Natural Gas Pipelines

Excerpt from Report 2 of the Pennsylvania Energy Impacts Assessment December 16, 2011

Authors: Nels Johnson, Tamara Gagnolet, Rachel Ralls, and Jessica Stevens The Nature Conservancy Pennsylvania Chapter

The Nature Conservancy gratefully acknowledges generous financial support for this assessment from the Heinz Endowments, the R.K. Mellon Foundation, and the William Penn Foundation.

Natural Gas Pipelines

Anextensivewebofpipelinesisneededtocollectgasfromwellsitesandtransportittostorageareas andmajormarkets.EvenbeforeMarcellusshalenaturalgasdevelopmentstarted,Pennsylvaniahad over8,600milesoflargediameterinterstateandintrastategaspipelines(8thhighestinU.S.),duetothe Commonwealthslonghistoryofoilandgasproduction,itsexistinggasstoragesitesindepletedgas reservoirs,anditslocationbetweengasproductionareasandmajornortheasternmarkets(USDOE, 2011).CurrentandfutureMarcellusgasdevelopmentwilldramaticallyincreasethemilesoflarge diametergaspipelinesinthestate.Thetwomostimportantreasonsforthepipelineexpansionarethe largenumberMarcelluswellsitesthatarelikelytobedevelopedoverthenexttwodecadesandthe transportlinesneededtogetgrowingvolumesofshalegasfromvariousformationsdeliveredto differentpartsofthecountry(INGAA,2011).Althoughpipelinesareburied,theirconstruction, monitoring,andmaintenancerequireclearingandmaintainingopenrightsofway.Whiletheirwidths vary,pipelinerightsofwayoftencreateasignificantandpermanentfragmentingfeaturethrough naturalhabitats.Extensivesoildisturbanceduringconstructioncanalsoincreasetheriskoferosionand sedimentationifcontrolsarenotcarefullydesignedandimplemented.Thisassessmentlookscloselyat pipelinedevelopmentassociatedwithMarcellusgasdevelopmentinBradfordCounty,Pennsylvania,to betterunderstandthepotentialscaleandscopeofstatewidehabitatimpacts.

What Is Natural Gas Transmission?

Thevastmajorityofnaturalgasgetstomarketsthroughpipelines,thoughsomerelatedproducts includingpropaneandbutanearetransportedinpressurizedtanksviarailandtrucks.Naturalgas transportationinfrastructureconsistsofgatheringlineswhichtakethegasfromeachwelltoa transportlinewhichtakesthegaseithertoanothertransportline(sometimescalledmidstream lines)ordirectlytomarkets(oftenreferredtoasinterstatelines).Thisreportdoesnotaddressservice linesthattakegasfromstorageareasortransportlinesdirectlytocommercial,industrial,and residentialconsumers.IntheMarcellusregion,gatheringlinesmayrangefrom6to24inchesin diameterandmayclearrightsofway(ROW)of30to150feetwide.Thesearemuchlargerthan gatheringlinesusedinshallowgasfields,whichgenerallyrangefrom2to6inchesindiameter. Transportlinesvaryinsize,generallyrangingfrom24to36inchesindiameter,andhaverightofway widthsofupto200feet,dependingonthesizeandnumberoflines.Atvariouspointsalongthe pipeline,includingatlinejunctions,compressorstationspressurizethenaturalgastoensurea continuousandregulatedflow.Thisreportassessesthespatialfootprintandscenariosforfuture expansionofgatheringlines.Gatheringlinesarelikelytocomprisebyfarthegreatestextentofnew largediameterpipelineconstructedinPennsylvaniaduringthenext20years.

GatheringpipelineconstructioninBradfordCounty,PANelsJohnson/TNC

Current and Projected Natural Gas Pipeline Development

Anestimated8,600milesoflargediameternaturalgaspipelinealreadycrossedPennsylvaniabefore Marcellusdevelopmentbegan(USDOE,2008).Thisnumberischangingrapidlyaspipelinesareinstalled tomovelargevolumesofMarcellusnaturalgastomarkets.Unfortunately,thereisnostatewidesource ofdataonnewpipelines,includingtheexpandingwebofMarcellusgatheringpipelines.Giventhefast paceofMarcellusdevelopmentandlackofacentralizedregulatoryframeworkforgatheringpipelines, werecognizethemanychallengesassociatedwithmaintaininganaccurateandupdatedpipeline dataset. TheBradfordCountyOfficeofCommunityPlanningandGrantsistacklingthatchallengeandmaintains oneofthebestavailabledatasetsrepresentingbuiltandproposedgaspipelines.AsofNovember2011, BradfordCountyhasPennsylvaniashighestnumberofpermitted(almost2,000)anddrilled(781) Marcellusgaswells(DEP,2011a)andhasover500milesofbuiltandproposedgaspipelines(Bradford County,2011)(seeFigure1).Giventhedearthofstatewidedatasets,weusedgaspipelinedatafrom BradfordCountyasacasestudytodevelopstatewideprojectionsofgatheringgaspipeline development.

Figure1.MarcellusgasdevelopmentinBradfordCounty,PA,includingwellsandpipelines.Datasources arethePennsylvaniaDepartmentofEnvironmentalProtectionandBradfordCountyGeographic InformationSystems.

UsingBradfordCountydata,weestimatedtheaveragegatheringpipelinelengthforeachwellpadby countingallwellpadswithinonehalfmileofanexistingorproposedgatheringpipeline(263wellpads) anddividingthembythetotaldistanceofexistingandproposedgatheringpipelines(434miles).Well padsfurtherthanonehalfmilewereconsideredunlikelytobeconnectedtoexistingandproposed pipelinesandwouldlikelyconnectthroughfutureproposedpipelines.Theresultisanaverageof1.65 milesofgatheringpipelineforeachMarcelluswellpad.Althoughtheentirenetworkofwellsand gatheringpipelineswilltakeyearstocomplete,thedensityofdevelopmentinBradfordCountyisoneof thehighestinPennsylvania.Theratioofpipelinestopadsmaybehigherinothercountieswheregas developmentismoredispersed. Basedonanaverageof1.65milesofgatheringpipelineperpad,weusedMarcelluspadprojections fromReport1toestimatethelengthofnewgatheringpipelinesthatcouldbeexpectedundereachof 3

thedevelopmentscenarios.SixthousandMarcelluspadsareprojectedunderthelowdevelopment scenario,resultingintheconstructionofapproximately10,000miles(6,000padsx1.65miles/pad)of newgatheringpipelineby2030inPennsylvaniaalone.Themediumdevelopmentscenarioprojectsten thousandnewMarcelluspads,resultingin16,500miles(10,000padsx1.65miles/pad)ofnewgathering pipelineby2030.Finally,underthehighdevelopmentscenario,fifteenthousandnewpadsare projected,whichwouldmeanapproximately25,000miles(15,000padsx1.65miles/pad)ofnew gatheringpipelinewouldneedtobeadded.Eventhelowscenariowouldmorethandoublethemilesof largediameternaturalgaspipelineinPennsylvaniawhilethehighscenariowouldnearlyquadruplethe mileage(seetotalprojectionsofexistingandnewgatheringpipelinesinFigure2,below).

Figure2.Projectionsfortotalmilesofnaturalgasgatheringpipelinesunderlow,medium,andhigh developmentscenarios.Asoftheendof2010,totalgatheringpipelinelengthwasapproximately 2,000miles,basedonthenumberofwellpadsatthetime.

WeassessedallexistinggatheringpipelinesinBradfordCountythatwerevisiblein2010aerialimagery (fromtheUSDANationalAgricultureImageryProgram;seeFigure3below)andnotedthefollowing attributes:(a)thewidthoftheclearedrightofway,and(b)thelandcovertypethroughwhichthe rightofwaypassed(forested,agricultural,orexistingcleared).Wefoundthatclearedrightsofway wereusually100feetwidebutrangedbetween30to150feet.Aboutonethirdofthemileageforbuilt pipelineswasinforestareas,withasomewhathigherportion(44%)forproposedpipelines.Aboutone thirdofthatlengthwasinforestinteriorareasthatwerepreviouslyatleast300feetfromtheedgeof 4

theforestpatch.Incountieswithmoreextensiveforestcoverandlargerforestpatches,wecan anticipateahigherpercentageofgaspipelinemileagewillbecuttingthroughforestinteriorareas. GiventhatBradfordCountyislessforestedthanPennsylvaniasMarcellusregionasawhole,we anticipatethatthestatewidepercentageofpipelinesbuiltinforestareaswillbehigher.Aconservative estimatewouldbethat50percentofallfuturepipelineswillbebuiltinforestareas,orapproximately 5,000milesinthelowMarcellusdevelopmentscenario,8,250milesinthemediumscenario,and12,500 milesinthehighscenario.Eachmileofa100footrightofwaydirectlydisturbs528,000squarefeetor approximately12acresandcreatesanadditional72acresofnewforestedges.

Figure3.ArightofwayclearedforagatheringnaturalgaspipelineinBradford County,PA.(AerialimageryfromUSDANationalAgricultureImageryProgram)

Therefore,weprojectthatstatewideforestareaclearedfromfuturepipelinedevelopmentcouldbe approximately60,000acresinthelowscenario,100,000acresinthemediumscenario,and150,000 acresinthehighscenariooverthenexttwodecades.Inadditiontothesedirectimpacts,newgathering pipelineswillcreatebetween360,000and900,000acresofnewforestedgesthatdepriveinteriorforest species,suchasblackthroatedbluewarblers,salamanders,andmanywoodlandflowers,oftheshade, humidity,andtreecanopyprotectionthatonlydeepforestenvironmentscanprovide.Wewereunable tofindanycomprehensiveplansfornewtransportlinesinPennsylvania.Ingeneral,however,we believethatthelengthofnewgatheringlineswilldwarfmileageofnewtransportlines,perhapsbyan orderofmagnitude. Finally,compressorstationsareanimportantpartofnaturalgastransmissioninfrastructure.According toBradfordCountydatafromMarch2011,therearecurrently14builtorproposedcompressorstations inthecounty.Basedonanaerialimageryassessment,thesesitesoccupyanaverageareaofslightlyover 5acreseach(seeFigure4).ProjectinghowmanycompressorstationswillbebuiltinPennsylvaniais

difficultatthispointintime,butthenumberislikelytobeinthehundreds.Impactsfromairemissions andnoisepollutionatcompressorstationsarelikelytobemoresignificantthanlanduseimpacts.
Figure4.NaturalgascompressorstationinBradfordCounty, PA.(AerialimageryfromUSDANationalAgricultureImagery Program,2010)

Conservation Impacts of Natural Gas Pipelines

Naturalgaspipelinescanimpacttheenvironmentinseveralways.Thisincludesnaturalhabitatlossand fragmentation,changesinspeciesmovement,sedimentation,andairemissions. RightsofwayforMarcellusgatheringlinesaregenerallycleareduptoawidthof100feet,butmaybe upto150or200feetiftransportlinessharethesamecorridor.Afterconstructioniscompleted,some portionoftherightofwaymaybeallowedtorevegetatetotreesandshrubs.Atleast50feetofthe rightofway,centeredonthepipeline,isgenerallykeptopen,thoughvegetatedwithgrasstominimize erosionandtofacilitatemonitoring,maintenanceandrepairsofthepipeline.Thisarearepresentsa longtermlossoftheclearedhabitat.Evenwhereforestremains,pipelinecorridorscanfragmentlarge patchesofforestintosmallerones(seeBox1,below).Thenewopencorridorinhibitsthemovementof somespecies,suchasforestinteriornestingbirds,whicharereluctanttocrossopeningswheretheyare moreexposedtopredators(Bennett,2003).Pipelines,however,canalsofacilitatethemovementof otherspecies,bothnativeandinvasive(TransportationResearchBoard,2004).

Thelargeamountofsoildisturbanceinvolvedinlaying pipelinesalsoposeserosionandsedimentationrisks, particularlyinsteeperareas,nearwaterbodies,andduring heavyrainevents.Heavyrainsduringtwotropicalstormsin AugustandSeptember2011causedextensivefailuresto erosionandsedimentcontrolsonpipelinesunder constructioninnorthcentralPennsylvania(Tanfani& McCoy,2011).Streamandwetlandcrossingsmaycreate erosionandsedimentationproblems,aswell,especially withanopencutprocess,andthereisariskofstreambed collapsewithborecrossingtechniquesifpoorlydesigned orexecuted.Theopencutprocessusesatrenchdug acrossthestreamchannelwithwatertemporarilydiverted aroundthetrench,whiletheborecrossingtechniqueuses adrillorhydraulicramtocreateaboreforthepipeline underthestream.Streamcrossingsrequireapermitfrom thePADepartmentofEnvironmentalProtectionwith specificrequirementstominimizeerosionand sedimentationduringandfollowingconstruction.

Box1.LargeForestPatches Largecontiguousforestpatchesare especiallyvaluablebecausethey sustainwiderangingforestspecies, suchasnortherngoshawk,and providemorehabitatforforest interiorspecies.Habitat fragmentationdeprivesinterior forestspeciessuchasblack throatedbluewarblers,salamanders, andmanywoodlandflowersofthe shade,humidity,andtreecanopy protectionthatonlydeepforest environmentscanprovide.Large forestpatchesarealsomoreresistant tothespreadofinvasivespecies, sufferlesstreedamagefromwind andicestorms,andprovidemore ecosystemservicesfromcarbon storagetowaterfiltrationthan smallpatches.

Airemissionsfrompipelinesandcompressorstationsare anotherconcern,andmayincludemethane,ethane, benzene,tolulene,xylene,carbonmonoxide,ozoneand otherpollutants(DEP,2011b).Highemissionlevelsforsomeofthesepollutantshavebeendetectedin theBarnettShaleregionofTexasnearpipelinesandcompressorstationsandhaveexceededhuman healthstandardsattimes(Armedariz,2009).ShorttermmonitoringinnorthcentralPennsylvaniahas detectedsomeofthesamepollutantsbutatlowerlevelsnotlikelytotriggerpublichealthconcerns, accordingtothePennsylvaniaDepartmentofEnvironmentalProtection(DEP,2011b).Airemissions especiallylowlevelozonecanalsoaffectforesthealth.Thefocusofthisassessment,however,ison habitatimpactsfromnaturalgaspipelines. ThePennsylvaniaMarcellusShaleAdvisoryCommission(MSAC,2011)recommendedthatpipeline impactsbereducedbyidentifyingchangesneededto: Sharepipelinecapacityandreducesurfacedisturbanceandrelatedenvironmentalimpacts; Encourageexpansionofexistingpipelinecapacityandcolocationofnewcapacitywithother rightsofway; Improvecoordinationandconsistencyofinfrastructureplanningandsitingdecisionsbystate, countyandlocalgovernments,and; 7

Provideauthorityandresourcesforgovernmentagenciestoensureecologicalandnatural resourceinformationisusedtoreviewsitingofpipelinesinordertoavoidorminimizehabitat impacts.

Key Findings
KeyfindingsfromthePennsylvaniaEnergyImpactsAssessmentfornaturalgaspipelinesinclude: Pennsylvaniasexistingnetworkoflargediameternaturalgaspipelines(includingtransportand gatheringpipelines)willatleastdouble,andpossiblyevenquadruple,overthenexttwo decades.Thisexpansionwillbelargelyduetoafivetotwelvefoldincreaseingathering pipelinemileageassociatedwithMarcellusdevelopment. Alowexpansionscenarioindicates10,000milesofnewpipelinescouldbebuilt(basedon6,000 newwellpads),amediumscenarioprojects16,500miles(10,000newwellpads),andahigh scenarioshowsupto25,000miles(15,000wellpads).Eachnewwellpadonaveragerequires 1.65milesofgatheringpipeline(basedondatafromBradfordCounty); Between120,000and300,000acreswillbeaffectedbynaturalgaspipelineconstruction,an arealargerthanthecumulativeareaaffectedbyallotherMarcellusgasinfrastructure(e.g.,well pads,roads,watercontainment,andstaging/storageareas).Approximatelyhalfofthisareais likelytobeinforestareas. Theexpandingpipelinenetworkcouldeliminatehabitatconditionsneededbyinteriorforest speciesonbetween360,000and900,000acresasnewforestedgesarecreatedbypipeline rightofways.Thisissubstantiallygreaterthanthecombinedforestinteriorimpactsfromall otherenergytypesexaminedinthePennsylvaniaEnergyImpactsAssessment.

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