ONEOK Partners Subsidiaries Seeking Ruling on Regulatory Agency Jurisdiction

ONEOK Partners, L.P. (NYSE: OKS)today announced that three of its subsidiaries have filed a declaratoryjudgment action in federal District Court in Tulsa, Okla., seeking a ruling onthe jurisdictional limits of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials SafetyAdministration (PHMSA).The action asks the court to rule on the extent of PHMSA's regulatoryjurisdiction over ONEOK Partners' natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionationplant, associated storage and in-plant piping systems in Bushton, Kan., andrequests a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to delay ascheduled PHMSA inspection of this plant until a decision is made resolvingthe jurisdictional boundary issue.  "This filing is an effort to resolve an ongoing disagreement over the extentof PHMSA's jurisdictional boundaries at our Bushton NGL fractionation plant,"said Pierce H. Norton, executive vice president and chief operating officer ofONEOK Partners. "Although PHMSA has jurisdiction over our pipeline systemsinto and out of the plant, the Bushton NGL fractionation plant is regulated bythe Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA)."We believe PHMSA is outside its jurisdictional authority by inspecting andattempting to impose different regulations on the assets and operatingprocedures currently regulated by OSHA and the EPA.   We believe that havingdifferent rules within the same plant could result in misinterpretation andconfusion," added Norton.The partnership remains committed to safe, reliable and compliant operationsof its facilities.