Paralleling Existing Rights-of-Way for Congested Areas

Jack Halpern Power Sector Leader-Environmental Services

19th Annual Transmission Summit 2016 March 31, 2016

Preference Approach for Siting in Congested Areas 1. Upgrade or double

circuit an existing line 2. Parallel an existing

line 3. Parallel roads,

railroads and pipelines 4. Green field solutions

Paralleling Situations • Entirely on existing ROW • Existing ROW /

overhanging adjacent land

• Adjacent existing ROW / overhang existing ROW

• Entirely adjacent land abutting existing ROW

Parallel Existing Transmission- Issues • Voltages • Crossing Restrictions • Substations • Adjacent Lands

Development • Accessibility Issues • ROW Acquisition Issues

Parallel Transmission Lines- Negatives • Induced voltage in a transmission line due to its

proximity to another transmission line can occur • Reduced reliability - Tornados, aircraft, fires,

sabotage, wind gust, and wet snow • Possible increase in impacts to agricultural

operations. • New double-circuited structures may be taller • Transmission lines in close proximity and parallel

to a distribution line can contribute to stray voltage issues.

Parallel Transmission Lines- Positives • Reduced right of way costs • Reduced environmental impacts • Simplified permitting • Reduced opposition by adjacent landowners • Existing access roads

Parallel Existing Roads- Issues • Interstate highways, primary roads & local roads • Overhead and underground • Bridges, tunnels and cut/fills • Adjacent Lands Development o Bill boards o Cell Towers

• Accessibility Issues • ROW Acquisition Issues • Construction issues

Some State Actions • Minnesota. Stat. §216E.03, subdivision 7: The commission

must make specific findings that it has considered locating a route for a high-voltage transmission line on an existing high-voltage transmission route and the use of parallel existing highway right-of-way and, to the extent those are not used for the route, the commission must state the reasons

• Maine’s Energy Infrastructure Interagency Review Panel (IRP) is accepting letters of intent for the possible use of state-owned I-95 and I-295 as corridors for electric transmission, according to an Oct. 9 2012 statement from Gov. Paul LePage

Fargo-St. Cloud 345 kV project

• Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Illinois: o Longitudinal occupation of limited access

highways not permitted o Perpendicular crossings and some very limited

conditions for longitudinal occupancy are sanctioned under very specific criteria

Some State Actions

Utilities have right by law to occupy highway ROW. Public utilities considered for permission to longitudinally occupy limited access highway ROW when demonstrated extreme cases need exist, shown best public interest and safety criteria can be met:

Accommodation not adversely affect the design, construction, operation, maintenance, or stability of the limited access highways A utility demonstrate alternate locations not available or cannot be implemented at reasonable cost Not interfere with or impair the present use or future expansion of limited access highways The public utility facility shall be placed underground; The public utility facility shall present no hazard to life, health or property, if it fails to function properly, is severed, or otherwise damaged; and After the public utility facility is installed, it will be virtually maintenance free.

Some State Actions – New Jersey

Parallel Railroads - Issues • Mainlines, secondary lines • Unused or recently abandoned right-of-way • Signaling and train control facilities • Sidings, branches and yards • Fiber optic lines • Bridges, tunnels, cuts/fills • Adjacent Lands Development • Accessibility Issues • ROW Acquisition Issues • Construction issues

Parallel Railroads – Negatives • Some RR ROWs have long distances between road

crossings and additional access roads would be needed • Railroad corridors that pass through wetlands are

generally berms that too narrow to support transmission structures, resulting in additional impacts to wetlands.

• Communication signals used by railroads can be affected by electromagnetic fields

• Electrical induction in rails can interfere with proper operation grade crossing control equipment/track-connected signal equipment.

• Foundation vibrations

Parallel Pipelines - Issues • Mainlines, secondary lines • Valves, cleanouts and compressor stations • Ownership issues • Adjacent Lands Development • Accessibility Issues • Electric cathodic protection • ROW Size/Acquisition Issues • Construction issues

Parallel Pipelines - Negatives • Pipeline ROWs often run cross-country with little

or no visual or agricultural effects • Transmission lines constructed cross-country can

interfere with farm operations and produce a negative visual impact

• For reasons of safety gas pipelines often require transmission line ROW to parallel the pipeline ROW with no or very minimal overlap-minimizes any potential benefits of corridor sharing

• Separation Distance-Severity Ranking of HVAC Interference o Distance less than 100 feet- High o 100 to 500 feet- Medium o 500 to 1,000 feet- Low o 1,000 to 2,500 feet- Very Low

• Collocation Length- Relative Severity o Length greater than 5,000 feet- High o 1,000 to 5,000 feet- Medium o Less than 1,000 feet- Low

INGAA – Criteria for Pipelines Co-Existing with Electric Power Lines *

*October 2015

CONCLUSIONS ON PARALLELING LINEAR FEATURES • THERE IS NO STANDARD CONCLUSION • INDEPENDENT OF SITING MODEL USED • EACH PARALLEL CASE MUST BE REVIEWED

SEPARATELY AS TO ITS OVER- ALL IMPACT ON: o Human Environment o Natural Environment o Reliability of the Grid o Engineering Variances o Project Costs

Jack Halpern Power Sector Leader-Environmental Services Stantec Consulting Services jack.halpern@stantec.com 561.212.2282

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