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PLANTING TREES NEAR HIGH PRESSURE PIPELINES

The UK government has launched a £50 million scheme to help boost tree-planting rates as part of its fight against climate change.  The new Woodland Carbon Guarantee, and other such initiatives, aim to encourage farmers and landowners to plant more trees and create new woodland to store and absorb carbon from the atmosphere in return for payments

Landowners looking to plant trees and shrubs in the vicinity of high-pressure pipelines for this, or other purposes, should be aware of best practice guidelines as plant and tree roots can cause damage to the coatings used to protect the high-pressure pipelines.  This in turn could lead to damage of the pipeline itself.

Before planting any new trees or shrubs in the pipeline wayleave / easement, written permission should be obtained from the pipeline operator. Any approval granted by the pipeline operator shall be subject to retaining the rights to remove, at any point in the future, all trees, which in the opinion of a pipeline engineer, might become a risk to the pipeline and its integrity.

Guidance for planting trees near buried pipelines

The consent to plant trees will state what areas may be planted and also the type of tree.   The following should act as general guidance for tree planting, based on the centre line of the pipeline:

  • Shallow rooting hedges and ground plants (e.g. blackthorn, broom, elder, hazel, etc) may be planted, if necessary (for screening purposes or to mark boundaries) directly across the pipeline
  • Fruit trees, such as dwarf apple stocks, may be planted up to 3 metres of the pipeline
  • Christmas trees may be planted up to 3 metres of the pipeline on the strict understanding that these are clear-felled at intervals not exceeding 7 years
  • The following trees (and those of a similar size, whether deciduous or evergreen) are not permitted be planted withing 6 metres of the pipeline; e.g. ash, beech, birch, most conifers, elm, maple, lime, horse chestnut, oak, apple and pear trees. Within 6 – 10 metres they may be planted as individual specimens or as a single row. Dense mass planting may be carried out at distances of greater than 10 metres
  • Poplar and willow trees should not be planted within 10 metres of the pipeline

If you are in any doubt about planting trees or if you are proposing to fell trees or remove shrubs in the vicinity of high-pressure pipelines, please contact a member of BPA’s lands team who will be able to provide further help.

To download a full version of the best practice guidelines, click the following link: UKOPA GPG41 Tree Planting Guidelines Jul 22 Final Version.

/by BPA Management

BURIED OIL PIPELINES IN CHESHIRE

Buried oil pipelines in Cheshire

Works have recently been completed that required sections of the buried oil pipelines in Cheshire to be exposed.  The pipeline’s depth of cover was measured and the works were undertaken to ensure that there was adequate cover to protect the landowner and contractors who may be operating in the pipeline’s vicinity.

As part of BPA’s regular line walking, monitoring and surveying activities, it was decided that this section of buried oil pipeline in Cheshire should be excavated so that a section of the high pressure oil pipeline could be replaced at a greater depth.

High-pressure oil and gas pipelines are laid in welded steel sections, at a nominal depth of at least one meter.  BPA’s buried pipelines carry oil at pressures of up to fifteen hundred PSI, that’s at least 50 times the pressure of an average car tyre, and can pose a risk to people or the environment if they are damaged.

To prevent against accident, contractors working near to pipelines have a legal duty of care to protect their personnel, the general public and the environment when operating in the vicinity of the pipeline.  As such anyone working within 3 meters either side of the pipeline is required to contact the pipeline operator to ensure compliance with legislation.

When contacting BPA, the team will ask for details regarding the proposed works and will support landowners by outlining all the required health and safety requirements.  Landowners or contractors who don’t inform landowners not only risk breaking the law, but could potentially be putting someone’s life at risk.

Once informed of works on the buried oil pipelines, BPA can support landowners or contractors by providing maps that show the exact location of the pipeline and help mark out its route for any activities.  There is no charge for this service and the pipeline operator will always deal with a landowner in an emergency.

Exposing the buried oil pipeline in Cheshire, clearly shows that pipelines can often be found at a nominal depth of only one metre.  It also shows that pipelines often do not run in straight lines between field markers and that landowners should contact the pipeline operator if in doubt.

If landowners or contractors have any questions regarding the pipelines that run under their land, please contact a member of the BPA’s Lands Team and they would be more than happy to assist.

/by BPA Management