2.1 Overview of the Proposed Project - Keystone XL pipeline - US ...

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Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact StatementKeystone XL ProjectKeystone anticipates a peak workforce of approximately 5,000 to 6,000 construction personnel.These personnel would consist of Keystone employees, contractor employees, constructioninspection staff, and environmental inspection staff. All workers would be trained and certifiedfor their specific field of work (e.g., welders would be qualified as required by 49 CFR 195.222and PHMSA Special Condition 18).Keystone, through its construction contractors and subcontractors, would attempt to hiretemporary construction staff from the local population. Assuming that qualified personnel areavailable, approximately 10 to 15 percent (50 to 100 people per spread) could be hired from thelocal workforce for each spread, although this may not be possible in rural areas. This may notbe possible in more rural areas and or areas with low unemployment.Cross-country pipeline construction would typically proceed at a pace of approximately20 constructed miles per calendar month per spread. Construction would occur in the followingapproximate sequence:• Two to three weeks (14 to 21 calendar days) of work on the ROW prior to the start ofproduction welding. Activities would include clearing, grading, stringing, and ditching.• Production welding at an average rate of 1.25 miles of pipe welded per working day over a 6day work week (over 7 calendar days), resulting in completion of an average of about7.5 miles of pipeline per week.• Seven weeks (49 calendar days) of additional work after completion of production welding.Activities would include nondestructive testing, field joint coating, pipe installation, tie-ins,backfill, ROW clean-up, hydrostatic testing, reseeding, and other ROW reclamation work.Those time periods and rates of progress were used as the basis for determining the duration ofconstruction activities on the ROW presented in Table 2.1-18 for various spread lengths.Construction in areas with greater congestion or higher population, in industrial areas, or in areasrequiring other special construction procedures could result in a slower rate of progress. Inaddition, approximately 1 month would be required for contractor mobilization before the workis started and 1 month would be required for contractor demobilization after the work is finished.2.1.10.2 Environmental InspectionKeystone would use environmental inspectors on each construction spread. The environmentalinspectors would review the proposed Project activities daily for compliance with state, federal,and local regulatory requirements and would have the authority to stop specific tasks as approvedby the chief inspector. The inspectors would also be able to order corrective action in the eventthat construction activities violate the provisions of the CMRP, landowner requirements, or anyapplicable permit requirements.2.1.11 Operations and MaintenanceThe proposed Project would be operated, maintained, monitored, and inspected in accordancewith 49 CFR 194 and 195 and other applicable federal and state regulations. Keystone has alsoagreed to incorporate 57 PHMSA Project-specific special conditions that address proposedProject operation, inspection, and monitoring (see Appendix B, PHMSA 57 Special Conditions).The operational requirements of 49 CFR 195 and the PHMSA Project-specific SpecialConditions related to operation of the proposed Project (Appendix B, PHMSA 57 SpecialProject Description 2.1-64 March 2013
Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact StatementKeystone XL ProjectConditions) would be included in the proposed Project operations, maintenance, andemergencies manual that would be required by 49 CFR 195.402, and they would also beincorporated into Keystone’s existing Operations Control Center (OCC) in Calgary, Canada. Theremainder of this section addresses normal operation and routine maintenance and abnormaloperations.2.1.11.1 Normal Operations and Routine MaintenanceKeystone would prepare the manuals and written procedures for conducting normal operations,maintenance, inspection, and monitoring activities as required by the PHMSA regulations,particularly as required by 49 CFR 195.402 and in the applicable PHMSA Project-specificspecial conditions (see Appendix B, PHMSA 57 Special Conditions). This would includedevelopment and implementation of an annual Pipeline Maintenance Program to ensure theintegrity of the pipeline. The Pipeline Maintenance Program would include valve maintenance,periodic inline inspections, and CP readings to ensure facilities are reliable and in service. Datacollected in each year of the program would be incorporated into the decision-making process forthe development of the following year’s program.The proposed Project OCC would be manned by experienced and highly trained personnel24 hours per day, every day of the year in Calgary. In addition, a fully redundant backup OCCwould be constructed, operated, and maintained, also in Canada. Primary and backupcommunications systems would provide real-time information from the pump stations to fieldpersonnel. The control center would have highly sophisticated pipeline monitoring systemsincluding a leak detection system capable of identifying abnormal conditions and initiating visualand audible alarms. Automatic shut-down systems would be initiated if a valve starts to shut andall pumps upstream would turn off automatically. All other pipeline situations would requirehuman response.The proposed Project would include a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systemto constantly monitor the pipeline system. The SCADA system would be installed and operatedin accordance with the requirements of 49 CFR 195 and PHMSA Project-specific specialconditions 24 through 31 (see Appendix B, PHMSA 57 Special Conditions). SCADA facilitieswould be located in the OCC and along the pipeline system, and all pump stations and deliveryfacilities would have communication software that sends data back to the OCC. The pipelineSCADA system would allow the OCC to remotely read IMLV positions, tank levels, anddelivery flow and total volume. The OCC personnel would also be able to start and stop pumpstations and open and close MLVs. SCADA systems are further discussed in Sections 2.1.11.1,Normal Operations and Routine Maintenance, and 4.13, Potential Releases.The pipeline ROW would be inspected via aerial and ground surveillance to provide promptidentification of possible encroachments or nearby construction activities, ROW erosion,exposed pipe, or any other conditions that could result in damage to the pipeline. The aerialsurveillance of the pipeline ROW would be carried out at least 26 times per year at intervals notto exceed 3 weeks as required by 49 CFR 195.412. Landowners would be encouraged to reportany pipeline integrity concerns to Keystone or to PHMSA. IMLVs and MLVs at pump stationswould also be inspected. As required by 49 CFR 195.420(b), they would be inspected at intervalsnot to exceed 7.5 months, but at least twice each calendar year.Project Description 2.1-65 March 2013
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