SCH Number 2021040737

Project Info

Title

CESA Incidental Take Permit No. 2081-2020-043-04 for the Southern California Gas Company Line 85 Milepost 75.75/75.94 Pipe Recoat Project

Description

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has issued a California Endangered Species Act (CESA; Fish & G. Code, § 2050 et seq.) Incidental Take Permit (ITP) No. 2081-2020-043-04, to authorize Southern California Gas Company to incidentally take Tipton kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides nitratoides) and San Joaquin antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus nelsoni) which are designated as an endangered and threatened species under CESA, respectively (Fish & G. Code § 2050 et seq.; see Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 670.5, subd. (a)(6)(D) and (b)(6)(B), respectively). The ITP authorizes take of Tipton kangaroo rat and San Joaquin antelope squirrel (Covered Species) for activities associated with the Project which is necessary to repair two segments of the existing 26-inch natural gas pipeline (Line) 85 located at Mile Post (MP) 75.75 and MP 75.94 where anomalies have been identified for inspection and recoating. The Project will include: 1) excavating two trenches approx. 50 feet long by six feet wide by six feet deep to expose the pipeline; 2) stockpiling soil adjacent to trenches within approx. 150-foot long by 50-foot wide work areas; 3) wrapping exposed pipeline segments in plastic containment and sandblasting or scraping existing coating from the exposed pipe; 4) cleaning pipeline of all dirt and debris, inspecting visually or with portable phased-array ultrasonic testing, and preparing for recoating; 5) recoating with fusion-bonded epoxy using a handheld sprayer or brush to correct the identified pipeline anomalies and eliminate the potential safety risk associated with those anomalies; 6) inspecting segments using a pipe jeep meter, and any imperfections detected will be sandblasted, cleaned, and recoated using the procedure described above; 7) upon successful coating and inspection, reburying exposed pipeline segments with stockpiled native soil and returning to pre-Project conditions to the extent feasible. The Project is expected to temporarily disturb 0.3 acres of Covered Species habitat. The repairs are needed urgently to protect the integrity and safety of the pipeline as well as to ensure service to natural gas customers is not impacted in winter of 2021. Additionally, repairs are needed urgently to reduce potential impacts to other pipelines in the vicinity of the California Aqueduct, and possibly to the California Aqueduct itself.

3 documents in project