Piceance basin expansion project : final environmental impact statement

2005·124.6 MB·English

by  United States. Bureau of Land Management

BLM LIBRARY
lental Impact Statement
88067824
•’y , iy, Ltd. Docket No. CP05-54-000
FERC/EIS-0181
PICEANCE BASIN
EXPANSION PROJECT
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC
Cooperating Agency:
Bureau of Land Management
August 2005

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Final Environmental Impact Statement
Wyoming Interstate Company, Ltd. Docket No. CP05-54-000
FERC/EIS-0181
PICEANCE BASIN
EXPANSION PROJECT
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC
Cooperating Agency:
Bureau of Land Management
August 2005

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D C. 20426
officeofenergy projects In Reply Refer To
:
OEP/DG2E/Gas
1
Wyoming Interstate Company,Ltd.
Docket No. CP05-54-000
BLM WYW-
Reference No. 160264
TO THE PARTY ADDRESSED:
The environmental staffofthe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission)
has prepared this final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the interstate natural gas
pipeline transmission facilities proposed by Wyoming Interstate Company, Ltd. (WIC) in the
above-referenced docket.
This final EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements ofthe National Environmental Policy
Act. Its purpose is to inform the Commission, the public, and other permitting agencies about
the potential adverse and beneficial environmental impacts associated with the proposed
Piceance Basin Expansion Project (Piceance Project) and its alternatives, and to recommend
practical, reasonable, and appropriate mitigation measures which would avoid or reduce any
significant adverse impacts to the maximum extent practicable and, where feasible, to less than
significant levels. The final EIS concludes that the proposed project, with appropriate mitigating
measures as recommended, would have limited adverse environmental impact.
The U.S. Department ofInterior, Bureau ofLand Management (BLM) is participating as a
cooperating agency in the preparation ofthis final EIS because the project would cross federal
lands under BLM administration in Wyoming and Colorado. The final EIS will be used by the
BLM to consider the issuance ofa right-of-way (ROW) grant for the portion ofthe project on
federal lands. While the conclusions and recommendations presented in this final EIS were
developed with input from the BLM as a cooperating agency, the BLM will present its own
conclusions and recommendations in its Record ofDecision for the project.
The Piceance Project involves the construction and operation ofa new interstate natural gas
pipeline system that would extend between the existing Colorado Interstate Gas Company (CIG)
Greasewood Compressor Station in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, and the existing CIG
Wamsutter Compressor Station in Sweetwater County, Wyoming.1 The final EIS assesses the
potential environmental effects ofthe construction and operation ofthe following facilities in
Colorado and Wyoming:
i Both WIC and CIG are affiliates owned by El Paso Corporation.
A
- 2 -
Docket No. CP05-54-000
• about 141.8 miles of24-inch-diameter new pipeline with 89.9 miles located in Colorado (Rio
Blanco and Moffat Counties) and 51.9 miles located in Wyoming (Sweetwater County);
• additional compression to be installed at the existing CIG Greasewood Compressor Station in
Colorado;
• four metering stations at interconnections with other pipeline systems (two associated with
the CIG Greasewood Compressor Station, two at the CIG Wamsutter Compressor Station);
• three pigging facilities (one associated with each compressor station and a new facility at
milepost 54.0 near County Road 4 in Moffat County, Colorado);
• nine mainline valves (one valve at each ofthe two existing compressor stations and seven
valves along the pipeline ROW); and
• other associated facilities, such as access roads and communication towers.
The proposed project would be capable oftransporting up to 350,000 dekatherms ofnatural gas
per day (Dthd) from the CIG Greasewood Compressor Station to interconnections at Wamsutter,
Wyoming with the CIG and WIC interstate transmission pipeline systems that serve markets east
and west ofWamsutter.
The final EIS has been placed in the public files ofthe FERC and is available for public
inspection at:
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Room
Public Reference
888 First Street, NE, Room 2
Washington, D.C. 20426
[phone]
-3-
Docket No. CP05-54-000
Copies also are available for reading at the following locations:
BLM Field Office Address City/State Zip Code
Colorado State Office 2850 Youngfield Street Lakewood, CO 80215
CO 81625
Little Snake Field Office 455 Emerson Street Craig,
WY
Rawlins Field Otfice 1300 N. Third Rawlins, 82301
White River Field Office 73544 Hwy 64 Meeker, CO 81641
WY
Wyoming State Office P.O. Box 1828 Cheyenne, 82003
Library Address City/State Zip Code
BLM Library RS 150A, Bldg. 50 Denver, CO 80225-0047
DFC
CO 81625
Craig Library 570 Green Street Craig,
DeBeque Library 730 Minter Avenue DeBeque, CO 81630
Glenwood Springs Branch 413 9th Street Glenwood Springs, 81601-3607
CO
Library
WY
Hay Library Western Wyoming Rock Springs, 82902
Community College,
2500 College Drive
Meeker Library 200 Main Street Meeker, CO 81641
Merrill Library Utah State University Logan, UT 84322-3000
CO 80526
Morgan Library Colorado State Fort Collins,
University
Parachute Branch Library 244 Grand Valley Way Parachute, CO 81635
Rangely Library 109 East Main Street Rangely, CO 81641
nd CO 81650
Rifle Branch Library 107 East 2 Rifle,
WY
Rock Springs Library 400 C Street Rock Springs, 82901
WY
82331
Saratoga Branch Library P.O. Box 27 Saratoga,
WY
Sweetwater County 300 N. 1st East Street Green River, 82935
Library
WY
University ofWyoming 1000 East University Laramie, 82071
Avenue
WY
Wamsutter Library 230 Tierney Wamsutter, 82336
WY
White Mountain Library 2935 Sweetwater Drive Rock Springs, 82901
-4-
Docket No. CP05-54-000
A limited number ofcopies are available from the FERC’s Public Reference Room identified
above. In addition, copies ofthe final EIS have been mailed to federal, state, and local agencies;
public interest groups; individuals and affected landowners; libraries; newspapers; and parties to
this proceeding.
In accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations implementing the
National Environmental Policy Act, no agency decision on a proposed action may be made until
30 days after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publishes a notice ofavailability ofa
final EIS. However, the CEQ regulations provide an exception to this rule when an agency
decision is subject to a formal internal appeal process which allows other agencies or the public
to make their views known. In such cases, the agency decision may be made at the same time
the notice ofthe final EIS is published, allowing both periods to run concurrently. The
Commission decision for this proposed action is subject to a 30-day rehearing period.
Additional information about the proposed project is available from the Commission’s Office of
External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC or on the FERC Internet website (www.ferc.gov) using the
“eLibrary” link. Click on the eLibrary link, click on “General Search” and enter the docket
number excluding the last three digits (CP05-54) in the Docket Number field. Be sure you have
selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
[email protected] or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-
8659. The eLibrary link on the FERC internet website also provides access to the texts offormal
documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings.
Information concerning the involvement ofthe BLM is available from Tom Hurshman, BLM
Project Manager, at [phone].
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
LIST OF APPENDICES v
LIST OF TABLES .....vi
LIST OF FIGURES ix
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AA-1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ES-1
INTRODUCTION
1.0 .1-1
1.1 Background 1-1
1.2 Project Purpose and Need 1-1
1.3 Purpose and Scope ofthis Document 1-3
FERC
1.3.1 ...1-4
1.3.2 BLM 1-4
1.4 Public Review and Comment 1-5
1.5 Nonjurisdictional Facilities 1-9
1.6 Related Actions 1-10
1.7 Changes Since Issuance ofthe Draft EIS 1-18
2.0 PROPOSED ACTION. 2-1
2.1 Proposed Facilities 2-1
2.1.1 Pipeline Facilities 2-1
2.1.2 Compressor Stations and Appurtenant Facilities 2-1
2.2 Land Requirements 2-3
ROW
2.2.1 Pipeline 2-3
2.2.2 Additional Temporary Workspace Areas 2-7
2.2.2. ContingentWinter Construction Workspace 2-8
2.2.3 Pipe Storage and Contractor Yards 2-8
2.2.4 Access Roads 2-9
i
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
2.2.5 Aboveground Facilities 2-10
2.3 Construction Procedures 2-11
2.3.1 General Pipeline Construction Procedures 2-14
2.3.1.1 Survey and Staking 2-15
2.3.1.2 Clearing and Grading 2-1
2.3.1.3 Trenching 2-17
2.3.1.4 Pipe Stringing, Bending, and Welding 2-1
2.3.1.5 Lowering-in and Backfilling 2-18
2.3.1.6 Hydrostatic Testing 2-18
2.3.1.7 Final Tie-in 2-19
2.3.1.8 Commissioning 2-19
2.3.1.9 Cleanup and Restoration 2-1
2.3.2 Special Construction Procedures 2-19
2.3.2.1 Road, Highway, and Railroad Crossings 2-20
2.3.2.2 Steep Terrain 2-20
2.3.2.3 Waterbody Crossings 2-21
2.3.2.4 Wetland Crossings 2-24
2.3.2.5 Blasting 2-25
2.3.2.6 Residential Construction 2-26
2.3.2.7 Fences and Grazing 2-26
2.3.2.8 Construction Immediately Adjacent to Foreign Lines 2-27
2.3.3 Aboveground Facility Construction Procedures 2-27
2.3.4 Corrosion Protection and Detection Systems 2-31
2.4 Construction Workforce and Schedule 2-31
2.5 Environmental Inspection, Compliance Monitoring, and Post-Approval Variances 2-32
2.5.1 Compliance Monitoring 2-33
2.5.2 Post-Approval Variance Process 2-34
2.6 Operation and Maintenance 2-34
ROW
2.6.1 Monitoring and Maintenance 2-34
2.6.2 Pipeline Integrity 2-35
2.7 Future Plans and Abandonment 2-35
2.8 Permits, Approvals, and Regulatory Requirements ..2-36
3.0 ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 3-1
3.1 Geology 3-1
3.1.1 Geology and Physiography 3-1
3.1.2 Mineral Resources 3-1
3.1.3 Geologic Hazards 3-4