Projects Energy Natural Gas Pipelines and Storage North Baja Pipeline Project
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Tetra Tech provided environmental and permitting services for the siting and construction of 79.8 miles of 30- and 36-inch natural gas pipeline from La Paz County, Arizona, through Imperial and Riverside counties, California, to the Mexican border for PG&E Gas Transmission Northwest. This project involved major crossings of the Colorado River and the All American Canal, and construction through the irrigated Palo Verde valley and the desert, including a long stretch through the California Desert Conservation Area.
Federal permits required for this project included a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, which was supported by an Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR). Because the largest portion of this project was on federal land, Tetra Tech negotiated and drafted a right-of-way (ROW) grant across federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), and Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. Tetra Tech negotiated several California and Arizona permits and authorizations, including a land use lease from the California State Lands Commission, a Streambed Authorization Agreement from the California Department of Fish and Game, encroachment permits from the California Department of Transportation, and a concurrence letter from the California Office of Historic Preservation (SHPO). Tetra Tech obtained Section 10 and 404 permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers and negotiated a Section 401 Water Quality Certification, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Construction Permit, a NPDES Hydrostatic Test Permit, and a Dewatering Permit from the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board. At the local government level, Tetra Tech obtained easements, encroachment permits, explosives permits, and franchise agreements.
The Tetra Tech team conducted wetland, botanical, biological, cultural, paleontological, and visual surveys. Tetra Tech drafted the Environmental Specifications to be included in the client’s bid document to construction contractors. A field team of over 65 resource specialists in archaeology, biology, botany, paleontology, and environmental inspectors worked daily to conduct pre-construction surveys, monitor protected resource areas, handle and treat unanticipated discoveries, and provide important pre-planning assistance to the contractor during construction. Tetra Tech’s team worked successfully with the third-party monitors representing FERC, BLM, and CSLC who were present on a daily basis during project construction. Daily compliance reports were distributed through an electronic server-based system to construction and agency management to provide important information concerning construction progress and overall compliance with the POD and mitigation monitoring plans.
Performance Highlights
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