Soil Survey and Reclamation Suitability Evaluation of the Proposed Nova Gas Transmission Ltd
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NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Norma Transmission Pipeline Project February 2013/8660 APPENDIX 3 SOIL SURVEY AND RECLAMATION SUITABILITY EVALUATION OF THE PROPOSED NOVA GAS TRANSMISSION LTD. NORMA TRANSMISSION PIPELINE PROJECT Page A3-1 SOIL SURVEY AND RECLAMATION SUITABILITY EVALUATION of the PROPOSED NOVA GAS TRANSMISSION LTD. NORMA TRANSMISSION PIPELINE Prepared for: TERA ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS On behalf of: NOVA GAS TRANSMISSION LTD. Prepared by: MENTIGA PEDOLOGY CONSULTANTS LTD. A.G. Twardy, M.Sc., P.Ag. B. Chernipeski, B.Sc., P.Ag. February 2013 11037B.1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 2.0 THE STUDY AREA .......................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Location and Extent ............................................................................................ 3 2.2 Bedrock Geology ................................................................................................ 3 2.3 Surficial Materials and Landform ........................................................................ 3 2.4 General Soil Patterns .......................................................................................... 4 2.5 Present Land Use ............................................................................................... 4 3.0 SOILS .................................................................................................................... 6 3.1 Soil Investigation Methods .................................................................................. 6 3.2 Soil Units ............................................................................................................. 7 3.2.1 Angus Ridge (AGS) Soils .......................................................................... 8 3.2.2 Haight (HGT) Soils..................................................................................... 9 3.2.3 Mundare (MDR) Soils .............................................................................. 10 3.2.4 Ukalta (UKT) Soils ................................................................................... 11 3.2.5 Miscellaneous Land Units ........................................................................ 12 3.3 Soil Suitability for Reclamation ......................................................................... 13 3.4 Evaluation of the Soils for Alternate Soil Handling ........................................... 15 3.5 Soil Nutrient Analysis ........................................................................................ 16 3.6 Soil Erosion Hazard .......................................................................................... 17 3.7 Soil Compaction ................................................................................................ 18 4.0 MATERIAL HANDLING RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................... 19 5.0 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 21 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Regional Location………………………………………………………..5 LIST OF TABLES 1. Key to the Soils. ............................................................................................................. 13 2. Extent of Various Soils Along the Proposed Route. ...................................................... 13 3. Soil Characteristics of Sampled Soils. ........................................................................... 15 4. Suitability Ratings of the Soils for Reclamation. ............................................................ 15 5. Evaluation of the Soils for Alternate Soil Handling. ......................................................... 16 6. Wind and Water Soil Erosion Hazard Ratings of Map Units Along the Proposed Route*………………….. ................................................................................................. 18 7. Soil Characteristics and their Implications to Pipelining. ................................................. 20 APPENDICES A Summary of Soil Inspection Sites .................................................................................. 22 B Guidelines for Reclamation Ratings .............................................................................. 25 C Guidelines for Alternative Soil Handling Procedures During Pipeline Construction (After: Apesc, June 1996) ............................................... 28 D Guidelines for Wind and Water Soil Erosion Hazard Ratings ....................................... 32 E Laboratory Results ......................................................................................................... 34 F Soils Legend .................................................................................................................. 37 _____________________________________________________________ Pedology Consultants Ltd.__________ Mentiga i 1.0 INTRODUCTION NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL), a wholly owned subsidiary of TransCanada PipeLines Limited, is applying to the National Energy Board (NEB) under Section 58 of the NEB Act for authorization to construct, own and operate the Norma Transmission Pipeline (the Project). The Project will include the installation of approximately 3.4 km of 508 mm (20 inch) O.D. pipeline which will traverse private lands in the White Area of Alberta. The proposed pipeline will extend west from the existing Bens Lake Compressor Station in NE 5-54-14 W4M to a proposed tie-in location with the ATCO Pipelines (ATCO) Norma Transmission Pipeline in SE 1-54-15 W4M. The purpose of the proposed pipeline is to connect NGTL’s Pipeline System to the proposed ATCO Pipelines Norma Transmission Pipeline, which will serve to carry sweet natural gas into the Fort Saskatchewan area. The proposed pipeline is required to meet the growing gas requirements of the Fort Saskatchewan and Edmonton areas as the demand for natural gas in those areas increases. The proposed pipeline will be installed within a new 15 m wide right-of-way with an additional 20 m of temporary workspace (TWS) required during construction resulting in a construction right-of-way width of up to 35 m. Additional TWS will be taken at crossings, sidebends and tie-ins. NGTL will also acquire TWS on both ends of the proposed route for Project construction needs such as highway access, and laydown areas for equipment and materials. Design, construction and operation of the Project will be in compliance with all applicable codes, standards and regulations. Subject to regulatory approval, construction is scheduled to commence in August 2013 with a target completion date of October 2013. The Project is anticipated to be constructed during non-frozen conditions. Clean-up will be completed immediately following construction in September/October 2013 and final reclamation will be completed in spring/summer 2014. The pipeline is scheduled to be in-service by November 2013. Mentiga Pedology Consultants Ltd. was commissioned by TERA Environmental Consultants on behalf of NGTL to conduct a soil survey along the proposed pipeline right-of-way. The objectives of the survey were to map the soil resources to provide baseline data; to map present land use; to evaluate the suitability of the soils for reclamation; and to provide material handling recommendations. Soil investigations and mapping were conducted on October 3, 2012 on Environmental Alignment Sheets at a scale of 1:10,000 (Appendix 2 of the Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment). The soils and landscapes were described in terms of landform, surficial materials, slope, texture, stoniness, topsoil thickness, drainage conditions, profile morphology and soil chemistry. The distribution and extent of the various soils along the proposed route are shown on the _____________________________________________________________ Pedology Consultants Ltd.__________ Mentiga 1 accompanying Environmental Alignment Sheets at a scale of 1:10,000. Average depth of topsoil, topography and present land use are also indicated on the Environmental Alignment Sheets. The soil-landscape units delineated on the Environmental Alignment Sheets are described briefly in the map legend and in detail in the report. The suitability of the soils for reclamation, according to the guidelines of the Alberta Soils Advisory Committee (1987), have been evaluated. The soils were also evaluated for alternate material handling according to the guidelines of the Alberta Pipeline Environmental Steering Committee (1996) and the salt contamination assessment and remediation guidelines of Alberta Environment (2001). Material handling recommendations are also provided. _____________________________________________________________ Pedology Consultants Ltd.__________ Mentiga 2 2.0 THE STUDY AREA 2.1 Location and Extent The proposed pipeline will extend west from the existing Bens Lake Compressor Station in NE 5-54-14 W4M to a proposed tie-in location with the ATCO Norma Transmission Pipeline in SE 1-54-15 W4M, a distance of approximately 3.4 km (See Figure 1). The soil survey was conducted along the entire proposed route. 2.2 Bedrock Geology According to Hamilton et.al. (1999), the proposed route is underlain by the Belly River Group. The Belly River Group consists of gray to greenish gray, thick bedded, feldspathic sandstone; gray clayey siltstone; gray and green mudstone; and concretionary ironstone beds. The