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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20140957 Ver 2_Atlantic Coast Pipeline Presentation Notes_20170718Atlantic Coast Pipeline Presentation 1. Intro a. I work for the Department of Environmental Quality in the Division of Water Resources b. The Division is reviewing Atlantic Coast Pipeline's application for a Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification and Neuse and Tar -Pamlico River Basin Riparian Buffer Authorization of their proposed transmission pipeline and supporting infrastructure c. The pipeline is proposed to be located through Northampton, Halifax, Nash, Wilson, Johnston, Sampson, Cumberland and Robeson Counties in North Carolina 2. Facilities in NC a. The pipeline is proposed to deliver natural gas from the Appalachian region to markets in Virginia and NC b. It would enter NC at Northampton County as a 42 -inch pipeline to a new compressor station to be located near NC's border with VA c. A 36 -inch pipeline is proposed to carry the gas from the compressor station generally along Interstate 95 to Robeson County d. 3 M&R stations, 11 valve sites and 4 pig launchers/receivers, which are pipeline inspection tools, are proposed to support operation of the pipeline e. A lateral pipeline is also proposed to connect the new compressor station to the Norfolk, VA area. It would run N/NE for approximately 12 miles in NC before crossing into VA. 3. Impacts a. Along its route, the pipeline crosses approximately 326 surface waters orwaterbodies and wetlands. Surface waters include streams, ponds and the Neuse River. b. Seven crossings are proposed to be installed underneath rivers and large stream channels listed on the slide using the horizontal directional drill method. i. This type of installation avoids impacts to the surface water (On the next slide, I'll show you what this looks like and briefly explain how it works) c. Once construction is complete, the ground surface, streams, and wetlands would be restored as near as practical to their pre -construction condition d. A total of approximately 35, 951 linear feet of surface waters and 453 acres of wetlands would be temporarily impacted by construction e. Permanent impacts totaling approximately 766 linear feet of surface waters and 8/10ths of an acre of wetlands would result from upgrading farm roads and building new access roads to the pipeline corridor f. Strearnside buffers within the Neuse and Tar -Pamlico River Basins are protected by the State. These are also called riparian buffers i. Impacts to these areas adjacent to streams and other surface waters require a Buffer Authorization 4. Horizontal Directional Drill a. This is a cross-section showing how the pipeline is installed using a horizontal directional drill b. A drill, setup on one side of the waterbody, creates a horizontal pathway for the pipe underneath the waterbody then the assembled pipeline is pulled through the drilled pathway to complete the crossing c. This method is proposed for all river crossings, except for the Neuse River, and large stream channels or those that support protected species. Using this method avoids surface disturbance, riparian tree clearing, and in -stream construction. Page 2 5. 401 WQC a. Projects that require a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must also receive a 401 Water Quality Certification from the State for the permit to be valid b. Certifications are issued where the Division determines that water quality standards are met, including protection of existing uses i. Water quality standards are a combination of numeric limits on pollutants and criteria to maintain the characteristics that are typical of these resources ii. Existing uses consist of aquatic life habitat including fishing, wildlife, primary recreation such as swimming, secondary recreation such as wading and boating, agriculture and water supply for drinking and food processing c. For a project to be issued a Certification, it must meet the following criteria i. The project has no practical alternative ii. Minimizes adverse impacts to surface waters and wetlands based on consideration of existing topography, vegetation, fish and wildlife resources, and hydrological conditions iii. Does not result in the degradation of groundwaters or surface waters iv. Does not result in cumulative impacts, based upon past or reasonably anticipated future impacts, that cause or will cause a violation of downstream water quality standards and v. Provides for replacement of existing uses through mitigation 6. Alternatives Evaluated a. An alternative analysis was completed as part of the FERC's National Environmental Policy Act review i. This included 1. No action alternative 2. Alternative energy sources 3. Energy conservation 4. System alternatives 5. Two Conceptual alternatives were evaluated a. An eastern route along 1-95 that is the proposed route and Western route that was located west of Durham b. Also, a Southern route for the lateral pipeline was evaluated to select a route around the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge & State Park ii. ACP also evaluated several major route alternatives 1. Initially, a baseline was developed using the a. Location of receipt/delivery points b. Engineering and constructability criteria c. Terrain and d. Existing land use 2. Then, alternatives were evaluated to avoid or minimize impacts to localized resources and stakeholders which involved mainly a. Conservation easements b. Cultural resource sites c. Forest areas including avoidance and collocation with existing utility corridors d. Protected plants and animals e. Stakeholder concerns and f. Surface Waters and Wetlands Page 3 7. Construction Minimization a. ACP has also taken steps to minimize the impact of construction on surface waters and wetlands b. At surface water crossings, they i. Will install temporary bridges to reduce the potential for sediment impacts ii. Will use methods to work in the dry by routing water around the work area where it is feasible iii. They have plans for removing fish and other aquatic species from clewatered work areas iv. After construction, they will use water from municipal sources for testing the pipeline integrity, except for the Tar River and Contentnea Creek crossings, and v. They will restore streambeds and banks to near as practicable pre-existing conditions after pipeline installation c. In wetland areas, they i. Have limited the width of the construction ROW, which I will show you on the next slide ii. The have located additional temporary work spaces in uplands at least 50 feet from wetland boundaries iii. Will maintain sediment barriers during construction iv. Will restore the ground surface to pre-existing conditions after pipeline installation v. Will re -seed the construction corridor with a native seed mix and vi. Will limit post -construction maintenance of vegetation within the pipeline easement 8. This is a drawing showing what the typical ROW within wetlands would look like during construction a. The total width of the construction ROW is reduced from 110 feet to 75 feet in wetlands b. Topsoil will be removed first and kept segregated from the subsoil below for wetland restoration c. The trench will be centered within the 50 -foot permanent easement for the pipeline leaving 50 feet for construction equipment needed to install the pipeline in the trench and travel along the construction corridor 9. As I mentioned earlier, mitigation is required to provide for replacement of existing uses a. Surface water and wetland impacts that will be restored after construction are temporary and do not require mitigation for the 401 water quality certification because the impact does not result in a loss of the resource. It is important to note that the Corps of Engineers will require mitigation for the permanent conversion of forested wetlands to wetlands without woody plants within the pipeline easement that will be permanently maintained. b. For the 401 Certification, mitigation to provide replacement of existing uses is required for permanent impacts that would result from access road development c. Mitigation requires restoration of streams, wetlands, and buffers somewhere else in the same watershed as the impact d. There three options available to mitigate proposed losses of surface waters, wetlands, and strearnside buffers. The applicant can i. Make a payment to a private mitigation bank to purchase credits from completed restoration projects ii. Make a payment to a State program that performs restoration projects or iii. Restoration can be performed by or on the behalf of the applicant directly ACP plans to use a tiered approach in their mitigation plan. They will purchase mitigation credits from private mitigation banks where these credits are available. Where credits are not available, ACP will purchase credits from the State program. Lastly, ACP may propose to provide mitigation themselves where neither of these options are available. Page 4 10. 401 WQC Process and Timeline a. Lastly, I'll outline the 401 WQC process and its timeline b. The Division, Army Corps of Engineers and State and Federal resource agencies have been engaging in pre -application consultation with ACP since 2014 to avoid and minimize impacts to surface waters, wetlands, and strearnside buffers c. In March of this year, the Department organized a meeting with all the Divisions that are responsible for processing permits for the project and conservation groups and other interested stakeholders to hear any concerns i. One concern that we heard from several stakeholders was that the project should be processed as an Individual Certification instead of the more abbreviated General Certification process ii. The Department adopted this recommendation and planned two hearings to facilitate stakeholder input into the process d. We received ACP's application for Certification and Authorization on May 8 1h 1h e. On June 16 , we issued a public notice of the project and announced that two hearings would be held, which was also published in newspapers serving the counties crossed by the project on the 17 1h and 18th f. We issued a correction of the public notice a few days later to correct a typographical error in the pipeline diameter reported g. A request for additional information about the project was issued on June 27 1h , and the information was received on July 12 1h h. In addition to the hearing tonight, a hearing will also be held in Rocky Mount this Thursday i. The public comment period for written comments will remain open until August 191h . j. A decision on the application would be issued by September 18 1h unless additional information necessary to process the application is needed and not yet available 11. Written comments can be submitted here tonight, by mail or by email to the applicable address shown. Thank you.