Pipeline Permitting Process Eased By Early State, Local Involvement

The inventory, evaluation and treatment of cultural resources represent a significant challenge for those charged with siting and permitting natural gas pipelines. Recent pipeline projects in the U.S. have involved environmental study corridors that are extensive, resulting in the identification of large numbers of cultural resources. Fortunately, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has attempted to reduce the number of steps required to achieve licensing for projects under its oversight. Specifically, the FERC has introduced a program called the Pre-filing Process. This process has been utilized by the industry since 2002, when Williams’ Kern River (now a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.) and Dominion’s Greenbrier Expansion projects first used it.

The Pre-filing Process provides a forum, prior to the formal filing of a 7C application, which allows for the early identification and resolution of environmental and landowner concerns. The process also allows for the proactive involvement of the public and government agencies in the identification and examination of potential alternatives to minimize impacts to a variety of resources. The ultimate purpose of the Pre-filing Process is to reduce the amount of time required to issue an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or Environmental Assessment (EA) once the certificate application is filed.

In this article, the authors encourage early involvement of State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) personnel for large pipeline projects involved in the Pre-filing Process. We believe that by developing a routine schedule of consultation, decisions can be made in manageable increments. The approach should reduce the time required for agency review once a survey is completed, while removing uncertainty as to the outcome of project recommendations, a beneficial result for both the project sponsor and the agency.

Cultural Resources Regulatory Environment

The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) is concerned with the socio-cultural environment which includes “historic properties” or those cultural resources eligible to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Section 106 of the NHPA, formally issued in 1966, along with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s implementing regulations of 1979 with subsequent amendments, requires federal agencies like the FERC to:

“…take into account the effect of the undertaking (an action that may affect historic properties) on any district, site, building, structure, or object that is included in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register,” and “afford the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation … reasonable opportunity to comment with regard to such undertaking.”

Section 106 is most easily conceptualized as a series of steps involving data collection, consultation between the project sponsor and agencies, and, finally, decision making (Figure 1). The FERC Office of Energy Projects (OEP) “Guidelines for Reporting on Cultural Resources Investigations for Pipeline Projects (2002)” indicate that:

“…project sponsors (companies) proposing to construct projects under the Commission's jurisdiction assist the Commission in meeting its obligations under the NHPA.”