Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Natural Gas Pipeline Annual Report Compliance Inspections

The Louis Berger Group, Inc. (Berger) is currently providing environmental and management services to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Office of Energy Projects (OEP) under a five-year National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Post-Certificate/Licensing Compliance Activities Contract. Berger was retained to perform site inspections of natural gas pipeline projects constructed under Section 2.55 (replacement), Section 157.207 (blanket certificates) and Section 284.11 (Section 311 of NGPA) annual reports.

The purpose of the inspections was to evaluate compliance with the applicable environmental requirements and that the rights-of-way have been properly restored under the guidance of FERC’s Upland Erosion Control, Re-vegetation, and Maintenance Plan and Wetland and Waterbody Construction and Mitigation Procedures.

The majority of the projects inspected were greater than 2 miles long, or were shorter pipelines which crossed environmentally sensitive or challenging areas, such as wetlands, water bodies, steep gradients, or agricultural areas. Some problem areas identified in the field were gully and rill erosion, shoreline erosion, and ditch line subsidence. When the inspection revealed non-compliance, such as damage to a resource or failure to adhere to the required construction or restoration procedures, we required the company to bring its project into compliance. Each site inspection was documented with photographs and a detailed report of activities and findings was prepared in accordance with FERC procedures.