It's been speculated that in some cases, when a midstream master limited partnership buys assets from its general partner, it may not be the best deal for unitholders. Troubled energy merchants may be treating their MLPs as a dumping ground for assets that may not be as easy to sell on the open market, the theory goes. Williams Energy Partners LP stepped forward recently with a plan to assuage investor fears. It announced amendments to its partnership agreement to give greater control to unitholders, and less control to its general partner, a subsidiary of The Williams Cos., Tulsa. "Although our previous governance structure was consistent with industry norms and was working well, these changes are responsive to the uneasiness expressed by some in the investment community surrounding the control of publicly traded partnerships by the owners of the general partner," says Don Wellendorf, the MLP's chief executive officer. The changes include the reduction in voting rights of the partnership's class B and subordinated units-all of which are owned by The Williams Cos. Also, Williams has established a new wholly owned subsidiary, WEG GP LLC, that will serve as the MLP's general partner, and the MLP unitholders will be allowed to elect the board of directors of this new general partner. The MLP will begin conducting annual unitholder meetings, at which time an annual slate of board members will be approved. The changes are in conjunction with a long-term debt financing associated with the MLP's acquisition of Williams Pipe Line. -Jodi Wetuski