Commissioner James Danly Statement
September 7, 2021
Docket No. RP20-1060-003
I agree with the Commission’s decision to approve Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC’s Stipulation and Agreement (Partial Settlement). As I stated in my separate statement in Kinetica Deepwater Express, LLC, I suggest to anyone participating in the natural gas industry that it might be prudent to be clearer in your settlement agreements as to whether you are actually a party to that agreement.[1] Though I understand that the use of an appendix listing parties that “either support or do not oppose”[2] a settlement is common in the industry, situations will almost certainly arise in which an entity’s status as party or non-party to a settlement will be dispositive. This will be even more important should the issue be presented to a body less indifferent to fundamentals of contract law than this Commission.