United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Municipal Environmental Research
Laboratory
Cincinnati OH 45268
Research and Development
EPA-600/S2-81-210 Oct. 1981
Project Summary
Pipeline Landfalls: A
Handbook of Impact
Management Techniques
Ann W. Gowen and Michael J. Goetz
This project provides detailed in-
formation on the environmental im-
pacts associated with outer conti-
nental shelf (OCS) pipelines. The
report is designed to be used by
scientists or engineers involved in
offshore petroleum pipeline planning,
including pipeline corridors and pipe-
line landfalls.
Available methods are presented for
managing the environmental effects
of pipeline installation at the landfall.
Two basic techniques are available: (1)
Choosing a site that has the fewest
constraints to pipeline installation,
and (2) using construction and restor-
ation techniques that minimize the
effects of installation-related activities
at the chosen landfall.
The report provides an overview of
factors that may be considered in
evaluating potential pipeline landfall
sites. Major technical and environ-
mental constraints discussed include
the physical, geological, and biological
characteristics of suggested sites.
Other factors influencing site selec-
tion—coastal topography adjacent to
offshore development areas, econo-
mics, existing onshore infrastructure,
and state and local coastal policy—are
also presented.
Because other considerations may
result in the final selection of landfall
sites with less favorable natural
characteristics, emphasis is placed on
the site itself and site-specific methods
of installation and restoration designed
to minimize the potential effects of
pipeline installation in both favorable
and unfavorable coastal systems. Past
experience indicates that environmen-
tally acceptable landfall installation is
possible under unfavorable conditions
with the use of such methods.
Two approaches are considered: (1)
Alteration of technical construction
and restoration methods to fit the
constraints present at a particular
landfall, and (2) preinstallation planning
by government and industry officials
to insure that construction methods
selected address both technical re-
quirements and environmental con-
cerns posed by the chosen landfall.
Specific examples of North Sea and
Gulf Coast installations are used to
illustrate technical methods that have
been applied successfully to minimize
pipeline effects in a variety of coastal
ecosystems.
This Project Summary was devel-
oped by EPA's Municipal Environ-
mental Research Laboratory, Cincin-
nati, OH, to announce key findings of
the research project that is fully
documented in a separate report of the
same title (see Project Report ordering
information at back).
Background
In 1977, the New England/New York
Coastal Zone Task Force, a group
affiliated with the New England River
Basins Commission (NERBC) and made
up of state coastal zone program
managers, recommended that the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
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initiate a research project on the
environmental impacts of oil and gas
pipeline construction and operation.
The Task Force felt that should oil
and/or gas be found on the region's
outer continental shelf (OCS), they
would need this type of information to
make sound decisions regarding OCS
pipeline routing. EPA, recognizing
NERBC's continuing interest in OCS-
related activities, responded with a
formal request that NERBC undertake
this project, entitled "OCS Pipeline
Construction and Operations: Potential
Environmental Problems and Recom-
mendations for Mitigation of Impacts."
Work was begun in January 1978.
Two final reports have been completed
thus far. One report, "North Sea
Pipelines: A Survey of Technology,
Regulation and Use Conflicts in Oil and
Gas Pipeline Operation," (EPA-600/7-
80-023) was published in February
1980. In May 1980, a second report,
"Choosing Offshore Pipeline Routes:
Problems and Solutions" (EPA-600/7-
80-114), was issued. This report is the
final in this series, all of which were
prepared by the staff of the New
England River Basins Commission
under the sponsorship of EPA's Munici-
pal Environmental Research Laboratory
in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Introduction
One of the major concerns associated
with offshore oil and gas is the trans-
portation of petroleum from platform to
shore. Although pipelines are generally
accepted as the safest method of oil and
gas transportation, their possible effects
on the locations chosen as pipeline
routes are still uncertain. This project,
sponsored by EPA, is designed to
provide information on the environ-
mental effects of OCS oil and gas
pipelines to officials in frontier areas
who may become involved in planning
pipeline routes from offshore develop-
ment areas to land. This document
presents methods for minimizing the
environmental effects of pipeline instal-
lation at the landfall.
The report focuses on two major
methods of minimizing potential impacts:
choosing a site that has the fewest
constraints on pipeline installation, and
using construction and restoration
techniques that minimize the effects of
installation-related activities at the
chosen landfall. Criteria are described
for choosing or evaluating the relative
environmental acceptability of various
landfall sites, site-specific methods of
pipeline installation, and site restoration
methods that have been successfully
used to minimize effects in favorable
and unfavorable coastal environments.
Two types of site-specific techniques
are considered: technical installation
and restoration methods that specifically
address the physical constraints of a
particular site, and cooperative planning
between government and industry to
develop acceptable and effective regu-
lations for a particular landfall. Specific
examples of North Sea and U.S. instal-
lations are used to illustrate the effec-
tiveness of these impact-mitigating
methods.
Recommended Management
Techniques
The following are suggested technical
and planning methods that maybe used
to minimize the potential impacts of
pipeline installation at a landfall.
Although it is recognized that all these
methods may not be usable in every
instance, they should be considered in
the evaluation of any proposed pipeline
installation. In the final analysis,
individual assessments of any landfall
site will be necessary, and impact
management methods and regulations
must be developed based on the specific
constraints of the site.
Management Technique No. 1:
Landfall Site Selection
Landfall site selection is based on
consideration of a number of physical
criteria, including the physical/geo-
logical structure of the area and
adjacent ocean, and the ecological
systems at and adjacent to the landfall
that may be affected by pipeline
installation. Based on these criteria,
geologically less favorable landfalls
would include those with eroding
shorelines, steep slopes, rocky coast-
lines, or high-velocity, nearshore currents.
Biologically sensitive areas include wet-
lands, barrier beaches and island,
unstable sand dunes, and unique
and/or rare or endangered species
habitats. More preferable would be
coastal areas that are gently sloping
(less than 10% grade), with sandy or
firm sediments and no fragile or
unusual habitats.
Other criteria (such as coastal topog-
raphy adjacent to offshore development
areas, economics, existing onshore
infrastructure, and state and local
coastal policy) may, however, cause
final selection of landfalls with less
favorable characteristics. The remaining
methods focus on technical and planning
techniques for minimizing potential
impacts at the chosen site.
Management Techniques No. 2.
Technical Installation Methods
Installation impacts may be minimized
by a number of methods that are
appropriate for use in any coastal
system. Although it is recognized that it
may not always be possible to employ
these techniques, they should be
considered in planning any pipeline
installation.
General Technical Methods—
General technical methods include:
• Scheduling to avoid key ecological
seasons to minimize impacts on
local plant and animal species;
• Minimizing the size of the area
affected and, therefore, the extent
of impact;
• Restoring the land/water interface
area immediately to minimize risk
to landward coastal systems (e.g.,
wetlands or dunes); and
• Restoring the entire affected area
physically and ecologically to a
condition as closely approximating
the original as possible.
Certain coastal ecosystems require few
additional methods to restore them to
original condition after installation
activites have been completed. These
areas include flat or gently sloping
beaches with no dunes and industrialized
or commercially developed waterfront
areas.
Specialized Technical
Restoration—
The presence of other coastal features
such as dunes, cobble beaches, rock
cliffs, and wetlands may require the use
of more specialized methods to assure
more complete functional and aesthetic
recovery. These specialized technical
restoration methods include:
• Dunes—Artificial stabilization
techniques (e.g., snow fences,
gabions, or Christmas tree tops)
may be considered to assure dune
recovery, particularly in coastal
areas prone to wind or wave
erosion. Dunes may be naturally
stabilized by replanting with native
vegetation.
• Cobble beaches—Where blasting
is necessary, non-native materials
may be required for trench refilling
and restoration of the beach form
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and function. In this case, new fill
should approximate the general
size, shape, and distribution of
original surface materials, if
possible.
• Rock cliffs—As with cobble beaches,
blasting for trench preparation will
require refilling with non-native
materials. In this case, however, it
is likely that use of concrete would
be necessary to restore functional
integrity, making total aesthetic
restoration impossible.
• Wetlands—As stated previously,
wetlands may be the most difficult
of all coastal ecosystems to restore
to original functional or aesthetic
conditions. Restoration programs
would need to be designed on a
case-by-case basis to address the
key impacts expected in the affected
wetland system.
Management Technique No. 3:
Planning Methods
Increased government involvement in
pipeline landfall siting and regulation
will require coordination and interaction
between the developer and public
officials throughout project develop-
ment. To encourage this cooperative
planning and to facilitate development
of acceptable and effective regulations
for a particular installation, these
planning methods may be considered:
• Environmental assessment prep-
aration—Such preparation is an
important means of identifying
major potential impacts and in-
formation needs before construc-
tion.
• Single-agency planning and per-
mitting—These procedures mini-
mize the time necessary to obtain
required permits and variances in
original stipulations. They may also
foster better communication be-
tween developers and regulators
by clearly defining key participants
in regulation development.
• Ongoing consultation between
developers and regulators—Such
communication fosters develop-
ment of installation stipulations
appropriate to the landfall's tech-
nical and environmental constraints
and allows the flexibility to change
original plans if necessary or
desirable as construction proceeds.
• Establishing restoration goals—
Goal-setting will focus restoration
efforts on minimizing major identi-
fied potential effects, rather than
on attempting a complete replica-
tion of original conditions—which
is often impossible to achieve
except over a long-term natural
restoration cycle.
• Long-term monitoring programs—
These programs would provide a
method for ongoing assessment of
restoration success and the oppor-
tunity to identify and remedy, if
necessary, an initially unsuccessful
restoration effort.
Conclusions
The major conclusion that may be
drawn from these examples is that
pipelines can generally be installed in
most coastal systems with little evi-
dence of environmental damage. The
main exceptions are rock cliffs and
wetlands. In the case of rock cliffs
(where blasting is required), restoration
with original materials is not possible;
the concrete required to refill the trench
may not be acceptable on ecological or
aesthetic grounds. Because of their very
loose sediment structure, wetlands
(particularly those -that are highly
saturated) are probably the most difficult
of all coastal ecosystems to restore to
original aesthetic or functional condi-
tion. Only recently have large-scale
restoration activities been attempted.
Although insufficient time has elapsed
to draw final conclusions, early results
of these restoration attempts appear to
be very encouraging.
The full report was submitted in
fulfillment of Interagency Agreement
EPA-78-D-X0063 by New England River
Basins Commission under the sponsor-
ship of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
Ann W. Gowen and Michael J. Goetz are with the New England River Basins
Commission, Boston, MA 02109.
John S. Farlow is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
The complete report, entitled "Pipeline Landfalls: A Handbook of Impact
Management Techniques," (Order No. PB 81-242 950; Cost: $ 17.00, subject
to change) will be available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
Oil and Hazardous Materials Spills Branch
Municipal Environmental Research Laboratory—Cincinnati
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Edison, NJ 08837
US GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, 1981 — 559-017/7396
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
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