EXHIBIT 31.2
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
I, Michael W. O'Donnell, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report of NiSource Inc. on Form
10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2004;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
circumstances under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
financial information included in this report, fairly present
in all material respects the financial condition, results of
operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for,
the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure
controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:
a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or
caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be
designed under our supervision, to ensure that
material information relating to the registrant,
including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made
known to us by others within those entities,
particularly during the period in which this report
is being prepared;
b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's
disclosure controls and procedures and presented in
this report our conclusions about the effectiveness
of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the
end of the period covered by this report based on
such evaluation; and
c) Disclosed in this report any change in the
registrant's internal control over financial
reporting that occurred during the registrant's most
recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal
quarter in the case of an annual report) that has
materially affected, or is reasonably likely to
materially affect, the registrant's internal control
over financial reporting; and
5. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal
control over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors
and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors
(or persons performing the equivalent functions):
a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
design or operation of internal control over financial
reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the
registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report
financial information; and
b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
or other employees who have a significant role in the
registrant's internal control over financial reporting.
Date: May 7, 2004 By: /s/ Michael W. O'Donnell
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Michael W. O'Donnell
Chief Financial Officer