DEP Oil & Gas Advisory Board To Discuss Draft Horizontal Drilling Pipeline Construction Guidance Document, Stakeholder Report

The DEP Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board is scheduled to meet on January 15 to hear a presentation on DEP’s draft Horizontal Drilling Pipeline Construction Guidance and stakeholder report.

DEP created the draft Trenchless Technology Guidance Document to outline the policies, procedures and best practices for the prevention of adverse environmental impacts from constructing pipelines using horizontal drilling techniques.

[The guidance is designed to help avoid the significant environmental problems that have been happening during the ongoing construction of the Mariner East Pipelines.]

To help develop the guidance, DEP formed a Work Group that has issued a draft report and recommendations as background on the guidance.

Andrew Foley and Rebecca Dunlap from DEP’s Regional Permit Coordination Office will make a presentation to the Board on the draft guidance.

Among other issues, the guidance covers--

-- Site-specific geological, topographical, and hydrological analysis to be considered;

-- Type of analysis and documentation of adjacent features in the vicinity of the project footprint;

-- Potential impact of the planned activity on or from adjacent features;

-- Enhanced Best Practices for:

     -- Preventing and responding to Inadvertent Returns (IRs);

     -- Preventing and responding to hydrological impacts from IRs;

     -- Groundwater quality and quantity protection; and

     -- Procedures to identify water supplies in the vicinity of a proposed HDD beyond the use of the Pennsylvania Groundwater Information System

-- Recommendations for permittee to conduct water supply testing (quality and quantity) for landowners within the vicinity of an HDD.

DEP also discussed the guidance with the Water Resources Advisory Committee and the Agricultural Advisory Board.  They also plan presentations to the DEP Citizens Advisory Council, Small Water Technical Advisory Committee and the Environmental Justice Advisory Board.

Click Here for a copy of the Stakeholder Report and draft Guidance.  Click Here for a copy of the presentation.

Also on the Board agenda is--

-- Draft Guidance for Developing Chapter 105 Alternatives Analysis for Proposed Impacts To Aquatic Resources;

-- Status of Radioactivity Monitoring At Solid Waste Processing & Disposal Facilities;

-- Coal-Gas Coordination Committee Update;

-- Underground Gas Storage Issues Update;

-- Updated On Chapter 78 Conventional Oil & Gas Regulations

-- Coordination Between The Board and the PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council on Legacy Well and Produced Water Issues;

-- Regional Greenhouse Gas Climate Initiative;

-- Report By The Erosion & Sedimentation GP-3 Review Work Group

The meeting will be held in Room 105 of the Rachel Carson Building starting at 10:00 a.m.   A link to register to attend the meeting via Skype will be posted on the Board webpage. (formal notice)

For more information and available handouts, visit the DEP Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board webpage. Questions should be directed to Todd Wallace by sending email to:  twallace@pa.gov or calling 717-783-9438. 

[Posted: January 7, 2020]  PA Environment Digest