RUBY PIPELINE PROJECT PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT Appendix H. Noxious and Invasive Weed Control Plan June 2010 H-1 Noxious and Invasive Weed Control Plan FERC Docket No. CP09-54-000 June 2010 RUBY PIPELINE PROJECT NOXIOUS AND INVASIVE WEED CONTROL PLAN Table of Contents Section Page 1 Introduction ............................................................................. 1-1 1.1 Project Description .............................................................................. 1-1 1.2 Plan Purpose....................................................................................... 1-1 1.3 Goals and Objectives .......................................................................... 1-2 2 Noxious Weed Management Plan........................................... 2-1 2.1 Noxious Weed Inventory ..................................................................... 2-1 2.1.1 Agency-Provided Data.............................................................. 2-5 2.2 Noxious Weed Management............................................................... 2-5 2.2.1 Identification of Problem Areas................................................. 2-5 2.2.2 Preventative Measures............................................................. 2-6 2.2.3 Treatment Methods .................................................................. 2-8 2.2.4 Restoration and Revegetation ................................................ 2-12 2.2.5 Agency-Specific Requirements............................................... 2-13 2.2.5.1 Bureau of Land Management .................................... 2-13 2.2.5.2 United States Forest Service Lands .......................... 2-14 2.2.5.3 Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge (USFWS).............. 2-17 2.2.5.4 Bureau of Reclamation .............................................. 2-19 3.0 Monitoring................................................................................ 3-1 3.1 Monitoring During Construction Phase................................................ 3-1 3.2 Post-Construction Monitoring .............................................................. 3-2 4.0 Herbicide Application, Handling, Spills, and Cleanup.......... 4-1 4.1 Herbicide Application and Handling .................................................... 4-1 4.2 Herbicide Spills and Cleanup .............................................................. 4-2 5.0 References .............................................................................. 5-1 Attachment A: Tables ......................................................................A-1 Attachment B: State Noxious Weed Laws......................................B-1 June 2010 i RUBY PIPELINE PROJECT DRAFT NOXIOUS AND INVASIVE WEED CONTROL PLAN List of Tables Table Page Table A-1 Noxious Weed Populations Indentified Along Ruby Pipeline Right-of-Way .......................................................................................A-1 Table A-2 Noxious Weed Populations Identified Along Ruby Pipeline Access Roads1 ..................................................................................A-25 Table A-3 Noxious Weed Populations Identified within 200 Feet of Potential Water Sources Along Ruby Pipeline ..................................A-48 Table A-4 Designated Noxious Weeds of the State of Wyoming and Appropriate Agencies and Counties within Wyoming........................A-51 Table A-5 Designated Noxious Weeds of the State of Utah and Appropriate Agencies and Counties within Utah ...............................A-53 Table A-6 Designated Noxious Weeds of the State of Nevada and Appropriate Agencies and Counties within Nevada ..........................A-55 Table A-7 Designated Noxious Weeds of the State of Oregon and Appropriate Agencies and Counties within Oregon...........................A-58 Table A-8 Weed Information Provided by Agencies and Jurisdictions Along the Pipeline Right-of-Way .......................................................A-63 Table A-9 Herbicides Approved and Proposed for Use on Public (BLM) Lands1 ...............................................................................................A-69 Table A-10 Herbicides Approved and Proposed for Use on the Fremont-Winema National Forest1....................................................A-71 Table A-11 Herbicides Approved and Proposed for Use on the Wasatch-Cache National Forest .......................................................A-71 Table A-12 Herbicides Approved and Proposed for Use on Bureau of Reclamation Lands in Oregon.......................................................A-72 Table A-13 Potential Treatments for Noxious Weeds on Fremont National Forest (Pending Approval of New EIS)1 ..............................A-73 Table A-14 Characteristics of Invasive Species...................................................A-74 Table A-15 Weed Cleaning Station Sites Along the Ruby Pipeline ROW, Based on Identified1 High Density2 Noxious Weed Populations, State Lines, Yards, and Other Boundaries ........................................................................................A-80 Table A-16 Post-Construction Weed Monitoring Sites.........................................A-86 Table A-17 Construction Spreads and Direction of Work ....................................A-99 June 2010 iii RUBY PIPELINE PROJECT DRAFT NOXIOUS AND INVASIVE WEED CONTROL PLAN List of Abbreviations and Acronyms BLM Bureau of Land Management EEAP Employee Environmental Awareness Program EIS Environmental impact statement EPA Environmental Protection Agency FEIS Final Environmental Impact Statement GIS Geographic Information System GPS global positioning system mph miles per hour NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service POD Plan of Development Project Ruby Pipeline Project PUP Pesticide Use Proposal PWS potential water sources Reclamation Bureau of Reclamation Refuge Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge ROW right-of-way Ruby Ruby Pipeline, LLC USFS United States Forest Service USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service June 2010 iv RUBY PIPELINE PROJECT DRAFT NOXIOUS AND INVASIVE WEED CONTROL PLAN 1 Introduction 1.1 Project Description The Ruby Pipeline Project (Project), proposed by Ruby Pipeline, LLC (Ruby), is composed of approximately 675.2 miles of 42-inch diameter natural gas pipeline, along with associated compression and measurement facilities, located between Opal, Wyoming, and Malin, Oregon. The pipeline right-of-way (ROW) would cross four states: Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Oregon. In addition to the existing King Compressor Station at Opal, Wyoming, Ruby proposes to install four new compressor stations for the Project: one located near the Opal Hub, one in western Utah, one near the mid-point of the Project north of Elko, Nevada, and one northwest of Winnemucca, Nevada. 1.2 Plan Purpose The purpose of this plan is to prescribe methods to prevent, mitigate, and control the spread of noxious weeds during and following construction of the Project. Ruby and its contractors would be responsible for carrying out the methods described in this plan. This plan is applicable to both the construction and operations phases of the Project. Noxious weed control practices for the Project described in this plan have been developed utilizing the following sources and agency contacts. Wyoming: County Weed and Pest Control Districts in Lincoln and Uinta counties, The Wyoming Department of Agriculture, The Wyoming Weed and Pest Control Act of 1973, The Wyoming State Weed Plan (2003), The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) State Office and Kemmerer Field Office, and The State Weed and Pest Control Council. Utah: County Weed Supervisors from Rich, Cache, and Box Elder counties; Utah Noxious Weed Act (2008); The BLM State Office and Salt Lake Field Office; The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest Service; The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food; and June 2010 1-1 RUBY PIPELINE PROJECT DRAFT NOXIOUS AND INVASIVE WEED CONTROL PLAN Cooperative Weed Management/Weed Control Associations. Nevada: Nevada Revised Statutes: Chapter 555—Control of Insects, Pests and Noxious Weeds; The BLM State Office and Elko, Winnemucca, and Surprise field offices; The Nevada Department of Agriculture; and Nevada Weed Action Committees. Oregon: The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) – Fremont-Winema National Forest; The BLM Lakeview and Klamath Falls Resource Areas (KFRA); The Oregon Department of Agriculture (Noxious Weed Control Program); and The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). Other: Cooperative Weed Management Associations in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Oregon; The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Wyoming and Oregon (pending coordination from Utah and Nevada); and Information and observations made during field surveys performed by Ruby biologists in 2008 and 2009. Note that in most cases, coordination with the above agencies is ongoing and will continue during the post-construction restoration and weed monitoring phases of the Project. 1.3 Goals and Objectives The goal of Ruby’s Noxious and Invasive Weed Control Plan is to prevent the spread of existing noxious weeds identified in Project areas and avoid invasion of new sites or new noxious weeds by applying prevention and control mitigation measures where applicable and appropriate. Ruby’s objectives are to assist federal, state, and local agencies’ noxious weed control efforts; to comply with agency requirements designed to prevent the spread of noxious weeds; and to implement weed control measures on areas of the Project that are identified to be of special concern. In carrying