Site Description
W&M Environmental (now owned by Braun Intertec) was tasked with completing a determination of waters of the U.S. and wetlands for the multiple oil pad sites located in Burleson County, Texas. Our team also provided consultation to the client regarding the County Oil and Gas Development Permit and the Oil and Gas Floodplain Development Permit process in an effort to assist in future efforts to secure the County development permits.
Project Details
We participated in meetings with the County Oil and Gas Development Permitting agency and assisted with the Oil and Gas Floodplain Development Permit process.
In the initial stage, desktop wetland determinations were completed over large areas to assist the E&P Engineer in citing well pads and production facilities. Once well locations were established by the client and staking orders issued, more detailed wetland delineation and floodplain determinations were initiated. That follow-up work consisted of the following tasks:
- Wetland delineation in accordance with the requirements published in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Wetland Delineation Manual (1987) and supplements. Other aquatic features (i.e., streams and ponds) were identified and their boundaries defined by their ordinary high water marks (OHWM).
- Stream and wetland boundaries were represented on a map that are available in shapefile format for client’s use with global information system (GIS) software or Google Earth. The map also included results of the preliminary jurisdictional determination.
- Made a preliminary jurisdictional determination of whether identified aquatic features are likely to be under the jurisdiction of the USACE based on evidence from the site visit and referenced physical setting sources.
- Determine what if any wetland permits are required. If a Section 404 wetland permit is required, an estimate is made for the cost and timeline to acquire the permit.
- The results are presented in a Wetland Delineation and Jurisdictional Determination Report.
