Mitigation measures to avoid or reduce air quality impacts from an energy transmission project.
The following are examples of mitigation measures that could be applied to reduce air quality impacts of a project depending on site- and project-specific conditions. Impacts to air quality are related to the project footprint (e.g., land disturbance) and project emissions (e.g., fugitive dust and other contaminant releases to air). Many impacts can be reduced or avoided when considered during the siting and design of a project during the site evaluation phase.
Develop a final set of mitigation measures for any project in consultation with the appropriate federal resource management agencies and stakeholders. Conduct these consultations in the project development process and preferably prior to final project siting and design.
Siting and Design Mitigation Measures
Siting and design considerations that mitigate impacts include:
Surface access roads and on-site roads with aggregate materials, wherever appropriate.
Minimize the amount of disturbance and areas cleared of vegetation.
General Mitigation Measures
General mitigation practices and principles that could apply to any or all phases of an energy transmission project include:
Reduce project-related greenhouse gas emissions in a manner appropriate to the nature and scale of project operations and impacts.
Enact fugitive dust and vehicle emission controls.
Use dust abatement techniques on unpaved, unvegetated surfaces to minimize airborne dust during earthmoving activities, prior to clearing, excavating, backfilling, compacting, or grading, and during blasting.
Establish and enforce peed limits to reduce airborne fugitive dust.
When feasible, shut down idling construction equipment.
Revegetate disturbed areas as soon as possible after disturbance.
Project Phase-Specific Mitigation Measures
Mitigation measures specific to a particular phase of an energy transmission project include:
Site Evaluation
Proponents of an energy transmission project should take measurements to assess the existing criteria air pollutant levels at a given site and compare them with the anticipated levels associated with the proposed project.
Construction Practices
Cover construction materials and stockpiled soils if they are a source of fugitive dust.
Cover storage piles at concrete batch plants if they are a source of fugitive dust.
Keep soil moist while loading into dump trucks to minimize fugitive dust.
Keep soil loads below the freeboard of the truck to minimize fugitive dust.
Minimize drop heights when loaders dump soil into trucks.
Tighten gate seals on dump trucks.
Cover dump trucks before traveling on public roads.
When possible, schedule construction activities during periods of low winds to reduce fugitive dust.
Conduct any slash burning in compliance with open burning permit requirements.
Operation and Maintenance
Power compressors and pumps by electric motors where strict air emission rules would preclude the use of gas or oil.
Decommissioning/Site Reclamation
Repeat mitigation measures used to minimize air emissions during construction during the decommissioning/site reclamation phase.
Train workers to handle construction debris during dismantlement to reduce fugitive emissions.
