Wattenberg Holdings, LLC was reviewing a potential 37-mile pipeline alignment for construction of a 10-inch crude oil transport pipeline from northern Weld County to an existing storage facility in southern Weld County. The proposed pipeline would replace the use of truck transport across the agricultural areas of northeastern Colorado. During project feasibility review, aci environmental consulting evaluated the pipeline alignment for habitat for federally listed endangered species, state listed species, and bald and golden eagle.

The habitat evaluation included twenty species of birds, mammals, fish, and plants. Notable species included Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, western burrowing owl, Colorado butterfly plant, and Ute ladies’-tresses.

The project required a blend of background overlay of existing species occurrence data, field studies, and implementation of avoidance measures. All of these components and field investigations were completed in a matter of weeks for the 37-mile pipeline due the very aggressive timeline required by the client.

aci environmental consulting completed the field investigations during the summer of 2012 and presented various avoidance strategies focused on specific habitat areas along the corridor. The project feasibility phase was completed on time and the project is progressing in final engineering design and pre-construction.