Construction access to the Project areas and ancillary facilities will be by way of the construction ROW and existing and new public and private roads. Tennessee anticipates utilizing temporary and permanent ARs during the construction of each portion of the Project with permanent ARs to be used during operation of the Project. Where public road access is unavailable, Tennessee will identify private ARs. Locations of ARs proposed for the Project are provided in Resource Report 8 of this ER. Locations of proposed temporary ARs are depicted on USGS topographic maps and aerial alignment sheets provided in Volume II, Appendix E and F, respectively.
ARs identified to date include temporary roads that have been previously utilized for prior Tennessee projects, those approved for use during construction of the Constitution Pipeline Project, and additional roads identified by Tennessee. Where possible, Tennessee has proposed to use existing roads as ARs for the Project; if no existing road is available for use, Tennessee has sited new ARs away from sensitive resources to the extent practicable. Temporary soil erosion and sediment control measures will be installed along the proposed ARs in accordance with Tennessee’s Project-specific Environmental Construction Plans (“ECPs”) for each state in Volume II, Appendices J through N. Additional information describing ARs, including locations and lengths of roads, is in Resource Report 8 of this ER.
1.2.4
Contractor Yards
Tennessee has identified locations to be utilized for contractor yards for the Project. These areas will be used for equipment, pipe, and material storage and staging, as well as temporary field offices and pipe preparation/field assembly areas. Contractor yards proposed as of the date of this resource report represent locations that were utilized for prior Tennessee projects, those approved for the construction of the Constitution Pipeline Project, and additional areas identified by Tennessee. Tennessee is in the process of contacting these landowners and obtaining permission to utilize these areas. Locations of proposed contractor yards are depicted on the USGS topographic maps and aerial alignment sheets provided in Volume II, Appendix E and Appendix F and further described in Resource Report 8.
Contractor yards that are proposed to be used for the Project include those located in previously disturbed areas such as open fields, sand and gravel pits, parking lots and industrial facilities. Although certain wetland impacts for these previously disturbed areas are included in Resource Report 2, final selection of the most appropriate contractor yard sites with the least environmental impact are still under evaluation. Impacts to wetlands, waterbodies and other sensitive areas will be avoided and minimized to the extent practicable during site evaluation.
1.2.5
Additional Temporary Workspace
ATWS areas typically are required at road, railroad, wetland, and waterbody crossing locations (including horizontal directional drilling (“HDDs”) for areas requiring specialized construction techniques, including steep slopes and agricultural land. The configurations and sizes of ATWS areas will be based on site- specific conditions and vary in accordance with the construction methodology, crossing type, and other construction needs. Tennessee has identified locations and acreages of ATWS that will be required to facilitate construction. ATWS requirements are summarized in Table 1.2-1. These areas are shown on the aerial alignment sheets included in Volume II, Appendix F. A complete list of these ATWS configurations by MP is included in Resource Report 8 of this ER.
Environmental Report Northeast Energy Direct Project Resource Report 1 General Project Description
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1.2.6
Areas of No Access
Tennessee is in the process of contacting affected landowners and obtaining survey permission for the properties proposed to be crossed by the Project. Field surveys on properties for which Tennessee obtained survey access began in July 2014. These surveys include wetland and waterbody delineation surveys, rare species habitat assessments, and cultural resource surveys. The schedule for completing field surveys will depend on the timing of obtaining survey permission on all affected parcels. Survey permission was requested from landowners within a 400 foot corridor on the proposed pipelines. The total landowners denying access permission and the percentage of no access to date is provided in Table 1.2-6. In the event that a certificate order is ultimately issued by the Commission for the Project, Tennessee would have eminent domain authority to pursue access to these properties to conduct necessary surveys.
Table 1.2-6
Areas of No Access for the Project by State
Pennsylvania1
Total Landowners with No Access - in Pennsylvania 134
Percent of No Access in Pennsylvania 28%
New York1
Total Landowners with No Access - in New York 571
Percent of No Access in New York 54%
Massachusetts1
Total Landowners with No Access - in Massachusetts 639
Percent of No Access in Massachusetts 60%
Connecticut1
Total Landowners with No Access - in Connecticut 44
Percent of No Access in Connecticut 32%
New Hampshire1
Total Landowners with No Access - in New Hampshire 627
Percent of No Access in New Hampshire 75%
Total No Access 2,012 Total Percent of No Access 57%
1 The information in this table represents current survey permission for those landowners located within the Project survey corridor (400 ft). The 59 landowners who previously granted and then rescinded survey permission for the current Project route are counted as no access in the above statistics.