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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-WEPII-ConstructionManagementPlan-GarcoMid-America Pipeline Company, LLC Construction Management Plan Garfield County, Colorado portion of the pipeline Western Expansion Project II April 2012 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 PURPOSE AND NEED Mid-America Pipeline Company, LLC (MAPL) is proposing to construct the Western Expansion Project II to deliver natural gas liquids from the Dragon Trail Compressor Station in Uintah County, Utah, through Rio Blanco/Garfield/Mesa Counties, Colorado to the Thompson Springs Compressor Station in Grand County, Utah. At Grand County the proposed pipeline connects to an existing pipeline system. There is a need to deliver the natural gas liquids from Wyoming and Utah to market. 1.2 ROW GRANT AND TUP APPLICATIONS MAPL proposes to construct a 95.30 mile, 16 -inch diameter pipeline. The approximate mileages by County are as follows: Uintah County, UT 3.73 miles, Rio Blanco County, CO 7.79 miles, Garfield County, CO 25 miles, Mesa County, CO 13.17 miles and Grand County, UT 45.44 miles. On BLM-administered lands and private property, construction of the pipeline will require a 125 -foot wide construction right-of-way (ROW) which includes a 50 -foot wide permanent ROW and a 75 -foot wide temporary use area. On both private and BLM-administered lands, temporary extra workspace (TEWS) will be required for construction in areas of rugged terrain, waterbody crossings, road crossings, and at pipeline point of intersection (PI) locations. TEWS associated with the pipeline are detailed in the alignment sheets and respective property owner easement agreements. 2.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 2.1 LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION OF FACILITIES Pipeline Facilities. All details of the pipeline and facilities are detailed in the alignment sheets. Access Roads. Existing county roads will be used to access the construction ROW as represented on the alignment sheets. Pipe Storage and Contractor Yards and Staging Areas. Pipe materials will be stored at the Meeker Pipe Storage Area located approximately 16 miles West of Meeker, CO on State Highway 64 in Rio Blanco County, Colorado. Contractor Yards and Staging Areas will consist of the Meeker Pipe Storage area and contractor staging areas in Grand Junction, CO. 2.2 SCHEDULE Construction of the project is scheduled to begin upon receipt of applicable permits, and will take approximately 6 months to complete. A copy of the draft schedule is attached to this document. 2.3 WORKFORCE Construction activities will require an average workforce of 100 workers per day with a peak workforce of 150 workers consisting of Company employees, contractor employees, construction inspection staff, and environmental inspection staff. It is not expected that additional staffing would be required to maintain the facilities after construction. MAPL- Western Expansion Project II — Construction Management Plan 1 2.4 TRAFFIC It is anticipated that the primary access will be Garfield County Road #201, Baxter Pass Road. The majority of the traffic outlined above can be expected between the hours of 6:00 am and 8:00 am and from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. During pipeline installation, there will be 25-35 pickup trucks, welding trucks, X -Ray trucks, etc., along with 10-15 large heavy hauling type vehicles during that time. One may anticipate 10-15 large capacity vehicles (vans/busses) during the stated times. As many vehicles and equipment will be left at the staging areas as possible when not in use. 3.0 CONSTRUCTION Standard pipeline construction techniques will be used along the pipeline route, which typically involve the following sequential operations: preconstruction survey, mobilization, clearing, grading, installation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for erosion control, topsoiling, trenching, pipe stringing, welding and coating pipe, lowering in and padding, backfilling, strength testing, and cleanup and restoration. The construction techniques described below would be used unless site-specific conditions warrant special methods. Construction of the natural gas pipeline would begin after all required federal, state, and local approvals have been obtained. Company personnel and construction contractors will discuss procedures and permit approvals prior to construction. Pipeline Construction Pre -construction Survey. Construction staking is required to designate the centerline and outside right-of-way boundaries. The limits of disturbance would be clearly marked/staked prior to construction including the permanent easement/permanent right-of-way, temporary right-of- way, TEWs, and access roads. Utility lines would be located and marked to prevent accidental damage during pipeline construction. Sensitive areas to be protected from disturbance or that require monitoring would be marked. The location of access road entry points would be properly marked. Flagging, signs, and other markings identifying the limits of disturbance would be maintained through all phases of construction. A survey crew would be available during construction activities to refresh any damaged stakes. Mobilization. Construction equipment will be transported to the construction ROW via tractor trailer and unloaded within the designated staging area. Transportation equipment will be removed from the site or parked within the staging area once off loading is completed. Clearing and Grading. Vegetation will be cleared and the construction ROW will be graded to provide for safe and efficient operation of construction equipment and vehicles and to provide space for the storage of subsoil and topsoil. Construction activity and ground disturbance will be limited to approved, staked areas. Trees will be cut with a chain saw and/or mechanical shears and brush will generally be cut with a hydro -axe or similar equipment. Trees and brush will be cut as close to the ground as possible. Vegetative material will typically be shredded and scattered back across the surface to increase roughness, facilitate seeding establishment, and protect the construction ROW. Stumps that are not shredded or chipped and that are incorporated into the topsoil will be removed and disposed of at an approved disposal facility. Installation of Erosion Control BMPs. Erosion control BMPs will be installed immediately after clearing. Placement of erosion control BMPs will be according to the environmental MAPL- Western Expansion Project II — Construction Management Plan 2 alignment sheets in the MAPL Stormwater Management Plan. All erosion control BMPs will be routinely inspected and any damaged or temporarily removed structures will be replaced at the end of each working day. Topsoiling. Topsoil will be salvaged and protected along the entire alignment to facilitate revegetation of the construction ROW after construction is complete. On both BLM- administered and private lands, all available topsoil up to a depth of 6 inches will be removed from the trenchline and working side of the right-of-way and will be stored on the non -working side of the right-of-way. Topsoil will be stockpiled separate from subsoil and will not be used to pad the trench or construct trench breakers. In areas where the construction ROW crosses ephemeral drainages, the drainages will not be blocked with topsoil or subsoil piles. Topsoil and subsoil will be placed on the banks of the drainages. Gaps will be left periodically in the topsoil and subsoil piles. Subsoil will be windrowed to avoid ponding and excess diversion of natural runoff during storm events. Trenching. Access will be provided for landowners and grazing permittees to move vehicles, equipment, and livestock across the trench where necessary. Livestock operators will be contacted and adequate crossing facilities will be provided as needed to ensure livestock are not prevented from reaching water sources because of the open trench. The contractor will keep wildlife and livestock trails open and passable by adding soft plugs (areas where the trench is excavated and replaced with minimal compaction) during the construction phase. Soft plugs with ramps on either side will be left at all well-defined livestock and wildlife trails and at no more than half mile intervals along the open trench to allow passage across the trench and provide a means of escape for livestock and wildlife that may fall into the trench. Trenching activities will be completed using track hoes. The trench would be to one side of the construction right-of-way to allow for spoil to be placed opposite of the wider working side. MAPL does not anticipate that blasting would be required during pipeline construction. Pipe Stringing. After trenching is complete, individual joints of pipe will be strung along the construction ROW adjacent to the excavated trench and arranged so they are accessible to construction personnel. A mechanical pipe -bending machine will bend individual joints of pipe to the desired angle at locations where there are significant changes in the natural ground contours or where the pipeline route changes direction. Welding and Coating Pipe. After stringing and bending are complete, the sections will be aligned, welded together, and placed on temporary supports along the edge of the trench. All welds will be visually inspected by a qualified inspector. Non-destructive radiographic inspection methods will be conducted in accordance with current requirements. A specialized contractor will be employed to perform this work. Any weld defects will be repaired or cut out as required under the specified regulations and standards. To prevent corrosion, the pipe will be externally coated with fusion bonded epoxy coating prior to delivery. After welding, field joints will be coated with a tape wrap, shrinkable sleeve wrap, or field -applied fusion bond epoxy. Before the pipe is lowered into the trench, the pipeline coating will be visually inspected and tested with an electronic detector and any faults or scratches will be repaired. MAPL- Western Expansion Project II — Construction Management Plan 3 Lowering in and Padding. Before the pipe section is lowered into the trench, an inspection will be conducted to verify that the pipe is properly fitted and installed in the trench, minimum cover is provided, and the trench bottom is free of rocks and other debris that could damage the external pipe coating. The pipe sections will be simultaneously lifted in position over the trench and lowered in place. Sifted soil fines from the excavated subsoils will provide rock -free pipeline padding and bedding. Sandbags may be used to pad the bottom of the trench instead of, or in combination with, padding with soil fines. In rocky areas, padding material or a rock shield will be used to protect the pipe. No topsoil will be used to pad the pipe. Backfilling Pipeline. Backfilling will begin after a section of pipe has been successfully placed in the trench. Backfill will be conducted using a bulldozer or other suitable equipment. Subsoil excavated from the trench will generally be used to backfill the trench, except in rocky areas where imported select fill material may be needed. Backfill will be graded and compacted, where necessary, for ground stability, by tamping or walking with a wheeled or tracked vehicle. Compaction will be performed to the extent that there would be no voids in the trench. Any excavated materials or materials unfit for backfill will either be utilized elsewhere or properly disposed of in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Strength Testing. Once the pipeline is in place, the pipeline would be pressure tested with water to ensure that the system is capable of operating at the design pressure. Prior to filling the pipeline for a strength test, each section of the pipeline would be cleaned by passing reinforced poly pigs through the interior of the pipeline. Pipeline integrity would be tested by capping the pipeline segments with test manifolds and filling the capped segments with water and held for the required amount of time. Any substantial loss of pressure indicates that a leak may have occurred and would require further inspection. Cleanup and Restoration. Cleanup and restoration would occur after the natural gas pipeline is installed and backfill activities are completed. Cleanup of the surface along the construction ROW would include removal of construction debris and final grading to the finished contours. Permanent erosion control measures would be installed and seeding would occur in accordance with landowner requirements. 4.0 SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES Road Crossings. Road will be crossed as per the applicable alignment sheet details and permits issued by the Garfield County Road & Bridge Department. Waterbody and Wetland Crossings. All waterbodies will be crossed in accordance with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) 404 Permit requirements. Livestock. Compensation or interim measures will be provided for critical facilities (such as watering sites) that are disrupted during construction or restoration through prior agreements with grazing permittees or landowners. Temporary fencing will be installed as required by pre - construction agreements with landowners to prevent livestock entry into the construction right- of-way. Fueling and Hazardous Materials. Fuels and hazardous materials will not be stored along the construction right-of-way. To minimize occurrence of contaminants from construction equipment, welding, and refueling entering surface water, MAPL has prepared and will follow a the details noted in the stormwater management plan. MAPL- Western Expansion Project II — Construction Management Plan 4 Fire Control. MAPL will comply with all federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, and regulations that pertain to the prevention, pre -suppression, and suppression of fires. If wildfires are observed outside of the project area, they will be reported immediately to the nearest fire dispatch office. Dust Control. Dust suppression techniques may be used in construction zones to mitigate the impacts of fugitive dust emissions in sensitive areas. Water for dust control would be obtained from either a private or municipal source. Magnesium chloride will not be used for dust control. Weed Control. All equipment would be thoroughly cleaned prior to being brought to the construction ROW to avoid contamination from noxious weeds. If working in sites with weed - seed contaminated soil, equipment would be cleaned prior to moving to uncontaminated terrain. MAPL avoid driving vehicles through areas where weed infestations exist. MAPL has prepared and will follow a Noxious and Invasive Weed Management Plan. Erosion Control. Temporary erosion controls would be installed immediately after initial disturbance (clearing) and would be properly maintained throughout construction and reinstalled as necessary until replaced by permanent erosion controls or restoration is complete. These measures may include but are not limited to sediment barriers, slope breakers, mulch, and erosion control fabric. MAPL has prepared and will follow the Stormwater Management Plan adopted for this project. Waste Disposal and Sanitation. The following measures will be implemented and enforced in the performance of the project work: • Littering of any kind will not be allowed on the ROW. A daily litter -policing program will be employed in the work. • Construction and operating sites will be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition at all times. Collected wastes will be disposed of promptly at an approved site. • "Waste" means all discarded matter, including but not limited to, human waste, trash, garbage, refuse, oil and fuel drums, petroleum products, blasting boxes, worn out parts, abandoned equipment, leftover materials, etc. • Excess or unsuitable materials will be returned to the supplier, sold to a commercial salvage yard, turned in at commercial recycling center or delivered to public or private disposal site approved for project use. • Special implementation plans prepared for and made part of the work will be maintained and followed for the duration of the work. • Portable chemical toilets will be provided and dispersed within the project area. Their number and location will vary with the length of the project, the number of workers present and the work phase of the project. Generally, a portable toilet will be provided at each contractor yard, pipe yard or permanent staging area. Other criteria not withstanding, a portable toilet will be provided for each 40 people or fraction thereof employed on the work. • Human wastes stored in portable toilets will be removed from the ROW on a regular periodic basis according to the capacity of the units and their monitored usage. Such human waste will be disposed of at an approved location in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. MAPL- Western Expansion Project II — Construction Management Plan 5 5.0 POST -CONSTRUCTION Reclamation. After construction, all disturbed areas would be returned to pre -construction conditions and a stable vegetative cover will be maintained on the ROW. The construction ROW will be restored and revegetated according to the measures outlined in the MAPL Reclamation Plan. Operation and Maintenance. Annual inspections will be conducted to check for erosion, pipe exposure, right-of-way condition, unauthorized encroachment, and any other situations that may result in a safety hazard or may require preventative maintenance. The annual inspections will be conducted on foot, from a vehicle using existing roads, or from aircraft. If damage should occur to one of the pipelines, the affected portion of the pipeline will be repaired or replaced. Applicable requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act will be followed. MAPL- Western Expansion Project II — Construction Management Plan 6