The Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA) has an excellent record in safety and environmental issues, working with government to develop industry-wide technical standards that lead the world. The Code of Environmental Practice (CoEP) is recognised nationally by the various state and territory governments, and is used by other infrastructure industries as a guide to environment and heritage management during planning and construction.

The foresight of APIA members and industry leaders, who developed the original document in 1998, helped it to become the key industry document for pipeline environmental management. From the beginning, the code covered environmental management systems, planning and approvals, environmental guidelines for construction, operations and decommissioning.

CoEP guidelines are well ingrained in the minds of oil and gas pipeline industry professionals, particularly in planning disciplines. In addition, there is potential for expanded CoEP use in construction and operational phases by project designers, planners, construction managers, engineers, supervisors. The code has the potential to be adopted for all pipeline types, including slurry, water, and coal seam gas (CSG).

Review process

In February 2008, a small group of APIA members began a review process that involved a two-day workshop, then a summary report to the APIA Environment Committee with proposed amendments.

The key objectives of the review were to:

• Identify potential areas of improvement within the CoEP guidelines;
• Stimulate wider discussion on identified opportunities within APIA;
• Encourage personal and professional development for young environment professionals working within the pipeline industry; and,
• Contribute to improving pipeline construction environmental standards in Australia.

After ten months of detailed review and revision, the CoEP was launched in March 2009.

New additions

Terminology in the CoEP glossary and throughout the CoEP was included in order to clarify the changing process for pipeline rehabilitation post-construction.

Terms such as ‘reinstatement’, ‘revegetation’, ‘rehabilitation to restoration’, ‘problematic soils’ and ‘bull dust’ have been defined to reflect a growing environmental discipline and body of knowledge.

Additionally, Section 3.7: Sustainability was created to capture the increasing global and community concern over global warming, greenhouse gas carbon constraints, and how APIA members should consider this in their activities. In time, this section may be expanded to incorporate more pipeline-specific matters. The revision also included the addition of a fauna monitoring pro-forma and Appendix 7: Future directions and considerations.

Key revisions

Erosion and sediment control (ESC), as well as drainage issues have been among the most significant construction impacts on the environment, outside of approved or permitted impacts. The addition of drainage controls to ESC measures throughout the CoEP is intended to focus on the most effective way to manage erosion and sediment issues. Understanding what drainage means to soils management is key. Modular sediment barriers, coir logs or other available technologies have now replaced outmoded ESC techniques, such as straw bales.

The reinstatement and clean-up section, now named Reinstatement and rehabilitation, has definitions and references to reinstated changes in the CoEP to suit the context.

• Reinstatement: Bulk earthworks and hard landscaping of culverts and fences, etc;
• Revegetation: Generally refers to seeding, with an increased focus on planting local provenance vegetation, especially in regional ecosystem types under permit/licence conditions;
• Rehabilitation: Process of implementing reinstatement or revegetation and monitoring its success to a pre-determined state over a pre-determined time; and,
• Restoration: The replacement of structural habitat complexity, ecosystem processes, services and function from a de novo or degraded site to that of a pre-determined or analogue state.

There are also changed references from ‘stream’ to ‘water course’ in Section 4.12. Although all waterways are technically streams, construction teams can still miss some ephemeral or dry streams, creeks and rivers. These water courses still need appropriate management due to erosion and sediment impacts.

Environmental, industry and government focus on improved environmental management, offsetting and bio-banking, carbon reduction, sustainability and fauna management has prompted introduced or amended legislation. In fact, more than three new pieces of legislation and numerous revisions have occurred since the last CoEP review. A new reference tool to assist in identifying the amount of environmental legislation and supporting codes is the EIANZ Environmental best practice bibliography: Codes and standards 2008.

Future directions

Future topics to be considered for the next revision have already been highlighted in one section of the CoEP.

These topics include: sustainability; Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme/National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting; carbon dioxide; CSG and other transmission pipelines; monitoring aspects and mitigation measures of the CoEP; cultural heritage marking with blue and white flag/tape over yellow (used for natural or European heritage items); tidal and marine (coastal plain) environments; a possible separate section for problematic soils; and, developing a new section, Water management and discharge in association with the purging and hydrotesting commissioning sections.

There is also a need for better integration of all pre-construction and post-construction environmental management matters, particularly lands access and management activities, and the reinstatement and rehabilitation activities that are inextricably linked. Lands and rehabilitation activities from construction to operational phases are also inextricably linked.

Therefore, the aspects of pipeline construction and operation must be considered in order to reduce the impact and improve the efficiency of environmental management. Considerations need to occur at the concept stage and throughout all pipeline phases.

APIA and industry members can achieve greater recognition of their environmental commitment and performance through the adoption of the CoEP and its amendments. This will lead to increased environmental protection and enhancement, greater protection of environmental and natural resources – particularly water, native vegetation, fauna and habitat types – and continual improvement, innovation and application of environmental management by all industry personnel.