Sandra Day O'Connor

“ The Secretary also determined that the total pipeline safety program costs, excluding State grants-in-aid, should be allocated at 80 percent for persons regulated by the NGPSA and 20 percent for persons regulated by the HLPSA. The costs of grants were to be allocated at 95 percent for persons regulated by the NGPSA and 5 percent for persons regulated by the HLPSA. Five percent of the total gas program costs were to be borne by LNG facility operators allocated as a function of storage capacity and number of LNG plants. ”

“ In Mid-America's view, the assessments permitted by § 7005, although labeled "user fees," are actually tax assessments levied by the Secretary on firms regulated by the HLPSA or the NGPSA. Congress' taxing power, Mid-America further contends, unlike any of Congress' other enumerated powers, if delegable at all, must be delegated with much stricter guidelines than is required for other congressional delegations of authority. ”

“ Under § 7005, the Secretary may not collect fees from firms not subject to either of the two Pipeline Safety Acts, § 7005 (a) (3) ; he may not use the funds for purposes other than administering the two Acts, § 7005 (c) ; he may not set fees on a case-by-case basis, § 7005 (a) ; in setting fees, he may not apply any criteria other than volume-miles, miles, or revenues, § 7005 (a) ; he may not establish a fee schedule that does not bear a "reasonable relationship" to these criteria, § 7005 (a) . ”

“ Section 7005 of COBRA is one of a number of recent congressional enactments designed to make various federal regulatory programs partially or entirely self-financing. E.g., § 3401 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, 100 Stat. ”