Florida Gas Transmission Co submits the Phase VI Loop A Fall Monitoring Report re its post construction photo documentation of all wetlands etc of the Phase VI Expansion Project under CP02-27.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BEFORE THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION Inquiry Regarding Income Tax Allowances ) Docket No. PL05-5-000 COMMENTS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF OIL PIPE LINES The Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL) hereby files these comments pursuant to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions (FERC or Commission) Inquiry Regarding Income Tax Allowances in Docket No. PL05-5-000. AOPL is an unincorporated trade association representing 50 interstate common carrier oil pipeline companies. Its members carry nearly 85% of the crude oil and refined petroleum products moved by pipeline in the United States. AOPL members reflect the range of ownership interests in pipelines from subchapter C corporations to limited liability companies to limited partnerships to joint ventures. The policy that the Commission adopts for income tax allowances in oil pipeline rates will have important consequences for AOPL members and for the development of infrastructure in this industry. AOPL believes that these comments will assist the Commission as it considers the implications of the D.C. Circuits decision in BP West Coast Products, LLC v. FERC1 and the significant issues raised by the Commissions December 2, 2004, Request for Comments in this docket. 1 BP West Coast Products, LLC v. FERC, 374 F.3d 1263 (D.C. Cir. 2004), rehg denied, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 20976-98 (2004) (BP West Coast). Petitions for certiorari seeking Supreme Court review of certain rulings in that decision have been filed by BP West Coast Products, LLC and ExxonMobil Oil Corporation (No. 04-900) and by SFPP, L.P. (No. 04-903), but neither petition involves the tax allowance issue. I. Introduction and Executive Summary Since the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct)2 and the rulemakings that followed, the crude oil and petroleum products pipeline industry (oil pipeline industry) has operated under a combination of indexed rates, settlement/negotiated rates, market-based rates and cost of service rates3. This system of regulation has enabled the industry to attract the investment necessary to meet growing consumer demand with relatively little need for Commission intervention. With few exceptions, one of those being the nearly two-decades-old SFPP dispute that precipitated the D.C. Circuit decision on which this inquiry is based,4 shippers are satisfied with the services they receive and the rates they pay. As the Federal Trade Commission recently reconfirmed, this industry is competitive.5 Although only a small portion of the oil pipeline industrys rates currently are calculated on a cost of service basis, a greater portion ...