Paleontological Mitigation Plan

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Paleontological Mitigation Plan Appendix J: Paleontological Mitigation Plan Public The Privileged and Confidential portions of this Appendix are redacted in this Public version. TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. Keystone XL Pipeline Paleontological Resources Monitoring and Mitigation Plan, Montana, 2019 Project Number: TAL-00050388-70 Prepared By: Paleo Solutions 2785 Speer Blvd, Unit #01 Denver, CO, 80211 T: 303.882.8048 www.paleosolutions.com Submitted By: EXP Energy Services Inc. 1300 Metropolitan Blvd. Tallahassee, FL 32308 T: 850.385.5441 F: 850.385.5523 www.exp•com Document Control Number: KXL1399-EXP-EN-PLN-0135 Date Project Rev Issue Prepared by Checked by Approved by Client (yyyy-mm-dd) Manager 0 2019-04-29 IFU PS ZB ES RG TCPL Privileged Information: Do Not Release Keystone XL Pipeline Paleontological Resource Mitigation Plan – Montana KXL1399-EXP-EN-PLN-0135 April 29, 2019 Legal Notification This report was prepared by EXP Energy Services Inc. and Paleo Solutions for Keystone XL Pipeline. Any use which a third party makes of this report, or any reliance on or decisions to be made based on it, are the responsibility of such third parties. EXP Energy Services Inc. accepts no responsibility for damages, if any, suffered by any third party as a result of decisions made or actions based on this project. i Privileged Information: Do Not Release Keystone XL Pipeline Paleontological Resource Mitigation Plan – Montana KXL1399-EXP-EN-PLN-0135 April 29, 2019 Acronyms and Abbreviations APE Area of Potential Effect BLM Bureau of Land Management CI Construction Inspector DEQ Department of Environmental Quality DNRC Department of Natural Resources and Conservation DOS Department of State EI Environmental Inspector GIS Geographic Information System GPS Global Positioning System IM Instructional Memorandum MDEQ Montana Department of Environmental Quality MOR Museum of the Rockies MOU Memorandum of Understanding NAD North American Datum PFS Paleontological Field Supervisor PFYC Potential Fossil Yield Classification PPI Paleontological Principal Investigator PRM Paleontological Resource Monitor PRMP Paleontological Resource Mitigation Plan SDSM South Dakota School of Mines and Technology SHPO State Historic Preservation Office SWCA SWCA Environmental Consultants, Inc. UTM Universal Transverse Mercator ii Privileged Information: Do Not Release Keystone XL Pipeline Paleontological Resource Mitigation Plan – Montana KXL1399-EXP-EN-PLN-0135 April 29, 2019 Table of Contents Legal Notification ......................................................................................................................................... i Acronyms and Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................... iii List of Appendices ..................................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................ iv List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. iv 1.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 MDEQ Requirements for Paleontological Resource Investigations ......................................... 3 3.0 Standard Paleontological Resource Mitigation Recommendations ......................................... 4 4.0 Summary of Existing Data and Field Survey Results ................................................................ 6 4.1 Geologic Context .............................................................................................................................. 6 4.2 Previously Documented Fossil Localities......................................................................................... 8 4.3 Fossil Localities Discovered During Pre- Construction Field Surveys ............................................. 8 5.0 Construction Monitoring Plan ...................................................................................................... 9 5.1 Monitoring and Mitigation Methods and Procedures ....................................................................... 9 Paleontological Resources Personnel .............................................................................. 10 Worker Environmental Awareness Program (WEAP) ....................................................... 10 Field Methods .................................................................................................................... 10 Laboratory Methods .......................................................................................................... 17 Final Report ....................................................................................................................... 18 6.0 Required Monitoring Locations .................................................................................................. 19 7.0 Evaluation of New Proposed Work Areas ................................................................................. 19 8.0 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 20 9.0 References .................................................................................................................................... 21 iii Privileged Information: Do Not Release Keystone XL Pipeline Paleontological Resource Mitigation Plan – Montana KXL1399-EXP-EN-PLN-0135 April 29, 2019 List of Appendices Appendix A – Summary of Pre-Construction Survey Fossil Localities Appendix B – Recommended Monitoring Locations Appendix C – Monitoring Location Maps Appendix D – Land Owner Fossil Locality Forms Appendix E – Repository Receipts Appendix F – BLM Permit Appendix G – Tracts Remaining to be Surveyed in the Montana Portion of the Project as of 2/22/2019 Appendix H – UDP Flow Chart List of Figures Figure 1: Overview Map of the Montana Portion of the Keystone XL Pipeline Project ....................... 2 List of Tables Table 1. Standard Paleontological Mitigation Recommendations Resulting from Paleontological Research, Field Surveys, and Monitoring. ............................................................................................... 5 Table 2. Mapped Geologic Units within the Montana Portion of the Keystone XL Project Area including Age, Typical Fossils, and PFYC. .............................................................................................. 7 Table 3. Fossil Discovery and Communication Reporting Plan........................................................... 14 Table 4. Agency Contacts for Report Review ........................................................................................ 19 iv Privileged Information: Do Not Release Keystone XL Pipeline Paleontological Resource Mitigation Plan – Montana KXL1399-EXP-EN-PLN-0135 April 29, 2019 1.0 Introduction At the request of exp Energy Services, Inc., on behalf of TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, LP (Keystone), and in compliance with the requirements of the State of Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s (MDEQ’s) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Paleontological Resource Investigations on the Montana Portion of the Keystone XL Pipeline Project (2011), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) prepared a confidential draft paleontological resources mitigation plans (PRMP) in 2011 and 2013. Paleo Solutions, Inc. (Paleo Solutions) updated the PRMP (this document) with the results of additional record searches and field work completed since the 2013 report. The PRMP was prepared based on the results of extensive geologic map reviews, literature searches, and museum record searches; and the results of paleontological field surveys that were completed for the Keystone XL Pipeline Project (Project) between 2008 and 2018. Paleontological monitoring locations recommended in this PRMP are based on the March 4, 2019 geographic information system (GIS) dataset provided by exp Energy Services. Across its centerline length of approximately 285.36 miles (Figure 1), the Montana portion of the Project traverses 20 geologic units (4 members of the Fort Union Formation are combined in Table 2) ranging in age from Cretaceous to Holocene. Fossiliferous geologic units include a wide variety of terrestrial and marine sedimentary rocks and surficial sedimentary deposits that range from Cretaceous to Pleistocene in age. The purpose of pre-construction paleontological field surveys is to inspect areas with exposures of paleontologically sensitive bedrock or surficial sediments, including previously recorded fossil localities, for the presence of scientifically important fossils. Paleontological surveys are unnecessary in areas with no surficial exposures of fossiliferous bedrock. The purpose of construction monitoring is to locate, identify, and remove from the path of construction, any scientifically important fossils unearthed by excavation equipment before they are irreparably damaged. Paleontological monitoring is unnecessary unless the location and depth of disturbance will impact fossiliferous bedrock. In compliance with MDEQ (2011) requirements,
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