Garrison, ND – A draft environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed construction of a natural gas pipeline approximately 20 miles south east of Williston, North Dakota is currently available for public review. Hiland Partners Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Inc., is proposing to construct a 10.6-mile, 20-inch diameter natural gas gathering pipeline traversing Lake Sakakawea to connect existing infrastructure.
Hiland proposes to install the natural gas pipeline under Lake Sakakawea using the horizontal direction drill (HDD) construction method. The HDD would be 2.49 miles in length and require a 2.07-acre drill workspace on the north side of the lake, a 5.74-acre drill workspace on the south side of the lake, and a 6,894-foot long by 75-foot wide (11.9 acres total) pipeline fabrication workspace on the south side of the lake. Hiland would also construct block valves on the north and south side of Lake Sakakawea to isolate the segment of pipeline under Lake Sakakawea from the remaining portion of the pipeline should a pipeline failure occur under or adjacent to the lake.
The need for this action arises from ongoing activities associated with oil and gas extraction. Currently natural gas is being flared in this region due to the lack of infrastructure to harness, transport, refine, and distribute the natural resource. The proposed project would provide infrastructure to capture and transport natural gas to appropriate facilities for processing and distribution. Specifically, the project would allow the gathering of 130 to 240 million cubic feet per day of projected natural gas from producers to processing facilities on either side of Lake Sakakawea. Because this project would require crossing Lake Sakakawea and associated Corps-managed real estate, a Section 10 and Section 408 permit and real estate easement are required.
The public is encouraged to provide comments on the draft environmental assessment. The draft supplemental environmental assessment is available for viewing at: https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Planning/Project-Reports/. Comments can be mailed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District; CENWO-PMA-C; ATTN: Hiland Draft EA; 1616 Capitol Avenue; Omaha, NE 68102-4901. Comments can also be emailed to: cenwo-planning@usace.army.mil. Comments must be postmarked or received no later than May 12, 2019.
This draft EA is consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508), the Corps’ regulations for implementing NEPA (33 CFR 325 and Engineering Regulation 200-2-2) and other applicable environmental laws and regulations.
This assessment is being completed in accordance with the CEQ regulations in Section 1506.5(a) and 1506.5(b), which allows an applicant to prepare an EA for a federal action. The Corps has independently evaluated and verified the information and analysis in this EA and takes full responsibility for the scope and content contained herein.