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Home My WebLink About2.0 Staff ReportGarfield County To: Board of County Commissioners From: John Niewoehner, Project Engineer, Building and Planning Department Date: June 16, 2009 RE: Staff Report-Logan Wash 16" Pipeline Application Submitted by Enterprise Gas Processing, LLC (PDP 5009) ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• I. Project Overview The proposed 4-mile long pipeline will transfer natural gas from the OXY Interconnect at Conn Creek (S8, T?S, R97W) to Enterprise's 24-inch diameter Great Divide Pipeline to the south (S31, T7S, R97W). The pipeline will parallel an existing 1 O" gas pipeline installed by Enterprise in 2008 and, as such, native vegetation disturbed by the new pipeline will be minimized. The application was submitted on May 4, 2009 and was deemed technically complete on May 13, 2009. The application was reviewed against the requirements of Article IX of the Unified Land Use Resolution of 2008. This project consists of the following components: • Pipeline. The installation of a 4.18 miles long 16-inch diameter steel pipeline. 2.12 miles of the pipeline is on BLM property. • Pipeline Easement. The temporary construction easement varies in width but the minimum width is 65 feet. The width of the permanent pipeline easement also varies but the minimum width is 25 feet. • Pig Launching and Receiving Areas. To clean the pipeline, a pig launcher facility will be constructed at the Conn Creek Oxy Interconnect (north end) and a pig receiver facility will be constructed at the Great Divide pipeline connection (south end). The fenced area required for the pig launcher and meter is approximately 150'x125'. The fenced area required for the pig receiver and tie-in is approximately 190'x60'. • Conn Creek Crossing. The Conn Creek crossing requires an Army Corps Nationwide 12 Permit and, potentially, a CDPHE Construction Dewatering Wastewater Discharge Permit. The Conn Creek crossing is located on private property owned by Savage Limited Partnership. • Staging Areas: Staging areas will be located in Rio Blanco County. • Construction Schedule: Per the applicant, the project will commence upon receipt of applicable permits and will take approximately 10 weeks to complete. Per the wildlife report, no clearing of sage or pinyon-juniper should occur before July 31 51 . II. Surface Ownership of Pipeline and Staging Area The pipeline crosses both private fee lands as well as BLM. Based on the information provided, the applicant has all of the easements and right-of-ways necessary to move forward on the project. The following sets out a list of those ownerships: 1. Bureau of Land Management 2. Chevron USA, Inc. 3. Savage Limited Partnership, LLC 28 I I Ill. Road Access Chevron Launcher " & Meter 2 Approximate Pipeline Location 34 j3 • Pipeline Access at Pipeline Mile Post (MP) 0.00 is directly from CR 213 (Conn Creek Road) and CR 492. • Pipeline Access at MP 4.18 is directly from CR 492. • Pipeline Access at MP 2.78 is from a dirt farm road that connects to CR 213. This road will be widened for construction and then reclaimed to its existing width after construction is complete. • Pipeline Access at MP 0.66 is from a dirt farm road that connects to CR 204 (Roan Creek Road). This road will be widened for construction and then reclaimed to its existing width after construction is complete. IV. Water Body, Stream and Wetland Crossings One perennial water body and 21 ephemeral drainages will be crossed by the proposed Logan Wash Pipeline. Conn Creek is the only perennial stream that will be crossed (at MP 3.83). The pipeline will cross Conn Creek by either flume or, if there is water flowing in the creek at the time of construction, by dam and pump methods. All ephemeral drainages will be crossed when this is no flow in the channels. All water bodies will be crossed in accordance with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) 404 Permit requirements. If dewatering is necessary for the Conn Creek crossing, the applicant has obtained a CDPHE Construction Dewatering Wastewater Discharge Permit. V. Wildlife The following are the highlights of the Wildlife and Sensitive Areas Report prepared by Westwater Engineering: • Savage Limited Partnership did not allow Westwater to perform a survey of their property. • No endangered/threatened plant or animal species were identified on the parcels surveyed. • Re-seeding with local sagebrush is recommended. • To mitigate negative impacts on nesting birds, brush clearing in sagebrush stands and pinyon-juniper woodland habits should not occur during the May 31st to July 31 nesting seasons. VI. Referral Comments Staff referred the Application to the following Agencies I Departments whose comments are as follows: A. Debegue Fire Protection District: no comments received B. Garfield County Road and Bridge Deparlment: 3 • All vehicles hauling equipment and materials for this project shall abide by Garfield County's oversize/overweight permit system on all County roads. All vehicles requiring oversize/overweight permits shall apply for them at Garfield County Road and Bridge Department. All vehicles requiring oversize/overweight permits shall have on file with Garfield County Road and Bridge Department a letter from Enterprise Gas Processing, LLC stating said vehicles can apply for oversize/overweight permits under their bond on file with Garfield County. • All vehicles shall abide by all construction signage and speed limits on CR 204, this could include reduced speed limits, bypasses and traffic stops. This construction could continue for up to one year. C. County Vegetation Management: • Weed Management: (1) The weed management plan is acceptable. (2) It is recommended that the applicant initiate weed management activities prior to the start of construction. (3) There should be about a six-week window between the last herbicide treatment and the initial reseeding. • Revegetation Plan: (1) The re-vegetation plan is acceptable. (2) All seed tags must be saved and made available to the Vegetation Management Department for verification. • Revegetation Security: The applicant has quantified the area of disturbance on private land as 22.61 acres. We recommend a $2500 per acre security for short- term disturbances on private land. This would come to $56,525. (This figure only accounts for re-vegetation and not any earthwork, re-contouring, or structure removal costs.) The security shall be held by Garfield County until vegetation has been successfully reestablished according to the Reclamation Standards in the Garfield County Weed Management Plan. It is the responsibility of the applicant to contact the County, upon successful re-vegetation establishment, to request an inspection for security release consideration. D. County Oil & Gas Liaison: No comments were received. E. County Project Engineer: • All submittal materials comply with County standards for pipelines. F. County Attorney: The applicant is currently providing documents requested by the Attorney. These needs will be addressed prior to the issuance of the permit. G. County Sheriff: No comments VII. Summary of Review 4 Upon review of the documents submitted against the required standards and criteria in Section IX of the Unified Land Use Code, Staff has made a determination of Approval with Conditions for the "Enterprise Gas Processing, LLC-Logan Wash 16" Pipeline". The specific conditions include the following: 1. COGCC: 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. Additionally, all power sources used in pipeline operations shall have electric motors or muffled internal combustion engines. 2. Minimize Impacts: Pipeline operations shall be located in a manner to minimize their visual impact and disturbance of the land surface. Facilities shall be painted in a uniform, non-contrasting, non-reflective color, to blend with the adjacent landscape. Right-of-way shall be located in existing disturbed areas unless safety or visual concerns or other adverse surface impacts clearly dictate otherwise. 3. Oversize/Overweight Vehicles: All vehicles hauling equipment and materials for this proje.ct shall abide by Garfield County's oversize/overweight permit system on all County roads. All vehicles requiring oversize/overweight permits shall apply for them at Garfield County Road and Bridge Deparlment. All vehicles requiring oversize/overweight permits shall have on file with Garfield County Road and Bridge Deparlment a letter from Enterprise Gas Processing, LLC stating said vehicles can apply for oversize/overweight permits under their bond on file with Garfield County. 4. GIS Shape File: The Applicant shall provide the County with a digital alignment of the pipeline once constructed in a format readable to the County Geographic Information System (GIS) analyst. 5. Endangered Species: In no case shall an operator engage in activities which impact Federal or State threatened and endangered species. 6. Prohibition on Brush Clearing: To mitigate negative impacts on nesting birds, brush clearing in sagebrush stands and pinyon-juniper woodland habits may not occur during the May 31st to July 31 nesting season. 7. Air Emissions: Air contaminant emissions shall be in compliance with the applicable permit and control provisions of the Colorado Air Quality Control Program, Title 25, Resolution 7, C.R.S. 8. Federal and State Regulations: All operations shall comply with all applicable Federal and State Public Health and Environment, Noise, and Air and Water Quality Control standards. 5 9. Abandoned Pipelines: Should an abandoned pipeline be removed, it will be subject to the original revegetation and weed management requirements in the original application. 10. Permit Duration: The County requires that the construction of the pipeline and its appurtenances be completed prior to January 1, 2011. 11. Site Reclamation. Re-vegetation and Weed Management: (1) Unless changes are approved by the County Vegetation Manager, re-vegetation and weed management must be performed in accordance with the Reclamation Plan that was submitted as part of the application. (2) All seed tags must be saved and made available to the Vegetation Management Department for verification. (3) It is recommended that the applicant initiate weed management activities prior to the start of construction. (4) There should be about a six-week window between the last herbicide treatment and the initial reseeding. 12. Financial Securitv for Reclamation: Prior to issuance of the permit, the applicant must provide the County with a bond to the amount of $56,525. This amount was calculated assuming 22.61 acres of land disturbance and a reclamation cost of $2500/acre. The security shall be held by Garfield County until vegetation has been successfully reestablished according to the Reclamation Standards in the Garfield County Weed Management Plan. It is the responsibility of the Applicant to contact the County, upon successful re-vegetation establishment, to request an inspection for security release consideration 6