Environmental due diligence during the acquisition of Upstream
or Midstream natural gas gathering assets can present numerous challenges to
the potential buyer. Environmental
liabilities may be significant, and can include remedial obligations and
compliance risks that need to be quantified.
Customary due diligence approaches that are used in other industries are
not relevant or practical due to the unique nature of the asset and the
multiple regulatory frameworks.
The assets may encompass many miles of gathering pipelines and
scores of gas processing plants, compressor stations, drip stations, metering
stations or other facilities in multiple state or regions. Without a good asset list, vacant parcels or
idle, abandoned and dismantled facilities might easily be overlooked by both
the Buyer and the Seller.
In addition to our due diligence services, METROPOLITAN
provides comprehensive and dependable engineering, consulting, and automation
services to pipeline companies, utilities, and industrial customers. With
first-hand experience operating and maintaining energy infrastructure, our
engineering professionals provide expertise in Pipeline Engineering, Integrity
Services, Automation Integration, Electrical Design, Industrial Solutions, and
Process Safety Management.
We apply this expertise to natural gas &
oil pipeline infrastructure, gas distribution, petroleum refining, chemical
processing, electric power generation & distribution, and heavy industry.
Our team of more than 100 professionals offers engineering, consulting, and
automation excellence wherever energy flows and goods are produced.
Transaction Screening Investigation
A Transaction Screening Investigation
is usually undertaken to provide a scoping level of environmental assessment
for virtually all property transfer transactions.
A Transaction Screening Investigation
may also be initiated when a client has made a preliminary determination that
the value of the property or other circumstances contraindicate initiating a
full Phase I Property Site Assessment unless sufficient cause for further
investigation can be demonstrated.
Findings of the Transaction Screening
Investigation report may dictate that a Phase I Property Site Assessment is
required or may provide sufficient information that a lender may decide to
discontinue further environmental assessment activities.
In some circumstances, Transaction
Screening Investigation reports may be appropriate for updating earlier Phase I
Property Site Assessments to confirm that conditions have not substantively
changed on a given property.
The scope of services for a typical
Transaction Screening Investigation includes a site inspection; review of
historical information from site records; and preparation of a written
technical report with findings of the investigation, as well as conclusions and
recommendations for further investigation, if necessary.
Although requirements for individual
site studies vary, and supplemental assessment activities may be prescribed by
individual clients, minimum standards have been established by the American
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard practices for a Transaction
Screening Investigation (E 1528-96, Transaction Screen Process).
The Transaction Screening Investigation
specifically would not include
·
review of historic property ownership
records;
·
review of historical aerial photographs
and city directories;
·
communications with agencies for
available records of past spills, discharges or disposal of hazardous
materials;
·
communication with utility companies;
or
·
review of hydrogeologic data or other
supplemental activities typically conducted during a full Phase I Property Site
Assessment.
If the Transaction Screening
Investigation were to reveal evidence of contamination or potential
contamination or conclude that insufficient information was acquired during the
Transaction Screening Investigation to adequately address an environmental
issue of potential concern, recommendations for a Phase I Property Site
Assessment would be provided in the Transaction Screening Investigation report.
Preliminary (Phase I) Property Site
Assessment
A Preliminary (Phase I) Property Site
Assessment is an investigation undertaken to evaluate properties for the
existence, reasonable potential existence, or future potential for hazardous or
toxic substance contamination.
The scope of services for a typical
Phase I Property Site Assessment includes
A specific on-site
investigation consisting of a pedestrian survey be performed. Representative photographs of the subject
property and adjacent properties will be taken to document conditions at the
time of the on-site investigation.
review of historical information from
site records and regulatory agencies;
preparation of a written technical
report with findings of the investigation; and
conclusions and recommendations for
further investigation, if necessary.
Although requirements for specific
sites vary and individual clients may require supplemental assessment activities,
minimum requirements have been established by practicing professionals and have
been institutionalized in pending legislation.
Minimum standards have also been
established by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard
practices for a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (E 1527-97, Phase I
Environmental Site Assessment Process).
Phase I Property Site Assessments do
not typically include soil or ground water sampling or analysis activities
unless specifically requested prior to the investigation, or mutually agreed
upon during the course of the investigation.
If the Phase I Property Site Assessment
were to reveal evidence of potential hazardous substance contamination,
recommendations for further investigation (Phase II Property Site Assessment),
mitigation, and/or remedial actions would be recommended in the Phase I report.
Phase II Property Site Assessment
Previous investigations or activities,
including Phase I Property Site Assessments or accidental discovery of
suspected contamination, may require a sampling and analysis program (Phase II
Property Site Assessment) to confirm or characterize the suspected areas of
contamination.
Phase II programs usually include
subsurface investigations for the purpose of collecting soil and/or ground
water samples to be analyzed for suspected contaminants; however, Phase II
investigations may also include sampling of surface waters, interior or
exterior emission sources, soil gases, or multiple other focused assessment
activities.
METROPOLITAN’ Phase II field
investigations are designed and directed by geologists and professional staff
with expertise in environmental site characterizations of all kinds, both above
and beneath the ground water table.
Our professional staff adheres to rigid
quality assurance and control guidelines set by industry, regulatory, and
METROPOLITAN standards.
Field investigations are conducted in
compliance with federal, state, and local regulations, including notification
of appropriate regulatory agencies, acquisition of all necessary permits, and
preparation of a field safety program.
Representative soil and ground water
samples are obtained following strict sampling protocol. The samples are
transferred by standard chain-of-custody to certified laboratories for analyses.
Coordination with the client is
maintained throughout the entire investigation to assure that any difficulties
or unsuspected findings are resolved as soon as possible.
After completion of field and
laboratory data analysis, a final report is prepared to summarize the
investigation and to make recommendations and conclusions based upon the
findings.
If the Phase II investigation were to
confirm the presence of significant contamination on the property, then
recommendations are typically provided for further investigation, if necessary,
to delineate the vertical and lateral extent of contamination or to implement
site remediation alternatives for cleanup of the contamination in conformance
with the requirements of responsible agencies.
Site Remediation
If site remediation is indicated from
the Phase II investigation, METROPOLITAN can assist clients with site
characterization and management of remediation activities.
Site remediation may include any of the
standard or innovative techniques such as:
- granular activated carbon adsorption,
- oil-water separation and free product recovery,
- biodegradation,
- solidification and stabilization,
- vapor extraction,
- incineration,
- barrier walls (either passive or active),
- in-situ chemical injection treatment,
- waste reduction/filtration techniques, or
- excavation and off site treatment and disposal.
The feasibility of any particular site
remediation technique depends upon site specific conditions such as the nature
of contaminants, regulatory requirements, and other factors such as cost,
potential future consequences, pending regulations, and community concerns.
Key Changes to
ASTM E 1527-13
The All Appropriate Inquiries Rule at
40 CFR Part 312 (“AAI Rule”) protects prospective purchasers of property from
liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (“CERCLA”) for certain environmental conditions if the
prospective purchaser conducts an investigation that meets the requirements of
the AAI Rule.
The AAI Rule provides that
prospective purchasers who comply with specified industry standards issued by
the American Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”) are deemed to have
complied with the AAI Rule. On December
30, 2013, the U.S. EPA formally recognized a new standard (ASTM Standard
E1527-13) to demonstrate compliance with the All Appropriate Inquiry (AAI) Rule
when conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments.
The ASTM E1527-13 Standard is similar to the
previous ASTM E1527-05 Standard and was issued by ASTM International in
accordance with its protocol for review of its standard practices and
guides. The EPA recommends that
environmental professionals and prospective purchasers use the ASTM E1527–13
standard; however, the old standard is not yet invalid for purposes of AAI and
won’t be until EPA formally amends the AAI Rule to remove the current reference
to it. The new Standard introduces several changes to the Phase I
assessment process.
Key Changes to the Standard
There are three major changes in the
new Standard:
Changes to the definitions of
Recognized Environmental Condition (REC) and Historical Recognized
Environmental Condition (HREC), and the introduction of the term Controlled
Recognized Environmental Conditions (CRECs).
Clarifications regarding vapor
migration/intrusion assessment requirements.
Requirements pertaining to Regulatory
Agency File Reviews.
The major changes are summarized below.
REC, HREC, CRECs
The new Standard revised the definition
of the terms regarding Recognized Environmental Conditions. The new
Standard simplifies the definition of a REC, to align more closely with the AAI
rule, as a release, a likely release, or a material threat of a release of
hazardous substances to the environment on the property. The revised Standard
also modifies the definitions of “release” and “environment” to more closely
track the definitions of those terms as set forth in CERCLA. Although the
definition of a REC has been simplified, its application in practice should be
largely unchanged.
The definition of an HREC has been
modified to apply only to historic releases, which have been remediated to the
satisfaction of regulatory authorities for unrestricted use. Thus, the new Standard limits an HREC to past
releases that do not subject the property to any use restrictions, activity and
use limitations (AULs), or other engineering or institutional controls.
The new definition also requires that the
environmental professional evaluate whether releases that were addressed in the
past may be subject to revised cleanup criteria that could require further
remedial action (if residential criteria has become more restrictive the HREC
could potentially become a REC). Although some environmental professionals
routinely conducted an analysis of current regulatory cleanup standards for
HRECs, the new Standard makes this exercise mandatory to comply with the AAI
Rule for the first time.
Following the revised definition of an
HREC is the new category of releases called a CREC. This term is newly added to
describe releases that have been addressed to the satisfaction of regulatory
authorities, but from which residual contamination has been permitted to remain
in place subject to the implementation of use restrictions, AULs or other
institutional or engineering controls on the subject property.
Because a
CREC is a new type of REC (whereas the new definition of an HREC is no longer
considered a REC), the new Standard requires that the condition also be
identified as a REC in the conclusions section of the Phase I report.
Under the prior standard, these types of controlled, known conditions were
often characterized as HRECs, since regulatory closure had been achieved.
These conditions are now considered RECs, and may have a practical impact on
transactions in the form of financial holdbacks or escrow demands, insurance
coverage exclusions or limitations, or requests for sale price or lease
concessions.
Vapor Migration
The new Standard indicates the need to
clarify that the potential for vapor migration must be considered in the Phase
I report. The definition of “migrate”
now expressly includes releases that migrate in the subsurface as vapor.
Consultants preparing Phase I assessments under the updated standard will need
to assess possible indoor air quality impacts from vapor intrusion pathways if
there is subsurface soil or groundwater contamination at or near the subject
site.
The standard explicitly states
that ASTM E2600 is not a requirement of a Phase I ESA (E1527). ASTM E2600 is a
separate, more comprehensive assessment of vapor migration.
Agency File Reviews
If a property, or an adjoining property
within the required search distance, appears on a federal, state or tribal
record, the standard requires, within the environmental professional’s
discretion, the review of “pertinent regulatory files and/or records associated
with the listing.” If the environmental professional chooses not to conduct a
file review, he/she must document the reason(s) for this decision in the Phase
I report.
The practical impacts of the file
review requirement are likely to be on timing and cost. Agency file
reviews can often take several weeks (or months, in some jurisdictions), and
could add additional unforeseen costs to the Phase I assessment process.
The file review requirement could dramatically increase the probability that a
Phase I assessment is not truly complete at the time of closing.
Other Revisions
The Standard also indicates a review of
title and judicial records for environmental liens or AULs continues to be a
User (Client) requirement that is to be conducted by a title professional. The
environmental professional may conduct this work instead of the user, but does
not have an affirmative obligation to do so.
These user responsibilities are
now mandatory, and the user must also consider its own specialized knowledge,
commonly known or reasonable ascertainable information about the property, and
the degree of obviousness of the presence or likely presence of releases or
threatened releases.
METROPOLITAN’S PCA’S
METROPOLITAN is the industry leader in Property Condition
Assessment (PCA) services for engineering due diligence projects associated
with commercial real estate transactions.
We designed our PCA to determine the present physical condition
of the project and its improvements. We
provide our decision intelligence regarding future anticipated issues, which
may result in a financial risk or liability.
A METROPOLITAN Property Condition Assessment process includes:
·
A visual walk-through to observe the existing
conditions.
·
Interviewing persons with knowledge of the
property and its maintenance;
·
Review of the available construction
documentation, maintenance records, drawings, public records and current
budgets.
·
Deciphering the information gathered and
presenting it with intelligence for repair or further detailed review if the
issues cannot be determined through visual observation alone.
Drawing
on three decades of pipeline and bulk terminal environmental consulting
experience, METROPOLITAN is uniquely qualified to complete
environmental due diligence assessments and liability valuations for pipeline
companies. Our clients have come to trust our judgment, and rely on us with
their largest and most time-sensitive projects.
METROPOLITAN works with our clients to develop the
proper scope of work for each environmental assessment to meet the requirements
of the individual transaction. This can range from a desktop database
evaluation to a comprehensive full-scale Phase I, or even Phase II
investigation.
We endeavor to provide the appropriate information in an
expedited manner to enable our clients to make informed financial decisions
concerning environmental conditions related to mergers, acquisitions and
divestitures.
METROPOLITAN can also assist clients by making
recommendations of ways to eliminate, reduce, manage or transfer the
environmental risks associated with a specific transaction.
METROPOLITAN has years of experience in supporting our
pipeline clients by developing defensible environmental reserve amounts. We are familiar with accounting and cost
estimating standards for liability estimation.
We
have assisted clients in reducing the environmental liabilities shown on their
balance sheets by structuring and implementing Risk-Transfer and Risk-Sharing
programs. In addition, we have been successful in inexpensively closing large
numbers of sites associated with small historical leaks, thereby reducing the
companies’ overall reserve.
METROPOLITAN provided due diligence expertise in several
significant pipeline acquisition projects, including due diligence (both
environmental and property condition assessments) of:
A major international energy company negotiating the
acquisition of an extensive portfolio of natural gas production, gathering,
transmission, and distribution assets in the South and Northeast. Activities included assessment of attached production, evaluation
of system capacity, market assessment and pipeline integrity evaluation.
Assisted
private equity investor who was acquiring a Gathering System, with the review
of natural gas gathering and transmission system. Activities included assessment of attached
production, evaluation of system capacity, market assessment and pipeline
integrity evaluation.
An investor bidding on the acquisition of a significant
Midwestern petroleum pipeline, including a number of inland and marine
terminals and related assets.
Assisted
private equity investor, who was acquiring an interstate pipeline, with the
review of operating and maintenance practices and forecast capital expenditures
related to expansion of a major interstate transmission pipeline holding
company and its subsidiaries. Facilities
were located in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.
An investor bidding on the acquisition of significant natural
gas pipeline assets located in the Northwest.
Activities included
assessment of attached production, evaluation of system capacity, market
assessment and pipeline integrity evaluation.
An investor bidding on the acquisition of an 8,000-mile
interstate natural gas pipeline, gathering and storage system located in the
U.S. Gulf Coast.
A West Coast municipality's purchase of a non-functioning,
intrastate petroleum pipeline for the purpose of conversion to provide natural
gas delivery to electric power generation facilities and other entities. Performed a review of operating and maintenance practices, pipeline
integrity evaluation and compressor stations auditing.
A Southeastern utility company bidding on the acquisition of a
portfolio of natural gas gathering, transportation, and distribution lines in
the State of Texas.
An investor acquiring a portfolio of propane terminals in the
Midwest and Canada.
As part of these projects, we assited clients on actual and
potential liabilities arising from natural gas gathering, transmission, and
distribution lines, as well as petroleum transportation pipelines, terminals,
and refineries. These transactions involved assets located in almost every
state in the continental United States. Activities included assessment
of attached production, evaluation of system capacity, market assessment and
pipeline integrity evaluation.
Natural Gas Assets
In the last three years, our environmental professionals have
taken the lead role in environmental due diligence with respect to a total of
approximately 50,000 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline, 50,000 miles
of natural gas distribution lines, and 10,000 miles of natural gas gathering
lines.
In these matters, we have
coordinated and managed all aspects of the environmental due diligence process.
We have scoped out environmental issues
and developed environmental due diligence teams, as necessary, to meet the
client's specific needs, including retaining and directing the work of lawyers
and other technical experts as necessary.
We have reviewed relevant documents, reports,
records, and other materials, interviewed representatives of the target
companies and other entities as necessary, and conducted on-site inspections
and audit processes to verify information. As contract engineers, we have also negotiated
and drafted environmental-related provisions in the purchase agreements with
respect to each transaction.
In our work on these projects, we have evaluated and managed,
in a manner favorable to the clients, environmental liabilities relating to the
following:
Liabilities arising from known and unknown land and groundwater
releases of ethyl glycol, metals, mercury, solvents, and other hazardous
substances at scores of active remediation sites, and thousands of inactive or
potential sites,
Liabilities relating to a total of 120 manufactured gas plant
(MGP) sites in more than a dozen states;
Compliance with NSR, NESHAPS, and other Clean Air Act
requirements at more than 230 compressor stations, nearly half of which were
subject to Title V air permits, as well as at facilities collectively providing
more than 770 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity;
Compliance with RCRA and Clean Water Act regulations and
requirements; and
Compliance with the integrity management and other requirements
of the Pipeline Safety Act and state regulatory counterparts, including
detailed evaluation of the adequacy of capital budgets to upgrade aging pipelines
to allow for in-line integrity testing ("smart pigging") and other
management practices.
Petroleum and Other
Hazardous Liquid Assets
The office has also undertaken environmental due diligence on
more than 16,000 miles of petroleum pipeline, as well as more than a 2,000
miles of other "hazardous liquid" pipelines.
These reviews have included assessments of:
Liabilities, including toxic tort liability, arising from
petroleum releases, PCB contamination, and other known or suspected releases at
more than 100 active remediation sites, including compressor stations, metering
stations, inland and marine terminals, refineries and various other types of
facilities;
Compliance with NSR, NESHAPS, and other Clean Air Act
requirements at approximately 60 compressor stations and at tank farms with
collectively more than 26 million barrels of storage capacity;
Compliance with RCRA and Clean Water Act regulations and
requirements; and
Compliance with the integrity management and other requirements
of the Pipeline Safety Act, including assessments as to the adequacy of capital
budgets to upgrade aging lines to allow for "smart-pigging" and other
management practices;
METROPOLITAN’ S DUE
DILIGENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES FOR THE PIPELINE INDUSTRY
Due Diligence for
Acquisitions
·
Develop the
appropriate scope of work for a specific transaction
·
Support clients in
understanding the magnitude and potential financial exposure associated with
environmental risk
·
Assist clients with
transferring specific environmental risks to third parties
·
Completion of
desktop database evaluations
·
Review
seller-provided records
·
Conduct
comprehensive Phase I
·
Complete Phase II to
further evaluate areas of concern
Remediation Cost
Estimation for Acquisitions
·
Remediation
liability valuations provided with an assessment of various price risks
·
Staff experienced in
pipeline remediation conduct cost estimation and assess potential cost risk
·
METROPOLITAN utilizes
time-tested computerized templates for all aspects of remediation cost estimating
·
@Risk software
utilized to generate cost probability curves
Environmental Liability
Reserve Estimation
METROPOLITAN has assisted several publicly
traded pipeline clients with SEC-required reporting of environmental
liabilities
·
Familiarity with
FASB 5, FASB143/FIN 47
·
Experienced with
ASTM 2001 Standard Guide for Estimating Monetary Costs and Liability for
Environmental Matters [E2137-01]
Environmental Insurance
Acquisition Assistance
METROPOLITAN can assist pipeline
clients in obtaining both pollution liability and cost cap insurance policies
·
Experienced in
presenting environmental data to the technical staff of the insurance markets
·
Relationships with
most major environmental insurance brokers and product line managers
Risk-Transfer Programs
·
Risk-Transfer
Programs that allow clients to move environmental liability from balance sheet
·
Risk-Sharing
Programs for aligning our interests with those of our client’s
Historical Site Closure
Program
·
Eliminate open files
on historical spill/leak sites
·
Reduce reserve
amount on client’s balance sheet
·
Many site closures
require only desktop study and final documentation records
Focus on Records During
Acquisitions, or Risk Significant Liabilities
The development of new oil and gas in various shale plays
around the U.S. has led to a rise in the number of transfers and acquisitions
of pipeline assets. Prudent operators have always requested and reviewed
documentation as part of their due diligence in making acquisitions, but it is
becoming increasingly important that certain records be located during due
diligence or factored into the transaction if such records are lacking and must
be recreated.
Decision makers involved in pipeline acquisitions may only
involve pipeline safety managers or counsel late in the process, without
sufficient time to include the issue of records as part of the
transaction. That can be a costly mistake.
Construction and manufacturer records, hydrostatic pressure
test records, computations of maximum allowable and/or operating pressure
limits and class location reviews (for natural gas pipelines) are all now
routinely reviewed during government inspections.
Those records are also given close scrutiny
after any incident or during any litigation. PHMSA regulations clearly
require that certain records be maintained for the life of a pipeline (see
49 C.F.R. Parts 192.517; 195.310), but records are often lost or misplaced
over time, as the result of transactions, office moves, etc. In addition,
as a result of several pipeline incidents, PHMSA has redoubled its efforts to
inspect for records that are required to be maintained or that the Agency
expects that a prudent operator should maintain. For example, with
respect to natural gas transmission pipelines PHMSA now requires operators to
submit annual report data on pipeline mileage that lacks verifiable records.
More recently, PHMSA advised operators to
validate material and strength test records and prepare a plan to obtain
missing material documentation in advance of undertaking flow reversals, product
changes and conversions of service.
It can be very expensive to have to recreate records no longer
maintained (e.g., conducting new pressure tests to validate operating
pressures).
Civil penalties for not
maintaining (or recreating) records can also be extremely costly. Consequently, operators should consider these
issues in any transaction and consider the implications to the overall cost of
an acquisition both in terms of time, money and compliance risk.
ENGINEERING AND
CONSULTING WORK AT PIPELINE SITES
Metering & Pressure Regulating Station Design in a Natural
Gas Transmission and Distribution area: Designed the installation of a
regulator station, including the design of the inlet/outlet piping, 2″
regulator runs with relief valves, as well as a station bypass and tie-in to a
Bruest “HotCat” catalytic heater, replacing the glycol heater.
Engineering, design, survey and construction procurement
services for the installation of approximately 8 miles of new 20” pipeline
through an existing transmission power line corridor, including odorization
facilities, three (3) mainline valves, launcher/receiver facilities and
horizontal directionally drilled crossings.
Administered
the site selection and preparation of site plans for well pads and impoundments
including grading plans and erosion sedimentation control plans for
construction of pipe lines, lease roads, meters sites, well pads, production
pads and fresh water/fracturing (flowback) ponds. Coordinated with client and
regulatory agencies for the preparation of ESCGP-1, general, joint, and highway
occupancy permits, as well as existing condition, construction stakeout, and
as-built surveying services.
30
Mile 20” ANSI 600 Natural Gas line from the processing plant to their
compressor station. The scope of work
includes pipeline and pipeline appurtenance design and sizing. The analysis
work includes hydraulic analyses, pipeline class analysis, stress analyses, and
valve location studies. The design work
includes valve station and pig launcher/receiver station designs and
specifications including electrical and telemetry designs, and the cathodic
protection design for the pipeline.
METROPOLITAN is also providing design consultation for the horizontal
directional drills on the project, including geotechnical studies and review,
and HDD alignment design. METROPOLITAN
is also providing commissioning and pressure testing procedures for the project
and acting as an advisor on the many crossings for the project.
Provided detailed design, material specifications, and material
lists for a new custody transfer meter station and interconnect. The meter station consisted of a 12"
ultrasonic meter, dual run 4"/6" regulator facility, and a 36" diameter
filter separator.
Supervised
site design and permitting of three different compressor station sites. Managed
the preparation of site plans and grading plans, field review for
wetland/stream impacts, and erosion/sedimentation control plans for
construction of the site, access roads, and meters sites.
Coordinated with the
client, and their consultants, on equipment layout, as well as coordination
with various regulatory agencies for the preparation of ESCGP-1 and general
permits, and Township zoning/land development approvals. Additional work
included: coordinating and managing the existing conditions; geotechnical
investigation; sound studies; construction stakeouts; and construction
inspection services.
We have designed projects for the replacement of hundreds of miles of
pipe, whether it is due to obsolescence, corrosion, poor leak history, system
integrity, or new construction. Our project experience includes:
Bare
Steel Replacement, 2” – 20” dia, 7.00” w.c. to 60 psig
Wrapped
or Protected Steel Replacement, 1 – ¼” – 24” dia, up to 1200 psig
Cast
Iron Replacement, 3” – 20” dia, 7.0” w.c. to 20 psig
Cut
and Cover or Direct Burial
HDD
or Auger Bore
Dead
Insertion, Live Insertion
CIPP
Rehabilitation Method
Engineered,
designed and permitted the replacement, relocation or rehabilitation of gas
facilities on hundreds of projects.
SE Pennsylvania – Engaged in a two-year program to
replace 40 miles of cast-iron main. Includes design, planning and permitting
for approximately 20 projects/week resulting in four miles of upgrades. Also
supporting a two-year Bare Steel Replacement project to replace 3,000 miles of
utilities, as well as a two-year Transmission Pipeline project to upgrade 10
miles of line serving US Steel plants. Designed full compressor station
encompassing buildings, station piping, electrical instrumentation design, and
bi-directional metering.
Responsible for engineering, designing, planning and permitting
of replacement of several hundred miles of mechanically joined pipelines with
MDPE pipe and replacement of associated service laterals. Required high degree
of coordination with construction crews, permitting agencies, neighborhood
associations and county board of supervisors. Required high rate of design and
engineering productivity to keep 80+ crews working over a three-year period.
Provide detailed design, material specification, and material
lists for a meter/regulator station sized to measure and regulate 750 MMSCF/D
at a design pressure of 1440 psig. Facilities included a single 16"
ultrasonic meter run and 10" regulator run.
One-Way Feed Elimination Project – Studied various single-feed
systems to determine feasibility of providing secondary feeds. Designed several
regulator stations and pressure ties to provide secondary full-redundant feeds.
Designed and permitted transmission-to-distribution, dual-stage and regulator
stations. Identified, negotiated and obtained easements for regulator stations
from church, homeowner association and private owners.
Project management, engineering, design, drawing preparation,
material specification and material requisition for the relocation of an
existing 36” receiver to a new location.
Work also included a 36” horizontal directional drilled crossing of the
James River.
Provided detailed engineering design and specifications for the
modification of 28 valve sets along an 8” Lateral in order to prepare the line
for pressure and in-line inspection tool runs.
The modifications included the detailed engineering design and
specifications for 5 full ILI barrel- Launcher/Receivers. In addition, 6 Hydrostatic Pressure Test
Procedures were provided as part of the 2012 Integrity Management Program.
Install a bi-directional launcher and receiver on the line and
make other piping modifications in order to assess 21 miles of pipeline with
three HCAs. Design new 24” x 20” bi directional launcher and a 16”x24”
bi-directional receiver (Barrel only) on the pipeline segment. Replace two main
line valves, add platforms for the launcher/receiver valves, and tie launcher
bypass back into an existing pipeline.
Metropolitan
Engineering, Consulting & Forensics (MECF)
Providing
Competent, Expert and Objective Investigative Engineering and Consulting
Services
P.O.
Box 520
Tenafly,
NJ 07670-0520
Tel.:
(973) 897-8162
Fax:
(973) 810-0440
E-mail:
metroforensics@gmail.com
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