A Review of Wetland Preservation and Restoration Techniques Following Natural Gas Pipeline Construction - a PDH Online Course for Engineers, Surveyors and Architects

A Review of Wetland Preservation and Restoration Techniques Following Natural Gas Pipeline Construction

Course Outline

This two hour course provides a review of wetland preservation and restoration techniques following natural gas pipeline construction around the continental United States and offers recommendations for future improvements. Specifically, these preservation and restoration techniques are analyzed in detail against nine independent research variables. The research variables were selected based on their significant potential to affect wetland regeneration. After completing this course, the student will have a greater understanding of the various factors which affect wetland restoration following construction of linear projects and those work efforts necessary to ensure successful wetland regeneration. The course content was obtained from the FERC and documents a research project initiated and funded by the FERC.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

Realize the extent of natural gas pipelines throughout the continental United States and the magnitude of affected sensitive natural resources, such as wetlands, along these routes;
Be knowledgeable of the FERC regulated Procedures for wetland preservation and restoration following natural gas pipeline construction;
Be knowledgeable of the division-level ecoregions dividing the continental United States and how wetland regeneration is affected in these different areas;
Be knowledgeable of those factors which present challenges to wetland regeneration along linear rights-of-way;
Be knowledgeable of the extent and variability of human disturbances to wetlands located along linear rights-of-way; and
Be familiar with potential improvements to the FERC Procedures and how these would potentially help wetland regeneration.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for environmental, petroleum, and civil engineers, as well as, biologists.

Benefit for Attendee

Attendee of this course will understand the various factors which affect wetland restoration following construction of linear projects and those work efforts necessary to ensure successful wetland regeneration.

Course Introduction

Within the United States, over 304,000-miles transmission pipelines have been developed as part of an extensive natural gas network. These established linear rights-of-way traverse hundreds of thousands of wetlands. To help ensure the protection of sensitive natural resources along these routes, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has regulated specific procedures for wetland preservation and restoration following natural gas pipeline construction. This course provides a detailed analysis of the effectiveness of these procedures from sample locations across the United States. This research documents those factors which affect wetland restoration following construction of linear projects and those work efforts necessary to ensure successful wetland regeneration and leads to recommendations for future improvements.

Course Content

The course content is contained in the following PDF file:

A Review of Wetland Preservation and Restoration Techniques Following Natural Gas Pipeline Construction

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary
1.0    Introduction
2.0    Study Objectives
3.0    Methods
         3.1    Data Sources
         3.2    Study Design and Site Selection
         3.3    Vegetation Sampling and Right-of-Way Characterization
                  3.3.1     Qualitative Assessment
                  3.3.2     Quantitative Assessment
         3.4    Collection Protocol
         3.5    Data Analysis
                  3.5.1     Analyses Relative to FERC Success
                  3.5.2     Trends Analysis
                  3.5.3     Statistical Analysis
4.0    Results and Discussion
         4.1    General Results and Trends in Post-Construction Plant Communities
                  4.1.1     Project Wetland Restoration Summary
                  4.1.2     Wetland Restoration Success by Ecoregion
                  4.1.3     Wetland Cover Classes
                  4.1.4     Conversions of Wetland Cowardin Classes Following Construction
         4.2    Influence of Physical Factors on Restoration Success
                  4.2.1     Wetland Landscape Position
                  4.2.2     Soil Type
                  4.2.3     Wetland Hydrology
         4.3    Influence of Human Disturbance on Restoration Success
                  4.3.1     Wetlands Affected by Human Disturbance
                  4.3.2     Waterbar Placement
                  4.3.3     Pipeline Construction Dates
                  4.3.4     Post-Construction Grading
         4.4    Statistical Analysis
5.0    Conclusions and Recommendations
         5.1    Recommendations
6.0    Preparers
7.0    References

Figure Listing
Figure 3-1:     Ecoregions of the United States Robert G. Bailey U.S. Forest Service
Figure 3-2:     Eco-Divisions Used to Select Wetlands to be Monitored
Figure 3-3:     Wetlands Monitored in Warm Continental Division
Figure 3-4:     Wetlands Monitored in Hot Continental Division
Figure 3-5:     Wetlands Monitored in Subtropical Division
Figure 3-6:     Wetlands Monitored in Prairie Division
Figure 3-7:     Wetlands Monitored in Temperate Steppe Division
Figure 3-8:     Wetlands Monitored in Mediterranean Division
Figure 4-1:     Distribution of Wetland Failures by FERC Criterion
Figure 4-2:     Wetland Success and Failure by Ecoregion
Figure 4-3:     Climate Diagrams for Study Ecoregions
Figure 4-4:     U.S. Drought Monitor Map for Week Ending September 10, 2002
Figure 4-5:     U.S. Drought Monitor Map for Week Ending June 10, 2003
Figure 4-6:     Changes in Cowardin Classification from Pre- to Post-construction Conditions
Figure 4-7:     USDA Soils Textural Classes
Figure 4-8:     Breakdown of Types of Human Disturbance Observed in Wetlands
Figure 4-9:     Wetland Failing Cover Criterion Due to Impacts from ATV’s

Table Listing
Table 3-1:      Results of Phase I – Existing Wetlands Monitoring Data Collection
Table 3-2:      Cover Classes of Braun-Blanquet
Table 4-1:      Overall Wetland Restoration Summary
Table 4-2:      Distribution of Wetland Restoration Success and Failure by Ecoregion
Table 4-3:      U.S. Drought Monitor Drought Severity Classifications
Table 4-4:      Wetland Cowardin Classification Distribution by Ecoregion and Restoration Results
Table 4-5:      Comparison of Pre-Construction and Post Construction Wetland Cowardin Classifications
Table 4-6:      Summary of Wetland Restoration Relative to Position of Wetland in Landscape
Table 4-7:      Wetland Restoration Success Related to Soil Type
Table 4-8:      Wetland Restoration Related to Depth of Surface Water
Table 4-9:      Wetlands Affected by Human Disturbance
Table 4-10:     Wetland Restoration Relative to Existence or Placement of Waterbars
Table 4-11:     Wetland Restoration Summary for Pipeline Construction Years
Table 4-12:     Multiple Factor Analysis of Variance Effects Test on Success
Table 4-13:     Significant Factors in Determining Successful Restoration
Table 4-14:     Significant Explanatory Factors Between Eastern and Western Grouped Ecoregions

Appendix Listing
A:   Database Results Summary Reports
B:   Statistical Analysis Summary Report
C:   Vegetation and Diversity Summary Reports
D:   Wetlands Monitoring Dataform
E:   Wetlands Monitoring Database and Technical Documentation

Course Summary

The development of our nation’s energy infrastructure can occur while protecting sensitive environmental resources. This is particularly true for the natural gas transmission pipeline industry, which has developed specialized construction and restoration techniques for this purpose. Engineers should be aware of these techniques and implement them into the overall design process for natural gas pipelines.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) via http://www.ferc.gov/about/about.asp
NaturalGas.com via http://www.naturalgas.com/index.asp
The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) via http://www.ingaa.com/

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.