Commissioner James Danly Statement
July 15, 2021
Docket No. RP20-908-003
Item G-7
I agree with the Commission’s decision to approve Alliance Pipeline L.P.’s Stipulation and Agreement (Settlement), which provides for the Settlement rates to be effective starting at the end of the suspension period on December 1, 2020. As I stated in my dissent 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 attachments listing “Parties Supporting or Not Opposing the Settlement”[2] 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.