WASHINGTON, February 10, 2022 – As part of a new initiative to accelerate ongoing conservation efforts, the American Petroleum Institute (API) today released new guidelines to help pipeline and energy infrastructure operators advance conservation practices for pipeline right-of-ways (ROW). The new conservation guidelines build upon ongoing industry investment in conservation projects and commitment to community engagement, as outlined in API’s Community Engagement Guidelines. The latest conservation guidelines provide pipeline operators a roadmap for implementing best practices while meeting safety standards to help ensure the nation’s more than 2.6 million miles of pipelines operate under a lower-emissions footprint and that habitats and wildlife in surrounding areas are sustained for generations to come.
“With thousands of miles of pipelines crisscrossing the country, our latest guidelines provide strategies for the industry to build upon ongoing conservation efforts, further engage in local communities, and restore land areas surrounding operations in a manner that protects and often enhances the surrounding environment,” API Vice President of Midstream Policy Robin Rorick said. “The guidelines give pipeline operators innovative tools and conservation techniques to address environmental and climate challenges, from tackling invasive species in the Mid-Atlantic and erosion in the Gulf Coast to reducing emissions across the country. Working with conservation groups and local communities, our industry is committed to enhancing and protecting habitats and wildlife all over the United States while operating under a lower-emissions footprint.”
Companies are taking action to improve local ecosystems in a number of ways, for example planting native species instead of mowing ROWs, cultivating habitats for native pollinators and increasing biomass.
The API Guidance for Conservation Programs on Pipeline Right-of-Ways provides midstream operators with a resource to strengthen their conservation efforts. The guidelines outline recommended best practices for developing and delivering sustainable conservation programs, offering tools to help engage local communities in the conservation process and helping operators improve their presence in the communities in which they operate. Conservation programs take a value-driven approach to ROW land management, enhancing safety and operational efficiency while working to improve the community and environment where pipeline operators live and work.
Specifically, the ROW conservation guidelines include adaptable best practices on using vegetation management, habitat management, and coastal management techniques to allow pipeline operators to develop a program tailored to their environment and conservation goals, like protecting an endangered species, improving biodiversity or fighting erosion. Offering assessments, best practices and innovative techniques, the guidelines illustrate the natural gas and oil industry’s ongoing commitment to environmental protection and stewardship.
The full text of API Guidance for Conservation Programs on Pipeline Right-of-Ways can be found here.
API represents all segments of America’s natural gas and oil industry, which supports more than 11 million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. Our nearly 600 members produce, process and distribute the majority of the nation’s energy, and participate in API Energy Excellence®, which is accelerating environmental and safety progress by fostering new technologies and transparent reporting. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization and has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.
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