysis if proposed regulations
would not have such an effect.
44. Approximately 193 interstate
natural gas pipelines, both large and
small, are potential respondents subject
to the requirements adopted by this
rule. Most of the natural gas pipelines
regulated by the Commission do not fall
within the RFA’s definition of a small
entity,30 which is currently defined for
natural gas pipelines as a company that,
in combination with its affiliates, has
total annual receipts of $41.5 million or
less.31 For the year 2022, only 14
companies not affiliated with larger
companies had annual revenues in
combination with their affiliates of
$41.5 million or less and therefore could
be considered a small entity under the
RFA. This represents about eight
percent of the total universe of potential
respondents that may have a significant
burden imposed on them. We estimate
that the one-time implementation cost
of the proposals in this NOPR is
$1,977,580 (or $10,247 per entity,
regardless of entity size).32 We do not
consider the estimated $10,247 impact
per entity to be significant. Moreover,
these requirements are designed to
benefit all customers, including small
businesses that must comply with them.
Further, as noted above, adoption of
consensus standards helps ensure the
reasonableness of the standards by
requiring that the standards draw
support from a broad spectrum of
industry participants representing all
segments of the industry. Because of
that representation and the fact that
industry conducts business under these
standards, the Commission’s regulations
should reflect those standards that have
the widest possible support.
45. Accordingly, pursuant to section
605(b) of the RFA,33 the regulations
29 5

U.S.C. 601–612.
5 U.S.C. 601(3) citing section 3 of the Small
Business Act (SBA), 15 U.S.C. 623. Section 3 of the
SBA defines a ‘‘small business concern’’ as a
business that is independently owned and operated,
and that is not dominant in its field of operation.
31 13 CFR 121.201 (Subsector 486-Pipeline
Transportation; North American Industry
Classification System code 486210; Pipeline
Transportation of Natural Gas) (2023). ‘‘Annual
Receipts’’ are total income plus cost of goods sold.
32 This number is derived by dividing the total
cost figure by the number of respondents.
$1,977,580/193 = $10,247.
33 5 U.S.C. 605(b).
30 See

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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 67 / Friday, April 5, 2024 / Proposed Rules
X. Document Availability

proposed herein should not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.

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IX. Comment Procedures
46. The Commission invites interested
persons to submit comments on the
matters and issues proposed in this
notice to be adopted, including any
related matters or alternative proposals
that commenters may wish to discuss.
Comments are due June 4, 2024.
Comments must refer to Docket No.
RM96–1–043, and must include the
commenter’s name, the organization
they represent, if applicable, and their
address in their comments. All
comments will be placed in the
Commission’s public files and may be
viewed, printed, or downloaded
remotely as described in the Document
Availability section below. Commenters
on this proposal are not required to
serve copies of their comments on other
commenters.
47. The Commission encourages
comments to be filed electronically via
the eFiling link on the Commission’s
website at https://www.ferc.gov/. The
Commission accepts most standard
word processing formats. Documents
created electronically using word
processing software must be filed in
native applications or print-to-PDF
format and not in a scanned format.
Commenters filing electronically do not
need to make a paper filing.
48. Commenters that are not able to
file comments electronically may file an
original of their comment by USPS mail
or by courier-or other delivery services.
For submission sent via USPS only,
filings should be mailed to: Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Office
of the Secretary, 888 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20426. Submission of
filings other than by USPS should be
delivered to: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue,
Rockville, MD 20852.

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49. 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 (https://
www.ferc.gov/).
50. 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.
51. User assistance is available for
eLibrary and the Commission’s website
during normal business hours from the
Commission’s Online Support at (202)
502–6652 (toll free at 1–866–208–3676)
or email at [email protected],
or the Public Reference Room at (202)
502–8371, TTY (202) 502–8659. Email
the Public Reference Room at
[email protected].
List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 284
Continental shelf, Incorporation by
reference, Natural gas, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
By direction of the Commission.
Issued March 21, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.

In consideration of the foregoing, the
Commission proposes to amend Part
284, Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal
Regulations, as follows.

PO 00000

PART 284—CERTAIN SALES AND
TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS
UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY
ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED
AUTHORITIES
1. The authority citation for part 284
continues to read as follows:

■

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717–717z, 3301–
3432; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352; 43 U.S.C. 1331–
1356.

2. Amend § 284.12 by revising
paragraph (a)(1) to read as follows:

■

§ 284.12 Standards for pipeline business
operations and communications.

(a) * * *
(1) An interstate pipeline that
transports gas under subparts B or G of
this part must comply with the business
practices and electronic
communications standards as
promulgated by the North American
Energy Standards Board, as
incorporated by reference in paragraphs
(a)(1)(i) through (viii) of this section.
(i) Additional Standards (Version 4.0,
September 29, 2023);
(ii) Nominations Related Standards
(Version 4.0, September 29, 2023);
(iii) Flowing Gas Related Standards
(Version 4.0, September 29, 2023);
(iv) Invoicing Related Standards
(Version 4.0, September 29, 2023);
(v) Quadrant Electronic Delivery
Mechanism Related Standards (Version
4.0, September 29, 2023);
(vi) Capacity Release Related
Standards (Version 4.0, September 29,
2023); and
(vii) Internet Electronic Transport
Related Standards (Version 4.0,
September 29, 2023);
(viii) Cybersecurity Related Standards
Manual (Version 4.0, September 29,
2023)
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 2024–06561 Filed 4–4–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

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