Managing the engineering/environmental planning interface process for pipeline projects

Managing the engineering/environmental planning interface process for pipeline projects

Kevin R. Prestage
Foster Wheeler Environmental Corporation
133 Federal Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110

Introduction
As the energy industry moves into a demanding climate fueled by the high cost of electricity, rolling blackouts, and battles for market retention and expansion, pipeline projects designed to alleviate the pressure must be executed more efficiently then ever before. For better and faster execution, companies are reaching for the newest technologies that will provide advantages in data collection, data analysis, and subsequent environmental planning, design and construction. A direct result is the energy industry’s oil and gas pipeline sector reaching for Geographic Information Technologies (GIT) that will provide them with ways to accelerate project execution and give them an edge over the competition.

A typical pipeline project (transmission) is “built” using a team of engineers and environmental planners working together, sometimes using the same design drawings, for a common goal; installation of a pipeline. But despite what would appear to be very similar processes, the engineering and environmental planning of pipeline projects are very technical in their own respects. The team’s interface between engineering and environmental planning requires careful management to achieve the goals of each group. The disciplines constantly share geospatial data, each building upon what the other produces. The application of GIT to pipeline projects further links these two disciplines and creates new challenges that must be properly addressed to gain GIT’s advantages.

This paper will discuss the interface between pipeline engineers and environmental planners from the perspective of an environmental planner. This paper’s goal is to identify the key environmental geospatial components of a pipeline project and review how they fit into the design, permitting, and licensing processes. The intent of this paper is to provide the pipeline engineer with an understanding of environmental planning’s geospatial issues; essentially this paper is a tool for pipeline engineers to understand the environmental process.

Outline
Within pipeline projects, engineering and environmental data at times share the same space on drawings and in certain circumstances are components of each another. This interdependency requires the team to carefully craft a plan to exact information from each other’s discipline where the data requested results in the data they receive, and where data generated by one discipline is handled by the other in a manner that maintains it’s integrity. This leads us to the first topic; Understanding Environmental Data.

Fundamentally, obtaining an environmental permit for construction of a pipeline project requires the proponent to search for and identify environmental resources, and then quantify impacts, if any, on those resources. Identifying environmental resources can come from existing data sets (i.e. US Fish & Wildlife Service inventories) and/or from field surveys. The process of collecting field data is labor intensive and when applied appropriately, can be greatly aided by GIT. The second and third topics discussed will be: Data Collection with GIT; and Analyzing Environmental Data.

As mentioned above, there is a significant interdependency for geospatial data between the engineering and environmental planning disciplines. Beyond the need for both disciplines to produce information that the other will build upon, there is the need for the project to be able to seamlessly exchange information.

As with any type of project, “change” is nearly inevitable. Pipeline projects will typically reroute, and/or change the ancillary facilities more than once during the course of the project’s development. The impact of these changes almost always requires the project’s environmental planning to adjust their applications for permits and/or licenses. The last topic covered will be: Managing the Geospatial Interface & Planning for Change.

Understanding environmental data
Understanding data used by environmental planning consists of learning why the data are needed, learning what the data represent, and finally learning what engineering data are required to complete the environmental data. It is also very important to understand that the requirements of environmental data vary from regulatory agency to regulatory agency and even federally defined environmental resources vary regulatory district to regulatory district. As a result, what may have applied to one project may not necessarily apply to the next.

The first step in understanding environmental data is to understand why it is needed. A typical pipeline project requires a permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for construction in “Waters of the US”, more commonly known as wetlands and streams (as mandated by the Clean Water Act). The project may also require clearance that there is no significant impact to federally listed endangered species by the US Fish & Wildlife Service (as mandated by the Endangered Species Act), and require a clearance that there is no significant impact to cultural resources by the State Historic Preservation Officer (as mandated by the National Historic Preservation Act).

If the project falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), it will typically require the preparation of reports summarizing the impacts to many additional environmental resources including: residential areas; drinking water supplies; land uses; and geologic resources. All of this information is necessary for the federal lead agency to prepare its required impact analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act. Table 1 summarizes representative environmental data requirements for a construction project.

Table 1 Typical Environmental Data Required for Environmental Planning

Environmental Data	Regulatory Agency	Spatial Accuracy	Comment
Waters of the US (streams, swamps, ponds)	US Army Corps of Engineers	sub-meter survey (but sub-centimeter survey can be required)	most common environmental data
Endangered Species	US Fish & Wildlife Service	varies, but typically sub-meter survey	data should not be released to the public
Cultural Resources	State Historic Preservation Officer	sub-meter survey (but can vary)	data should not be released to the public
Drinking Water Sources	FERC	typically sub-meter survey is best for analysis purposes
Land Use	FERC	digitizing at a variety of scales is acceptable
Geologic Resources	FERC	typically sub-meter survey is best for analysis purposes
Residences	FERC	typically sub-meter survey is best for analysis purposes

Waters of the US data
Waters of the US (Waters) are the federally defined boundaries of water resources protected by the Clean Water Act. Waters include: streams, estuaries, mud flats, lakes, and swamps. The process of identifying Waters requires that an appropriately skilled person survey the entire project site where earth will be moved and mark in the field the boundaries of Waters using guidelines issued by the USACE. This process requires consideration of many variables including the types of vegetation, the characteristics of the soil, and the presence of water at the site during the year. The boundaries of Waters are not as consistently clear as the edge of a river’s banks or the limits of standing water in a swamp. This can cause much confusion when a project’s civil survey also locates the presence of water for the purposes of identifying required engineering practices such as weighting the pipeline. Pipeline designers should be aware of data similarities such as this during alignment sheet production.

Each District of the USACE has different requirements for data that are to be collected, but nearly all require the boundary of each Waters to be surveyed. Typically, the boundary of Waters can be surveyed using mapping-grade GPS (sub-meter accuracy). Once the Waters are surveyed they should not be adjusted without consulting the project team’s environmental planner, even in situations where they may not look as though they match aerial photography, etc. Discrepancies should be noted and addressed to the environmental planners to assure that the permitting and licensing processing is not interrupted.

Managing the boundaries of Waters usually creates the most labor intensive interface between engineering and environmental planning. Careless management of this data has caused the misrepresentation of Waters on maps resulting in a regulatory agent finding a discrepancy in the field and subsequently their denial of a permit. Another significant problem caused by mismanagement of Waters data is the incorrect calculation of impacts to Waters. Some projects are required to pay a fee for impacting wetlands based on the area impacted. Incorrect calculation of the wetland area impacted can result in significant cost to a project

Endangered species data
The location of endangered species is critical to the construction of a pipeline. Nearly every significant pipeline project that requires a federal permit is required to consult with the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to provide evidence that the project does not significantly impact federally “listed” endangered species. In the process of consulting with the USFWS, the project team may be required to perform an analysis of the project’s proximity to the locations of listed endangered species. The team’s environmental planners gather the known locations of endangered species from data sets kept by the USFWS and other local agencies, and additionally, sometimes from field surveys capturing GPS data. The results of both processes produce information that can be critical to the routing, construction, and post-construction maintenance of a pipeline.

Endangered species data will comprise a large amount of data, but it must be handled with the utmost care. One of the most significant but largely unknown issues involving endangered species data is a requirement for confidentiality. Endangered species are protected under federal and sometimes state law because of their infrequency and potential for extirpation, or even extinction. As such, the locations of endangered species become critical to the management of the existing populations of these species. Managing existing populations does not just mean the prevention of development, but also the protection from poachers. Every project should be conscious that endangered species data should be released only to authorized agencies and typically, it will never be released to the general public.

If a project encounters endangered species it may be required to deviate from traditional pipeline design practices. It is not unusual for a project to be required to mitigate impact to endangered species by: horizontally directionally drilling a river with endangered fish; limiting clearing of trees in endangered bird habitat (even avoid specifically designated trees!); monitoring the cleared right-of-way during construction for endangered turtles; or, following construction, maintaining the right-of-way in a particular manner for endangered plants. All of these requirements can cost pipeline projects large amounts of money. Suitable management of endangered species data should be applied to ensure a pipeline project is designed to mitigate appropriately, not excessively.

Cultural resources data
Cultural resources comprise areas and structures listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The location of cultural resources can be gathered by existing data sets and/or by field surveys. Cultural resources should be kept confidential and can require pipeline design considerations as with endangered species.

FERC data
Projects under the jurisdiction of the FERC may require the preparation of reports that outline the impacts to the above mentioned resources and a few more. Additional FERC-required resources gathered during field surveys include: drinking water resources; land use; geologic resources; and residences.

Drinking water resources are sources of public, private, and agricultural drinking water. These can be intake pipes in rivers, cisterns, groundwater wells, and more. A FERC regulated project must mitigate impacts to drinking water resources and an accurate survey is important for the project to control cost. FERC regulated projects require a field survey of the project’s construction work spaces to identify the locations of drinking water resources, and this is typically done with mapping grade GPS. A project’s civil survey may also locate drinking water sources such as groundwater wells. The two surveys (civil and environmental) may be locating the same data, causing expensive repetition, however the two surveys may not be using the same data definition, thereby eliminating the ability to use only one survey. This issue should be addressed at the beginning of each survey, while considering the data’s spatial requirements, the data’s attributes, field survey schedules, and field survey costs.

The entire footprint of the project must be mapped to determine the impacts to the various types of land uses affected by construction and operation of the project. Land use categories may be broad, such as “forest”, but they can be as detailed as necessary to appropriately represent the land uses in the many climates within the United States. There is no requirement for land use to be mapped using GPS, but the exercise of mapping land use is typically done by heads-up digitizing using an aerial photography base. For a FERC application the aerial photos must be less than one year old or updated by ground-truthing. Land use is an excellent opportunity for application of mobile-GIS-mapping without using a GPS component.

Geologic resources can be broken into two categories: geologic sources of economic benefit (e.g. oil fields, sand pits); and geologic conditions that can inhibit construction and/or restoration (e.g. severe erosion, karst terrain). Geologic resources are required to be surveyed for and typically are located with mapping GPS equipment. As with drinking water resources, there may be an overlap with the civil survey and the project team must plan to efficiently locate these resources and appropriately manage the resulting data.

Places that people reside must be located and the project must mitigate impact to them. Residences comprise condominiums, apartment high rises, and single-family homes. The FERC puts strict requirements on construction activities within 50-feet of residences. As with drinking water resources and geologic resources, there may be an overlap with the civil survey and the project team must plan to efficiently locate these resources and appropriately manage the resulting data.

Engineering data
Environmental data represents natural resources that regulatory agencies require the project to study, and by itself it only shows their locations and what they are. To complete applications for permits and licenses and prepare reports the project typically has to incorporate data generated by the pipeline design team. The project footprint is required by almost every project to analyze what and how much of environmental resources are impacted. Typically, the project footprint should be divided into areas representing the construction work spaces and the operation work spaces. This information is used to determine the amount and degree of impact.

The location of the pipeline itself is also required for environmental data generation. The pipeline centerline will be used to determine how long resources are crossed for, where resources are located, and how close resources are to it. This information can be critical to the permitting process. Some streamlined state and federal permits are granted on a “total linear length of crossing” basis. That’s to say, in some parts of the country there have been environmental permits designed to accelerate the permitting process if the project qualifies by crossing a limited length of resource. Also, the centerline is used to create a location of resources based on their proximity to the pipeline (a.k.a. mileposting).

Data collection with GIT
Pipeline projects incorporate many types of GIT, such as GPS, GIS, CAD, and photogrammetry, to achieve a timely executed project. Typically, engineers design the pipeline in a CAD environment with data input from many sources (i.e. civil survey, aerial photography, pre-existing CAD files), the spatial environment being closely controlled by the engineering team. The most crucial data input into this environment is from civil survey of the existing terrain and structures which forms the base of pipeline design. The process of civil survey is developing rapidly with new advances in technology, but fundamentally civil survey data definition and spatial accuracy requirements remain the same. The same situation does not exist for environmental data. The data required for environmental planning varies by region and jurisdictional agency, and it’s collection methodology varies as well. As a result environmental data can be collected in many ways and pipeline projects should take advantage of a possible cost saving while being careful to properly design their data collection programs.

Defining environmental data requirements
With a constant variety of environmental data and its geospatial requirements, environmental planners must often reassess their approach for data collection with every new project. What may have applied to a pipeline project in the Mojave Desert may not apply to a pipeline project crossing the swamps of the Savannah River floodplain. This reassessment should involve three essential steps: 1) define the environmental data required by the reviewing agencies and the project engineers; 2) identify the analytical and graphical requirements of the reviewing agencies and engineering; and 3) determine an appropriate method to gather/create the data required for steps 1 and 2.

Applying GIT to fit the project’s environmental data requirements
The geospatial requirements of environmental data vary for a variety of reasons; take for example wetland data. A wetland regulating agency such as the USACE may require the project to provide the location of wetlands crossed by the pipeline as mapped on National Wetland Inventory (NWI) maps (USGS quadrangles with the locations of wetlands mapped by photointerpretation) for completion of an application. At the same time engineering may desire the boundaries of wetlands field surveyed for design and costing purposes. The project must then decide the benefits to the project of a wetland field survey (and resulting expenditure) versus importing existing NWI data sets. [Note: typically, if NWI maps are used in support of an application, field surveys to identify the boundaries of wetlands are still required prior to construction]

In another example, a wetland regulating agency may require that wetland boundaries and the forested areas (forested cover type) boundaries within them are surveyed with an accuracy of mapping-grade GPS. In particular, the regulatory agency wants to know two things: the amount of impact to wetlands (total area); and how much of the forested wetlands will be converted to another cover type (i.e. shrubs and grasses) for maintenance of the pipeline. At the same time the FERC may want to know the amount of impact to a variety of wetland cover types (i.e. emergent marsh, scrub/shrub, etc.) that are not required to be surveyed at mapping-grade. The wetland regulating agency may need very accurate calculations of the conversion of forested wetland to issue the project a specific permit, while the FERC needs only an approximation of impact to each cover type. The project may decide to survey the boundaries of wetlands including the limits of forested areas within wetlands to satisfy the wetland regulating agency. Then following the survey, heads-up digitize the limits of other wetland cover types to satisfy the FERC. Heads-up digitizing is a much more cost effective approach to data generation than field survey and application of both methodologies can create huge savings in cost and time.

Foster Wheeler has conducted numerous environmental resource surveys to support our utility clients in the permitting process. One of our clients, SCANA Corporation (SCANA) has used a variety of methods to generate field data for preparation of applications to the USACE and the FERC. SCANA has mapped wetlands on paper aerial photographs in the field and then following the field survey digitized the boundaries; they have used GPS equipment with data collectors to generate lines representing wetland boundaries; and they have used mobile-GIS-mapping technology to generate polygons representing wetlands. Each method has its pros and cons that must be evaluated each time before its application to determine which best fits the current project. Table 2 summarizes these three methods.

Table 3 Typical Environmental Field Data Collection Methodologies

Data Generation Method	Set-Up Effort	Post-Field Processing	Data Control	Spatial Accuracy	Intangibles
Digitizing Maps	short	long	data goes through many hands and many interpretations	varies by base mapping, etc., but not mapping or survey grade	simple for field staff
Data Collectors (w/GPS)	moderate	moderate	good spatial accuracy, limited attribute control	survey or mapping grade	relatively simple and highly accurate
Mobile-GIS- Mapping (w/GPS)	long	short to moderate	good spatial accuracy, good attribute control	survey or mapping grade, can also digitize	sophisticated application, but complete data sets built in field

Digitizing marked up field maps can be a very effective way of collecting data on smaller projects that do not require a wide variety of data to be gathered. Set-up time is minimal, and there are limited GIT skills required of the field staff. The down side includes: limited control of spatial accuracy; a fair amount of post-field processing; and limited control of data variability.

Gathering geospatial data using data collectors allows for improved data standardization and an improvement in spatial accuracy. Data collectors are great tools for generating data on any size project. This type of data gathering method is relatively easy to use during field surveys for wetlands, endangered species, etc., while having a limited impact on the environmental field teams’ productivity.

Mobile-GIS-mapping equipment requires the largest amount of lead-time for use in a field survey, but has the most to offer larger projects with a wide variety of data to be gathered, such as a FERC regulated project. In addition to locating resources with GPS, mobile-GIS-mapping equipment offers the field survey the ability to digitize resources in the field (with adequate base mapping). Additionally, the GIS user interface provides the operator a reasonable means to manage the collection of many different data. Finally, mobile-GIS-mapping equipment provides the operator - the field scientist - the means to create the finalized data set, with no post-field processing (i.e. line work, attributing). Despite all it’s advantages, mobile-GIS-mapping equipment requires a skilled operator who has experience with both GIS and GPS and has a relatively long set-up time.

When planning environmental field work it is important for projects to define the spatial accuracy requirements of their data and take advantage of the most efficient GIT to accomplish their goals. Environmental data and its requirements vary for many reasons and as such, the application of GIT should vary to best suit each pipeline project.

Analyzing environmental data
Three questions are usually asked about environmental resources data in the permitting and licensing of pipeline projects: 1) how much is impacted; 2) how close is it; and 3) where is it. Environmental data is analyzed and graphically presented to answer these questions, but not without the teamwork of the engineers.

A fundamental step in obtaining a permit from the USACE is determining how much wetland will be disturbed during construction and operation of the proposed pipeline (and for that matter, a number of other agencies ask the same of other data). The overlay process is a basic function of GIS and is easily executed with the appropriate data. For pipeline projects the construction footprint and operation footprint (both designed by project engineers) are nearly always required to complete this operation.

Another typical analysis performed during pipeline projects is spatial selection. In the FERC licensing process the proponent is required to identify all the residences within 50 feet of construction activity. Essentially, the project must identify all residential structures within 50 feet of the construction footprint. Again, this is a basic function of GIS that is easily executed with the appropriately structured data.

The last type of analysis typically asked of environmental data is identifying its location. There are basically two formats that locations are represented in: a coordinate system; or, as is common in the pipeline industry, the milepost system. Within a GIS, identifying and documenting the location of resources in a coordinate system is relatively simple. For example, it is not unusual for the USACE to request the coordinates of individual wetland flags as they were hung in the field. The wetland flag point coordinates can easily be generated and exported into a table. Take note when using mobile-GIS-mapping equipment that it is not necessary to attribute the points that “frame” lines and polygons, and pre-survey planning should consider data analysis tasks like these. Figure one shows the typical types analysis of environmental data.

Figure 1 Typical Environmental Analysis Processes

The milepost system is the pipeline industry’s standard method of locating data. The milepost system is applied to environmental data on many types of pipeline projects and is a requirement in FERC licensing process. In short, data intersecting the pipeline is located by it’s distance from the origin of the pipeline or from a significant appurtenance along the pipeline such as a valve. In essence, this is another type of analysis that can be relatively simple within a GIS by using the dynamic segmentation process.

Managing milepost data requires the project to be aware of two issues: 1) with every alteration to the route, the “mileposts” change, and in turn so do the locations of the data along the pipeline; and 2) mileposts can be assigned in 2-dimentional or 3-dimensional space, with the results from both processes usually varying between the same sets of data. A successful solution is for the pipeline engineering team to generate the mileposts and transfer them to the environmental team every time they are adjusted.

Managing the geospatial interface & planning for change
As the project teams works together in the design, permitting, and licensing processes there is a constant exchange of data from which team members build upon what the other has supplied. To run smoothly, the project must define the spatial reference of the data to be exchanged and meticulously track the data that has been exchanged. These steps should be addressed and if appropriate, developed into a project’s Environmental Spatial Data Handling Protocol.

Establishing a pipeline project’s spatial reference is an easy step, but one that can have a significantly negative impact if overlooked. Larger projects tend to have many contractors involved in support of activities and consequently have a greater possibility that persons can be generating information that is not necessarily easily transferable or that does not have desirable spatial properties. This problem is not exclusive to the pipeline industry, but one that too often gets caught beneath other project priorities.

The most common problem with pipeline projects is “version control”. When planning your project’s GIS there must be consideration for the anticipation of change. Specifically, the pipeline route changes on nearly every pipeline project at least once. Every time the pipeline route changes, information for environmental resources may change and as a result there will be time required making permit application and report adjustments. A pipeline project should make itself cognizant of the potential change and incorporate mechanisms to monitor the status of geospatial data that are critical path items to environmental planning such as the pipeline centerline and the project footprint.

There must be an Environmental Spatial Data Handling Protocol built into each project to manage the distribution of data with the anticipation that it may change at any given time. The scope and size of the protocol will vary dependent upon the scope and size of the environmental data needed. With the increased dependency upon a pipeline project’s GIS, careful data distribution documentation and monitoring are required for efficient execution. Figure 2 illustrates the basic elements of the Environmental Spatial Data Handling Protocol.

Summary
Managing a pipeline project’s interface between engineering and environmental planning requires a common understanding of the requirements of both parties geospatial needs. More often than not it is the environmental teams data that is incorporated into the engineering teams design process. Projects can benefit greatly by identifying and defining environmental data in the planning process. The environmental data’s definition then dictates what GIT can be applied for it’s generation and what is required following field surveys for its completion.

Analyzing environmental data involves typical overlay and spatial selection processes along with the addition of mileposts. These processes depend on engineering data, such as the pipeline’s centerline and footprint, for execution.

Pipeline projects are immense generators of geospatial data that require proper planning and monitoring for successful execution. Defining a project’s spatial environment and planning its Environmental Spatial Data Handling Protocol with the expectation there will be change are fundamental steps. Pipeline projects are exciting dynamic experiences that challenge GIT professionals to routinely revisit the fundamentals of their discipline.