For the purposes of this act:

1. “Gathering” is the transportation of natural gas through a pipeline for hire, compensation or otherwise, or transporting natural gas through a pipeline, in whole or in part, for such person’s own account, whether in connection with the purchase and resale of natural gas, or in connection with the processing of natural gas or otherwise, performed by a person other than a local distribution company, intrastate transmission pipeline or interstate pipeline. Gathering includes those activities or processes performed between the delivery points and the redelivery points, which shall include and be limited to only transportation, measurement, conditioning, compressing, pressure regulation, recompressing, cleaning and treating of such gas and the fuel or gas loss associated with such foregoing activities. The terms “conditioning, cleaning and treating” as used herein shall include those processes of separation, dehydration, removal of all contaminants and inerts and filtering. Gathering specifically shall not include processing or the extraction of natural gas liquids and products;

2. "Gatherer" shall mean any person who performs the activities or processes defined as gathering;

3. "Person" shall mean any individual, corporation, firm, partnership, master limited partnership, limited liability company, association, venture, trust, institution, or federal, state, or local governmental instrumentality, or any legal entity however organized;

4. "Shipper" shall mean any person who owns or controls natural gas that seeks or receives gathering service from a gatherer;

5. "Terms and conditions of service" shall include all factors defining the obligations between the gatherer and shipper respecting any gathering activities or process, including, but not limited to, nominations, deductions for fuel, accounting for imbalances, imbalance penalties, assessments, charges or makeup provisions, costs, charges and fees for connection or maintaining connections, duration of gathering service, location of receipt and delivery points, quality specifications of natural gas, minimum and maximum pressures, and measurement;

6. “Delivery point(s)” shall mean the point where the possession or control of the gas stream transfers from a shipper to a gatherer;

7. “Redelivery point(s)” shall mean the point at which the gatherer relinquishes possession or control of the gas stream;

8. “Similarly situated shipper” shall mean any person so designated by the Commission, after application and hearing, wherein the Commission determines that such applicant should receive the benefits and obligations specified in a previously issued Commission order under this act. In determining whether a person is a similarly situated shipper, the Commission shall consider all relevant conditions and factors including those utilized in fixing the fee or terms and conditions of service in the previous order. Similarly situated shipper status shall be limited to applicant’s interest in the well(s) covered by the previous order; and

9. “Spread fee” shall mean the monthly difference obtained by subtracting the value received by the gatherer for the natural gas liquids attributable to shipper from the value of the heating content of the natural gas converted to natural gas liquids attributable to the shipper, established by the cost of natural gas purchased by the gatherer to specifically replace such heating content or, if no actual purchases were made, by the value received by gatherer for natural gas sold at the plant tailgate; provided, however, in any month that the result of this calculation generates a value of zero or less, there shall be deemed to be no spread fee.

Added by Laws 1999, c. 317, § 2, emerg. eff. June 4, 1999. Amended by Laws 2004, c. 77, § 1, emerg. eff. April 12, 2004.