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(ii) Bunker C; (iii) Navy Special Fuel Oil; (iv) all other fuel oils which have a fifty percent boiling point over 700° F in the ASTM D-86 standard distillation test, (v) Nos. 3, 4 and 6 intermediate fuel oils (which are blended with or contain No. 6 oil); and (vi) for the purposes of this rule, crude oil burned directly as a fuel.

§ 508.6 Terms and conditions; enforcement.

(a) You must comply with the terms and conditions of an exemption granted under this part by ERA.

(b) An exemption is subject to termination upon the violation of any of its terms and conditions.

(c) The granting or denial of a petition for a temporary public interest exemption under this special rule shall have no effect upon the rights of a petitioner granted under the Act to receive any other exemption, temporary or permanent, from any prohibitions under the Act.

§ 508.7 Evidence required in support of a petition.

(a) You must include and certify to the following in your petition:

(1) Your name, mailing address, telephone number, and name of person to contact;

(2) The geographic location of each facility for which you are petitioning for an exemption;

(3) An affadavit, signed by a responsible officer of petitioner, which states:

(i) An estimate of the volumes, type and sulfur content of the fuel oil which will be displaced by natural gas at the facility for which you are petitioning for an exemption;

(ii) That the facility for which you are petitioning for an exemption is either

(A) Prohibited on May 8, 1979, from using natural gas as a primary energy source by section 301(a)(2) of the Act,

or

(B) Prohibited from using natural gas in excess of the average base year quantities allowed in section 301(a)(3) of the Act;

(C) Your proposed use of natural gas as prohibited by section 301(a) (2) or (3) of the Act, will displace consump

tion of middle distillates or residual fuel oils as defined in § 508.5 of this part; and

(D) Your proposed use of natural gas, for which you are petitioning for an exemption, will not displace coal or any other alternate fuel in any of facilities in your utility system including the facility for which you are petitioning for an exemption.

(b) If you are requesting a temporary exemption for more than two years, you must demonstrate why it would be in the public interest for ERA to grant your petition for more than a two-year period.

§ 508.8 Administrative provisions.

(a) This section establishes general procedures which are unique to this special rule (Part 508). Other procedures which may be applicable to this special rule are provided in Part 501, (published in the form of proposed rules in the FEDERAL REGISTER, 43 FR 53974 (November 17, 1978)), except that Subpart B of Part 501 in regard to filing fees does not apply to this special rule.

(b) You must submit your petition to the Assistant Administrator for Fuels Regulation, Economic Regulatory Administration, 2000 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20461.

(c) You may submit your petition at any time after publication of this special rule.

(d) You should clearly label any petition or document that you file with ERA under this part as "FUA Petition for Special Public Interest Exemption (Natural Gas)" both on the document and on the outside of the envelope in which the document is transmitted.

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515.33

Extension of time.

Effective date of decision. 515.34 Order of precedence. 515.35 Addresses for filing documents with the ERA.

515.36 Office of Public Information.

AUTHORITY: Dept. of Energy Organization Act, Pub. L. 95-91, 91 Stat. 565 (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.); Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978, Pub. L. 95-620, 92 Stat. 3289 (42 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.); E.O. 12009, 42 FR 4267.

SOURCE: 44 FR 60692, Oct. 19, 1979, unless otherwise noted.

Subpart A-General Provisions

§ 515.1 Policy.

(a) The Economic Regulatory Administration (ERA) intends to administer the provisions of the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 (FUA or the Act) relating to transitional facilities in a firm but fair and practical manner. A transitional facility is one which was not operational on April 20, 1977, but for which a contract for its construction or acquisition was signed prior to November 9, 1978, the date of FUA's enactment. ERA will not classify as "existing," transi

tional facilities which are in the early stages of planning and construction, and which would not incur a substantial financial penalty, an adverse effect upon electric system reliability (for powerplants), or a significant operational detriment (for major fuelburning installations). These facilities will therefore be considered to be "new." As new facilities, they will be subject to the statutory prohibitions of Title II of FUA, but will have the opportunity to petition ERA for an exemption from those prohibitions. Where a person requesting classification of a transitional facility as "existing" can demonstrate that the facility is in a more advanced stage of construction and would sustain any of the penalties, adverse effects, or detriments identified above, ERA will classify the facility as "existing" in order to avoid disruptive impacts on the facility as well as on the economy at large.

1978.

(b) You are eligible to request that ERA classify your transitional facility as "existing" if a contract for the facility's construction or acquisition was signed prior to November 9, Moreover, you are also eligible to request that ERA classify your transitional facility as "existing" if a contract was signed prior to November 9, 1978, for the reconstruction of your facility (including refurbishment of or addition to the facility) to the extent that the reconstruction equals or exceeds 50 percent of the price of a replacement unit. We base these criteria for eligibility as a transitional facility on the principle that a contract constitutes a commitment, after which time any cancellation, rescheduling, or modification may result in a substantial financial penalty, a significant operational detriment, or an adverse effect on electric system reliability. If you are otherwise eligible to request classification of a rental boiler under this part, your request must also be filed on behalf of all other persons, if any, who have an interest in (i.e., own, operate and/or control) the boiler at the time the request is filed, unless ERA has, for good cause shown, waived this requirement.

(c) We have established milestones whereby facilities will automatically

be considered "new" or "existing" without contacting ERA. Where no contract for construction or acquisition of a facility was signed prior to November 9, 1978, the facility is clearly "new." Facilities which were operational, as defined in these regulations, on or before April 20, 1977, are automatically deemed "existing." Individual transitional facilities with a design capability of consuming any fuel at a heat input rate which does not equal or exceed 100 million BTU's per hour, are automatically deemed "existing."

(d) To further facilitate the processing of requests for classification of transitional facilities and to reduce the administrative burden on persons requesting classification and ERA alike, facilities which were completed and title transferred, operational or at a certain stage of construction by designated dates will be classified as "existing" upon certification to ERA and, in some cases, the submission of minimal documentation. Under this approach, powerplants and MFBIS which were completed on or before April 20, 1977 and for which title was transferred to the purchaser on or before April 20, 1977, will be classified as "existing" by ERA. In addition, units which were operational on May 8, 1979 (the effective date of FUA) will be classified as "existing" by ERA. Moreover, MFBIs which are prefabricated boilers and powerplants which are prefabricated boilers or combustion turbines which had been shipped by the manufacturer, or which had their main steam drum in place (for fielderected boilers) by November 9, 1978, will similarly be classified as "existing."

(e) ERA believes that a powerplant or MFBI will incur a "substantial financial penalty" where 25 percent or more of the total projected project cost has been expended or irrevocably committed as of November 9, 1978. In assessing the expenditures or committed costs, however, ERA will exclude outlays which can be used toward the construction of an alternate fuel-fired facility or which may be cancelled. The limitation to nonrecoverable outlays follows from the definitions of new powerplants and MFBIS in Sec

tion 103 of the Act. These definitions recognize the extra costs that are incurred in building an alternate fuelfired plant by cancelling, rescheduling or modifying a partially completed oil or gas-fired plant.

(f) Where these nonrecoverable outlays do not reach 25 percent of the total projected project cost, ERA may consider other financially-related factors presented on a case-by-case basis. The purpose of these additional caseby-case evaluations, where facilities have not expended beyond 25 percent of their total projected project cost, in to permit persons requesting classification to present ERA with full explanations of the financial penalties they believe they may incur, but which are otherwise not properly included in computing the 25 percent test.

(g) If your transitional facility is a powerplant, one of the considerations ERA will employ in reaching a determination applicable to an adverse effect on electric system reliability is whether the cancellation, rescheduling or modification of your proposed powerplant would result in your electric region's reserve margin falling below 20 percent during the 12-month period after you expect your proposed powerplant to begin operation. You may present whatever evidence you deem appropriate to ERA's reaching a determination on your claim of an adverse effect on electric system reliability.

(h) If your transitional facility is a major fuel-burning installation, your unit will be designated "existing" if you demonstrate to ERA that you would incur a significant operational detriment as a result of cancelling, rescheduling, or modifying your facility. In light of the complexity and variety of operational requirements in the MFBI sector, ERA will review these requests for classification on a case-bycase basis.

[44 FR 60692, Oct. 19, 1979, as amended at 44 FR 69920, Dec. 5, 1979]

§ 515.2 Purpose and scope.

(a) Purpose. These rules govern requests for classification of transitional facilities by ERA as "existing" facilities subject to the provisions of Title

III of FUA, rather than as "new" facilities subject to the provisions of Title II of FUA.

(b) Application. This part applies to all transitional facilities. You are eligible to submit a request to have your transitional powerplant or major fuelburning installation classified as an "existing" facility, pursuant to this part, if a contract for the construction or acquisition of your facility was signed prior to November 9, 1978, the date of enactment of FUA.

(c) ERA determinations. Based upon the criteria set forth below, and after thorough consideration of the entire administrative record of your formal request, ERA will publish in the FEDERAL REGISTER a formal decision either: (1) Granting the request, having determined that your installation or powerplant is "existing," or (2) denying the request, having determined that your installation or powerplant is "new." ERA determinations on requests that are received by ERA on or before the effective date of this final rule, will be made on the basis of the provisions set forth in the revised interim rule or this final rule, whichever would result in a more favorable disposition of your request. Determinations on requests received after the effective date of this final rule, will be made on the basis of this final rule. These determinations are final Departmental actions.

Subpart B-Electric Powerplants

§ 515.3 Eligibility.

You are eligible to submit a request to ERA to have your transitional facility classified as "existing" if you can demonstrate to the satisfaction of ERA that a contract for the construction or acquisition of the powerplant was signed prior to November 9, 1978.

§ 515.4 Powerplants automatically classified as "new."

If a contract for the construction or acquisition of the powerplant was not signed prior to November 9, 1978, the powerplant is automatically classified as "new" and subject to the provisions of Title II of the Act.

§ 515.5 Powerplants automatically classified as "existing."

(a) Any powerplant which was operational on or before April 20, 1977, is automatically classified as "existing" and subject to the provisions of Title III of the Act.

(b) Any powerplant for which a contract for construction or acquisition was signed prior to November 9, 1978, and which does not have a design capability to consume any fuel at a fuel heat input of 100 million BTU's per hour or greater, is automatically classified as "existing" and subject to the provisions of Title III of the Act.

(c) Any powerplant for which a contract for construction or acquisition was signed before November 9, 1978, and which was operational on or before May 8, 1979, is automatically classified as "existing" and subject to the provisions of Title III of the Act upon filing with ERA of a certification. This certification must be made by a duly authorized officer of the electric utility which owns, operates or controls the powerplant. This filing I will not be deemed by ERA to be a formal request for classification under this Part.

(d) Any powerplant which was completed and for which ownership of the unit was transferred from the manufacturer to a purchaser on or before April 20, 1977 shall be automatically classified as "existing" and subject to the provisions of Title III of the Act upon the submission of the evidence required by § 515.7(a)(3).

(e) Any powerplant for which a contract for construction or acquisition was signed prior to November 9, 1978 and which is:

(1) A prefabricated packaged boiler or a combustion turbine that was shipped by the manufacturer to the user by November 9, 1978 is automatically classified as "existing" upon the submission of a certification to such effect by a duly authorized officer of the electric utility that owns, operates or controls your powerplant and the evidence required by § 515.7(a)(4).

(ii) A field-erected unit, the main stream drum of which was in place by November 9, 1978, is automatically classified as existing upon the submis

sion of a certification to such effect by a duly authorized officer of the electric utility that owns, operates or controls your powerplant and the evidence required by § 515.7(a)(5).

§ 515.6 Powerplants which ERA will classify as "existing."

ERA will classify an eligible powerplant as "existing" if you demonstrate to the satisfaction of ERA that the cancellation, rescheduling or modification of the construction or acquisition of your powerplant would result in a substantial financial penalty or an adverse effect on the electric system reliability.

(a) Substantial financial penalty. (1) ERA will take into consideration any financially-related factor which you consider appropriate in reaching a determination on substantial financial penalty. If you demonstrate to the satisfaction of ERA that, as of November 9, 1978, you have expended at least 25 percent of the total projected project cost, ERA will classify your facility as "existing." In computing the 25 percent expenditure, you must include only nonrecoverable outlays expended as of November 9, 1978.

Example: You are constructing a facility which can use either petroleum or coal, and the following outlays have been made and are projected:

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In general, ERA would define a maximum of $1,000,000 as a non-recoverable outlay (oil handling equipment, oil storage) and could probably reduce this amount since certain items would be retained in an alternate fuel-firing system which used oil for startup and ignition. Outlays for the boiler are deemed recoverable, since they could be used in a coal facility, even though you would be required to spend an additional amount for pollution control and coal handling and storage facilities. (You may indicate your assess

ment of the impact of this additional amount by addressing subparagraph (2)(iii) of this section in your request.)

(2) If you have expended at least 25 percent of the total projected project cost, ERA will classify your facility as "existing." If you have expended less than 25 percent under the test set forth above, you may still request classification from ERA. Your request for classification may address, among others, the following factors:

(i) The nonrecoverable outlays you would incur by cancelling, rescheduling, or modifying your current proposed powerplant in order to burn an alternate fuel or fuel mixture;

(ii) The total projected project cost and percentage of completion of the project at November 9, 1978;

(iii) The impact that cancelling, rescheduling, or modifying your present powerplant would have upon your rate base and your ability to continue in business as a sound and financially viable public utility;

(iv) The site at which the facility is located; and

(v) An alternate use for the facility under construction.

(b) Adversely affecting electric system reliability. (1) ERA will make its determination applicable to electric system reliability on a case-by-case basis, after consultation with FERC and the appropriate state authority.

(2) One of the considerations ERA will employ is whether the reserve margin of the electric region in which you propose to locate your powerplant would be reduced to less than 20 percent during the 12-month period after you expect your proposed powerplant to begin operation, assuming your proposed powerplant is not completed. Firm purchases and sales to or from the electric region will be included in ERA's evaluation. The reserve margin percentage is computed by subtracting the normal peak load expected during the 12-month period from the system's total capacity, including the additional capacity that will be available through interconnection, and dividing the result by the projected normal peak load during the delay.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) above, if you wish to demonstrate that

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