Thursday, August 21, 2008
Fort Howe Hotel & Convention Centre
Robin McAdam, President Brunswick Pipeline
Susan Harris
Peter Hanlon
Christine Saumure
Horst Sauerteig
Kyle Andersen
Gordon Dalzell
Carmel McCaig
Peter Hanlon, City of Saint John
Guest: Peter Adams, Construction Supervisor, Brunswick Pipeline
As the “meeting” was a driving tour of portions of the urban right-of-way (RoW), no agenda was prepared. Minutes and Action Items of the July 17, 2008 meeting will be dealt with at the next regular meeting on September 18, 2008.
As committee members arrived, changed into their safety equipment and ate supper, Robin McAdam provided a project update to those gathered.
There are approximately 250 m remaining to be reamed to the final 42” diameter radius. Once the ream has been completed, a series of cleaning passes will be run to ensure rock cuttings and debris are removed from the hole. The pipe has been strung and welded on the Milford side of the St. John River, resulting in two strings of 700 m and 600 m respectively. A third 80 m string has also been welded together, which will be used as a tail piece to ensure there is ample pipe for the pull. The pipe remaining after the pull will simply be cut off.
To prepare for the pull-through under the river, four stationary cranes will be used to raise the pipe approximately 50 feet off the ground so that the pipe enters the hole at the required 16 degree angle. The Milford and Spar Cove drill tents will be dismantled, and the hydraulic rig used for the reaming on the Milford side will be repositioned to Spar Cove to do the pull. An end cap will be welded onto the pipe string in Milford, onto which the pull equipment will also be welded. A 42” reamer will also be used to position the pipe in the centre of the tunnel and to give it stability. Water will be put into the pipe to provide neutral buoyancy and ensure that the viscosity of the drill mud does not cause the pipe to scrape along the top of the tunnel. The pull could take 24-36 hours to complete. The two welds will take approximately 5-6 hours each to complete, including x-ray of the weld and application of the epoxy coating.
In Spar Cove, dump and vacuum trucks will be kept busy removing drill mud displaced and pushed out of the hole by the pipe. The mud will be processed to remove any remaining rock cuttings. The cuttings will be removed by dump truck, and the liquid will be removed by vacuum truck. The pull rig will create noise as well.
Advance information has been shared with the drill tent neighbours on both sides of the river, elected officials and City by-law enforcement and administration staff. Compensation of those affected will be continued until the pull is completed. Successful completion will mark the end of 24-hour work and the end of compensation for the neighbours.
The NEB hearing related to the wet crossing contingency plan has been postponed until December 2008. If the pull-though is successful, and we are confident it will be, the hearing will not be required.
Work in Saint John is approximately 68% complete. Road bores are only approximately 50% completed, and this means that laying and tying in pipe to connect road bores to the main pipe are also waiting. NEB approval of the proposed reroute at the Galbraith gravel pit has been received, and crews will be able to access that area on September 1, 2008.
Rain delays have had some impact on the schedule, and the weather contingency that was planned for in the schedule has now been used up. Acid rock has impacted the schedule to a greater degree, as 170 dump trucks were utilized in its transportation to Hemlock Knoll for disposal. This meant that those vehicles were not available to assist with other work. Ditching and grading are behind by a few days. We are watching our September 30 timeline for stream crossings.
The Telegraph-Journal, Times & Transcript and Daily Gleaner newspapers will carry ads this weekend for a General Manager and Director of Regulatory Affairs & Government Relations. These positions, with Community Relations Manager Susan Harris, will form the core of the long-term Saint John office of Brunswick Pipeline.
Discussions about secondary emergency access in Milford have progressed. Brunswick Pipeline and NB Southern Rail have developed a proposal for secondary access, which will be showed to the members of the community who have spearheaded the campaign for the access.
The zone will be 800 m, which is consistent with Maritimes & Northeast and other natural gas pipelines.
Committee member Horst Sauerteig requested a meeting with Brunswick Pipeline and Mike Whalen, Maritimes & Northeast Pipelines, for himself and a group concerned with the subjects of the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ), Emergency Response Plan (ERP), planting of trees on the RoW and the weekly inspections of the RoW during operations. As the EPZ has now been established at 800 m, this matter was considered addressed. A separate meeting will be scheduled to discuss the ERP. One member of the group shared their concerns about the City’s emergency response plan and advised that they would be making these known publicly. They wanted to ensure Brunswick was aware as some of the public attention that may result could draw Brunswick into the discussions.
Brunswick Pipeline has committed to inspecting the entire pipeline route on a weekly basis, using aerial, foot and other patrols depending on the section and accessibility. On a daily basis, Brunswick Pipeline will inspect by vehicle those areas of the route which can be seen from the road. The primary purpose of inspections is to ensure that no unauthorized activities are taking place on the RoW, as well as to check for erosion or slumping and to ensure the cathodic protection system is operating.
Another safety precaution for the pipeline is that no trees will be allowed to grow on the RoW, and Brunswick Pipeline will not be planting any on the RoW. To allow trees to grow would impair the line of sight required for inspection of the RoW. The RoW will be seeded for plants native to the area, the seed mix being approved by the NB Department of Environment. Low brush will also be allowed to grow. Trimming of the RoW will take place every eight or nine years, depending on growth.
Thursday, September 18, 2008 at the Fort Howe Hotel
Download Minutes (PDF)