Pipeline Construction in Wetland Areas

3.1 INTRODUCTION
This supplemental information on pipeline construction in wetland areas is provided
in order to address specific issues raised by stakeholders to the Project following the
publication of the international style Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in
2003, and as such forms a component of the EIA addendum (EIA-A). In brief, the
focus of the additional information comprises the following:
Further information on the nature and location of the wetland areas required and
confirmation that none of the areas to be crossed by the pipeline are unique;
Additional information on the likely ecological impacts of pipeline construction
work in wetlands, other than those linked to potential hydrological change should be
highlighted and discussed;
How will TEOC commitments be monitored and closed out during and after
construction and operational phases. Some aspects, such as restoration of
vegetation following pipeline installation remain an issue and need to be further
detailed, either in the EIA addendum or other relevant project documentation;
Justification as to why the pipeline route crosses a relatively large area of wetland
habitat should be provided;
Further information on design commitments related to pipeline laying in wetland
areas would be useful in demonstrating what mitigation measures will be used in
offsetting potential impacts;
Greater information on the scope and level of monitoring during and after the
construction work is required (e.g. how long is natural recovery of vegetation
expected to take place and what actions would be taken if recovery does not occur).
The following text provides a response to the issues raised. This takes the form of a
general discussion of the nature of wetland habitat the specific types of wetlands
encountered along the pipeline route, the construction methodology to be employed
in crossing these areas and proposed mitigation and monitoring measures.
Pipeline Construction in Wetland Areas
Sakhalin Energy Investment Company EIA Addendum 2 of 2 0000-S-90-04-P-706903-E
3.2 DEFINITION OF WETLAND HABITATS
Wetlands are generally considered important habitats on account of the roles that
they perform in function (World Bank, 1991). Typically, a wetland area can be

defined using a combination of three key parameters (Wetlands Delineation Manual,

US Army Corps of Engineers 1987) as set out below:
1. Soils
Soils are present and classified as hydric, or they possess characteristics that are
associated with reducing soil conditions.
2. Hydrology
The area is inundated either permanently or periodically at mean water depths
2m, or the soil is saturated to the surface at some time during the growing season
of the prevalent vegetation.
3. Vegetation
The prevalent vegetation consists of macrophytes that are typically adapted to
areas having hydrologic and soil conditions described in the preceding definitions.
Hydrophytic species, due to morphological, physiological, and/or reproductive
adaptation, have the ability to grow, effectively compete, reproduce, and/or persist
in anaerobic soil conditions.
Natural or anthropogenically induced variation in these parameters and the way in
which they interact gives rise to a huge range of conditions and wetland types,
which may occur at widely varying spatial and temporal scales. Despite this
variation, it is possible to broadly classify vegetated wetland areas into a number of
groupings that reflect generic physical and biological criteria and their interactions.
3.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF VEGETATED WETLAND HABITATS ALONG THE PIPELINE
ROUTE 3.3.1 Survey scope and data
A total of 19 baseline surveys for flora and fauna have been executed between 1998
and 2004. Of these baseline surveys, the surveys containing specific data related
to flora and fauna in wetland areas are presented in Table 3.1. For the purposes of
classifying and describing wetland habitats, it is the vegetation associations and
communities that are of most relevance. The following sections therefore
concentrate on describing the scope and basic methodologies of the key floral
surveys and the vegetational characteristics of the main wetland habitats present
along the pipeline route.
Table 3.1. List of key baseline ecological surveys undertaken for SEIC along the
pipeline route 1998-2004
Contractor and survey Scope of work Sakhalin Botanical Garden of the Far East
Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 1999. Characterisation and evaluation
of the condition of vegetation before the start of the pipeline construction,
determination

Pipeline Construction in Wetland Areas

Sakhalin Energy Investment Company EIA Addendum 3 of 3 0000-S-90-04-P-706903-E
Contractor and survey Scope of work State of flora and vegetation prior to
construction of the primary oil and gas pipeline on Sakhalin Island. of areas of
distribution of rare (Russian RF Red Book), endemic and industrially valuable
species. Literature review Field survey August 15 - November 25 1998 Far Eastern
State University, 2000. Onshore Environmental Survey along the pipeline corridor,
part A. Flora and Vegetation survey of the pipeline corridor. Literature review Field
study 2000 Far Eastern State University, 2002. Flora and vegetation survey along
the pipeline route. Literature review Field study 2000 (200 m zone along pipeline
route) Field study 2001 (three altered segments of the pipeline route and 14
sections surveyed before for additional data). Sakhalin State University, 2004.
Research Of Rare And Protected Plant Species Along Onshore Pipeline Route. Field
study (200 m zone along 7 sections of pipeline route in Makarov, Dolinsk and
Korsakov district). Far Eastern State University, 2000. Onshore ecological survey
along the pipeline route, Part B. Fauna Invertebrates, terrestrial amphibians,
reptiles and mammals survey results in the pipeline corridor. Summer and fall
expedition work in 2000 Literature review Interviews with hunters Far Eastern State
University, 2001. Field and desktop background survey of amphibians, reptiles,
mammals in pipeline corridor for Sakhalin-2 project. Field study 2001 (sites
designated for LNG/OET, compressor station Gastello, OPF, construction camps and
laydown areas). Fauna Information and Research Centre, 1998. Current condition of
the population of aquatic, rare and protected species of birds on the territory of the
pipeline. Literature review Field research (north-eastern coast of Sakhalin, in the
Lunsky bay from April, 10 till June 28 and from August 15 to November 9 1989, from
June 1 till October 10 1990, from May 1 till July 16 and from September 20 till
October 22 1991