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Home My WebLink About01-HEI - MidAmerica WEP II Pipeline Noise Garfield 20120326ANKARD FINVIRONMENTJL ACOUSTICS AND VIBRATION CONSULTING March 26, 2012 Phil Vaughan Phil Vaughan Construction Management, Inc. Construction Manager 1038 County Road 323 Rifle, Colorado 81650 Re: Analysis of Noise from the Construction of the Mid-America Pipeline Company, LLC - Western Expansion Project II in Garfield County, Colorado Dear Mr. Vaughan, Per your request, Hankard Environmental predicted the noise levels that will be generated by the construction of the Mid-America Pipeline Company, LLC - Western Expansion Project II in order to demonstrate that the Project will be in compliance with Garfield County, Colorado noise regulations. A summary of our analysis results is provided first, followed by details regarding applicable noise regulations, the proposed Project, and the methods and results of the noise compliance assessment. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Mid-America Pipeline Company is proposing to construct the Western Expansion Project II gas pipeline in Colorado and Utah. The purpose of this project is to construct a 16 -inch natural gas liquids pipeline from the Dragon Compressor Station in Uintah County, Utah to the Thompson Springs Compressor Station in Grand County, Utah. This pipeline is proposed to be constructed through Rio Blanco County, Garfield County and Mesa County, Colorado. The entire pipeline length is approximately 95 miles, and would generally follow an existing pipeline corridor. Twenty-five miles of the pipeline will traverse Garfield County, Colorado. Noise from construction of the pipeline must adhere to Garfield County Unified Land Use Resolution, Article VII, Section 7-815, Additional Standards Applicable to Pipelines (September 2008), which refers to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) Rules and Regulations, Section 802, Noise Abatement (April 2009). Rule 802 states that the maximum noise level from the construction of a pipeline must be at or below 80 dBA during the daytime. Noise levels from impulsive sources, such as rock hammers, must be 75 dBA or less during the daytime. These limits are to be assessed at a distance of 350 feet, or at the nearest boundary of the property on which the construction activities are taking place, whichever is greater. If an existing occupied structure is located closer than 350 feet to the pipeline, sound levels shall be assessed at a point twenty-five feet from the structure in the direction of the noise source. COLORADO • WISCONSIN • MAINE phone (303) 666-0617 • www.hankardinc.com • fax (303) 600-0282 HAN� FI NVIRONMENTAL ACOUSTICS AND VIBRATION CONSULTING The pipeline will be constructed within a 75 foot wide temporary easement, and there are no existing occupied structures closer than 350 feet to the pipeline along its entire length in Garfield County. Therefore, the noise level limits must be met at a distance 350 feet on either side of the pipeline. Predicted maximum noise levels from construction activities at this distance range from 63 dBA to 73 dBA. These levels are below the COGCC's maximum daytime limit of 80 dBA for continuous noise. Jack hammers will be used during the excavation phase, and their noise level of 72 dBA at a distance of 350 feet is less than the 75 dBA limit for impulsive sources. Note that no nighttime (7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.) construction is anticipated, nor were nighttime activities included in this analysis. Thus, we predict that noise levels from construction of the pipeline will be in compliance with Garfield County, Colorado and COGCC regulations. APPLICABLE NOISE REGULATIONS The Garfield County Unified Land Use Resolution, Article VII, Section 7-815, Additional Standards Applicable to Pipelines, states that a development plan shall be approved or conditionally approved in accordance with certain standards and criteria. Paragraph B of this section states that "any equipment used in construction or operation of a pipeline must comply with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Rules and Regulations, Section 802, Noise Abatement." Paragraph B also discusses noise mitigation measures that are required if noise from pipeline construction will have a "substantial impact" in adjacent areas, which is not expected to be the case on this project. Section 7-815 also mentions that any repair and maintenance activity requiring the use of equipment that will generate noise, odors, or glare beyond the property boundaries will be conducted within a building or outdoors during the hours or 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Table 1, below, lists the COGCC's maximum permissible noise levels. They are dependent on adjacent land use, time of day, and the type of equipment to be employed. In terms of land use, Section 802 of COGCC regulations specifically states that the construction of a pipeline is subject to the maximum permissible noise levels for an Industrial Zone. In terms of time of day, construction of the proposed pipeline project will be completed during daytime hours (7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.). Therefore, the noise limit applicable to the proposed Project is that for an Industrial Zone during daytime hours (80 dBA). Impulsive -type noise producing equipment is expected to be used (jack hammers) during the excavation phase of the project, and the limit applicable to this operation is 75 dBA. Per COGCC Rule 802, the noise limits must be met at a distance of 350 feet from construction operations or at the nearest property line of the surface property owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the operator, whichever is greater. In addition, where the pipeline is installed closer than 350 feet from an existing occupied structure, sound levels shall be assessed at a point twenty-five feet from the structure towards the noise source. As discussed below, there are no such structures along the length of the proposed Project in Garfield County, Colorado. Analysis of Noise from Mid-America Pipeline Company Western Expansion II page 2 March 26, 2012 ANKARD FI NVIRONMENTAL ACOUSTICS AND VIBRATION CONSULTING TABLE 1 — COGCC Maximum Permissible Noise Levels (dBA) Zone Daytime (1), (2) Nighttime (2) (7:OOam to 7:OOpm) (7:OOpm to 7:OOam) Residential 55 50 1 Commercial 60 55 l Light Industrial 70 65 111 Industrial lir 80 lir III 75 (1) During the daytime, the noise level can be increased by 10 dBA for 15 minutes in any one-hour period (2) Noise level limit decreased by 5 dBA for impulsive type sounds. SITE DESCRIPTION Twenty-five miles of the pipeline will traverse Garfield County, Colorado along the route shown in Figure 1. No existing occupied structures are located within 350 of either side of the proposed pipeline. PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES AND EQUIPMENT For the purposes of the noise analysis, the construction of the pipeline was broken down into 11 phases. For each phase, the type of equipment to be used and its maximum noise level at the reference distance of 50 feet are listed in Table 2. The equipment to be used for each phase was provided by the Project. Note that while the project as a whole may use more equipment than is listed below, the number listed is the maximum quantity that is intended to be used during each phase in a particular geographic area. The maximum noise levels listed in Table 2 were obtained from the Federal Highway Administration's Roadway Construction Noise Model (RCNM) v1, which is a database of construction noise levels that was developed for the Central Arterial/Tunnel project in Boston, Massachusetts, and is in our opinion the most comprehensive construction noise database currently in existence in the United States. The 50 foot noise levels were then propagated to the 350 foot compliance distance using the standard loss rate loss of 6 dB per doubling of distance. Analysis of Noise from Mid-America Pipeline Company Western Expansion II page 3 March 26, 2012 HAN� F/ NVIRONMENTAL ACOUSTICS AND VIBRATION CONSULTING ENTERPRISE HEFPROT VICINITY INC. _ -- _—'-- / AFCSIRVEYORS ENGINEERS WEP 1118' PIPELINE ALIGNMENT SHEET VICBJT' IMP [+///71/Cr/1p(1 ^� �•�y� c�r . :o�ecnooUU/7YC V/7J ,. FIGURE 1 — PIPELINE ROUTE THROUGH GARFIELD COUNTY, COLORADO Analysis of Noise from Mid-America Pipeline Company Western Expansion II page 4 March 26, 2012 HAND 'ENVIRONMENTAL - ACOUSTICS AND VIBRATION CONSULTING TABLE 2 - Noise Sources and Maximum Noise Levels for Pipeline Project PHASE EQUIPMENT # USAGE Maximum Noise Level DEVICES (%) at 50 feet (dBA) CLEARING Excavator 6 40 81 Skidder 2 40 84 Tub grinder 3 40 87 Stump grinder 3 40 85 Hot saws 1 20 90 Mat haulers 2 40 84 Mowers 3 40 87 Chipper 2 40 87 Rake tractor 3 40 84 Trucks 6 40 84 Log truck 4 40 84 1 Ton truck 3 40 78 ENVIRONMENTAL 1 Ton truck 2 40 78 Gator 2 40 75 Ditch witch 2 40 80 Pickup truck 3 40 75 GRADING Dozer 4 40 82 Excavator 2 40 81 Tractor trailer 1 40 84 1 Ton truck 1 40 78 Pickup truck 8 40 75 DITCH EXCAVATION Excavator 8 40 81 Dozer 3 40 82 1 Ton truck 2 40 78 Hammers 2 20 89 Air compressor 2 40 78 Pickup truck 14 40 75 LOAD, HAUL, STRING Crane 1 16 81 Fork lift 1 40 80 Dozer 1 40 82 Excavator 1 40 81 Tractor 1 40 84 Boom truck 2 40 80 3 ton trucks 2 40 78 Stringing trucks 6 40 80 Bus 1 10 80 Analysis of Noise from Mid-America Pipeline Company Western Expansion II page 5 March 26, 2012 HANi. 'ENVIRONMENTAL — ACOUSTICS AND VIBRATION CONSULTING Pickup truck 6 40 75 BEND, LINE UP, WELD Bending machine 1 40 85 Sideboom 4 40 80 Tack rig 2 40 75 Weld rig 16 40 75 1 Ton truck 1 40 78 Generator 2 50 73 Pickup truck 11 40 75 Bus 1 10 80 JEEP, JOINT, PATCH Winch truck 2 40 80 1 Ton truck 2 40 78 Air compressor 4 40 78 Side boom 2 40 80 Bus 1 10 80 Pickup truck 6 40 75 LOWER IN Excavator 2 40 81 Side boom 5 40 80 Dozer 1 40 82 Skid truck 2 40 84 1 Ton truck 2 40 78 Pickup truck 10 40 75 Bus 1 10 80 BACKFILL Excavator 4 40 81 Dozer 1 40 82 Skid truck 1 40 84 Pickup truck 7 40 75 Bus 1 10 80 HYDRO TEST Water truck 1 40 84 Pumps 2 50 81 Air compressor 2 40 78 Boom truck 1 40 84 1 Ton truck 1 40 78 FINAL CLEANUP Dozer 4 40 82 Track hoe 2 40 84 Tractor 1 40 84 Grader 1 40 85 1 Ton truck 2 40 78 Bus 1 10 80 Pickup truck 9 40 75 Analysis of Noise from Mid-America Pipeline Company Western Expansion II page 6 March 26, 2012 HAN� FI NVIRONMENTAL ACOUSTICS AND VIBRATION CONSULTING NOISE ANALYSIS RESULTS The maximum noise level from the combined operation of all equipment on each phase of construction of the Project was predicted at the 350 foot compliance distance using the noise emission factors described above. The results of these calculations are shown in Table 3 and Figure 2. The predicted noise levels per phase range from 63 dBA to 73 dBA. All of the predicted noise levels are less than the maximum permissible noise level of 80 dBA specified by COGCC Rule 802 using standard construction equipment. Jack hammers, which because they are impulsive must meet a limit of 75 dBA, are predicted to be 72 dBA at 350 feet. Thus, noise levels from the proposed Project are predicted to be in compliance with the COGCC Rule 802 and Garfield County Unified Land Use Resolution Section 7-815. TABLE 3 - Predicted Construction Noise Levels Phase Noise Level at 350' Compliance Distance (Lmax, dBA) CLEARING AND GRADING 73 ENVIRONMENTAL 63 GRADING 67 DITCH EXCAVATION 72 LOAD, HAUL, STRING 67 BEND, LINE UP, WELD 68 JEEP, JOINT, PATCH 63 LOWER IN 67 BACKFILL 67 HYDRO TEST 67 FINAL CLEANUP 68 Analysis of Noise from Mid-America Pipeline Company Western Expansion II page 7 March 26, 2012 HAND 'ENVIRONMENTAL ACOUSTICS AND VIBRATION CONSULTING Predicted Noise Level (dBA) 90 85 80 75 - 70 65 60 60 —55 50 50 —45 40 40 —35 COGCC COGCC Noise Level Limit 30 COGCC Noise Level Limit (impulsive sounds) ENVIRONMENTAL z ce 0 DITCH EXCAVATION LOAD, HAUL, STRING JEEP, JOINT, PATCH Phase of Pipeline Installation W 0 J CO HYDRO TEST FIGURE 2 - MAXIMUM NOISE LEVELS 350 FEET FROM PIPELINE USING STANDARD CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT Please contact our office with any questions at (303) 666-0617. We hope that this will satisfy the requirements for your permit. Sincerely, Michael Hankard President Full Member of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering Member of the Acoustical Society of America Analysis of Noise from Mid-America Pipeline Company Western Expansion II page 8 March 26, 2012