The Bluegrass Pipeline System was an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) project that consisted of the abandonment of 550-plus miles of natural gas pipeline, installation of approximately 100 miles of new line around Memphis and conversion of the entire system, approximately 650 miles, from natural gas to natural gas liquids. QPSE, a Quanta Services Company, was the EPC contractor.
HBK's environmental team managed the preparation and submission of a Section 7(b) application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for authorization to abandon approximately 568 miles of a 26-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline across portions of Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana. The resource reports and associated applications to FERC were prepared and submitted within a four-month schedule that maintained the allotted budget framework.
In addition to the FERC filing, HBK's environmental team:
- Performed environmental windshield surveys for new valve site locations
- Coordinated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, all state water resource agencies, all state historic preservation offices, all state and local road agencies and applicable railroad companies
- Managed wetland delineations, species specific surveys and cultural resources field efforts
- Tracked all permit applications
