Owner/Client
Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC
Location
North Central Pennsylvania
CEC Services
- Permit Walks (Route Development)
- Wetland and Stream Delineations
- Chapter 105/Section 404 Permitting
- Due Diligence Reports
- Contractor Bid Walks
- Preconstruction Walks
- Permit Compliance Monitoring
- Restoration Monitoring
Owner Objective
Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC is involved in natural gas exploration and production in Northcentral Pennsylvania where they require large volumes of water for the hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells. Chesapeake has found that the most cost efficient and least disruptive way to provide water to well pads is to transport water via above-ground waterlines. Waterlines convey fresh water from surface water withdrawal points and impoundments to existing well pads on an as-needed basis throughout the hydraulic fracturing process.
CEC Approach
CEC is currently providing Chesapeake’s Water Group various services in support of their Water Program. To date, CEC has helped Chesapeake develop over 300 miles of temporary waterline. Services provided by CEC include:
- Permit Walks to assist in laying out a route for the temporary waterline that will result in the least amount of permitting challenges
- Stream and Wetland Delineations to identify and document water resources surrounding the project’s footprint
- PADEP Chapter 105 and USACE Section 404 Permit Registrations. To date, CEC has helped Chesapeake obtain over 100 of these permits.
- Bid Walks to present bidding vendors the project alignment and inform them of project restrictions from a permitting standpoint
- Preconstruction Walks to assist winning vendors in developing a strategy to remain in compliance with permit conditions
- Permit Compliance Monitoring that is completed on a weekly basis to inspect project compliance and monitor that the project’s erosion and sedimentation best management practices are working effectively
- Restoration Walks to assist vendors in restoring the project’s footprint to previous conditions
Chesapeake will transport fresh water from a water impoundment to well pads for the hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells. The waterline will typically be in place for approximately 4-6 weeks from project commencement until the final restoration activities are concluded. The waterline program has been very successful by reducing water transport costs, creating only a minimal amount of disturbance to water resources, lessening traffic and damage to roads, and reducing the amount of disturbance to those living in the vicinity of the well pads.
