Attached are the powerpoint presentations that Sara and I made at the final public meeting for the Lick Creek TMDLs on July 16, 2007.

At the final public meeting, comments were also made about new construction for a gas pipeline that we had not heard about. I did some investigation and have found the following information.

The pipeline is 12” in diameter, 23,077 ft in length, with 100’ right-of-way, partially buried and partially above ground and is permitted to Equitable, which operates all of the gas wells in the watershed. Lydia Sinemus of the Division of Gas and Oil (DGO) provided me with the attached map of the approximate path of the new pipeline and the following information from Equitable.

Equitable’s pipeline follows a path along the northern portion of the Lick Creek Watershed.  A company representative, Mike Coots, said that major construction was complete and they are currently seeding and mulching the right-of-way.  Equitable has a permit through DGO along with permits from the Army Corps of Engineers for 4 stream crossings on the route.  They are also responsible for obtaining proper permits through all other agencies with jurisdiction (COE or VMRC for stream crossings, DEQ for wetlands, DOT for roads, etc.).  I don’t know if they have permits with either DEQ or DOT.

Mr. Coots told Ms. Sinemus that upon receiving a call from her late on the evening of July 17th, he inspected the right-of-way and the stream crossings and didn’t see any E&S problems.  Ms. Sinemus said that she would contact the DGO inspector and request follow-up as well.  All E&S regulations for well site and road construction also apply to pipelines.