Project Description
L123 was contracted to engineer, design and obtain regulatory permits for the decommissioning phase of an existing submarine pipeline crossing the San Joaquin River outside of Patterson, California, and to obtain regulatory permits for the construction of its horizontal directionally drilled (HDD) 24-inch replacement pipeline. L123 and Padre Associates also provide regulatory compliance monitoring of the HDD replacement construction. This crossing replacement project was unique in that it crossed under two USACOE levees (required permissions from the USACOE 408 Group) and involved an unusually long (possibly a world record) HDD bore requiring drilling from both sides of the crossing and pull back of an approximately 7,100 foot long 24-inch pipe string. Prior to construction, this project languished in the California and federal regulatory permitting processes for over three years and was nearing the NTSB deadline for replacement of the crossing when L123/Padre took over the permitting effort and permitted the project in less than 10 months. As of the date of this posting, the HDD replacement has been completed and the decommissioning of the existing crossing will take place in the summer 2021.

Relevance
The successful completion of this project demonstrates the efficiencies of L123/Padre’s unique regulatory permitting acquisition processes in acquiring permits for projects involving California marine and terrestrial components as well as L123’s exceptional California decommissioning expertise.