Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOAA’s Role in Charting Pipelines& Current Datasets

Nautical Data Branch (NDB), Marine Chart DivisionLance Roddy & Nick Szelak

March 12, 2019

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Major Topics

• NOAA chart products

• Major ‘pipelines’ for pipeline data

• Basic charting policy

• USACE-permitted pipelines (state waters)

• BSEE-authorized pipelines (seaward of 3NM limit/boundary)

• Questions

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

• NOAA ENC® – Electronic Navigational ChartsVector nautical chart data – built for modern navigational systems – updated weekly

• NOAA Raster Charts– Paper Nautical Charts– Full-size Nautical Charts– Booklet Charts– NOAA RNC® - Raster Navigational Charts – RNC Tile Service

NOAA Chart Products - Pipeline Locations

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOAA Navigational Products

“ENCs provide the most up-to-date information, whereas paper and raster nautical chart updates may be up to one month behind the corresponding ENC coverage.”

• Refer to ENCs & raster charts, but consider the following:

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Charting Pipelines - Documentation

The Marine Chart Division depicts individual pipeline symbols and pipeline areas on navigational products because we received as-built documents.

• If a pipeline exists, and we did not receive the as-built information, then the pipeline is uncharted.

• If there is a change in the status of an existing, charted pipeline, and we did not receive the as-built information associated with the change in status, then the charted pipeline symbol will remain the same.

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Major ‘Pipelines’ for Pipeline Data

• In State Waters:

Nautical Data Branch examines USACE permits and solicits pipeline project status via annual mailing to USACE permittee.

• Outside State Waters (seaward of 3NM limit/boundary):

Pipeline operators send construction letters to Nautical Data Branch, which initiates download of pipeline data from the BSEE website.

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

USACE Pipeline Data – From Permit to Chart• Examine permit or public notice and determine chart applicability.

• Enter permit data into NDB-internal USACE Permits Database.

• Mail a Permit/Public Notice Status Report to permittee annually.

• Await permittee’s reply and provision of as-built data.

• Combine as-built data and USACE permit/public notice in a source document record.

• Use the source document record to add, revise, or remove the pipeline symbol or pipeline area symbol on the charts.

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Pipeline Data – Information for Charting• Pipeline completion date

• Pipeline operator

• USACE permit documentation

• Survey method: DGPS, GPS, etc.

• Lat/Lon or state plane coordinates of pipeline with horizontal datum (NAD27, NAD83, etc.)

• Sufficient number of coordinates to accurately depict a pipeline symbol on the charts

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

General Charting Guidelines

In open water (Gulf of Mexico), the individual pipeline symbol is used. However, across more confined waterways such as rivers and inland bays, the pipeline area symbol can be used. If the pipeline information supplier has provided accurate DGPS positions, we can chart the feature with an individual pipeline symbol.

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

General Charting GuidelinesPipeline Positioning Accomplished with DGPS

Pipeline

Not to Scale

Channel

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

General Charting GuidelinesPipeline Positioning Accomplished with GPS

Pipeline

Not to ScaleChannel

Pipeline Area330 feet

330 feet

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

General Charting GuidelinesPipeline Positioning Accomplished with GPS

Not to ScaleChannel

Pipeline Area

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

General Charting GuidelinesPipeline Positioning Accomplished without GPS or DGPS

Pipeline

Not to ScaleChannel

Pipeline Area

500 feet

500 feet

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

General Charting GuidelinesPipeline Positioning Accomplished without GPS or DGPS

Not to ScaleChannel

Pipeline Area

Portion of Chart 11355 – Not to ScalePortion of US5LA23M – Not to Scale

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Pipeline Area – Bayou Teche, LA

Portion of Chart 11355 – Not to Scale

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Pipeline Area – Bayou Teche, LA

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Caution Note Examples

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Charting Considerations

• Inaccuracies in charted pipeline positions may exist due to retired cartographic methods such as applying pipelines by hand on Mylar.

• Additional inaccuracies may exist due to the quality of older, hand-drawn, as-built data that was applied to the chart.

• Many pipeline symbols on the ENCs were derived from the existing pipeline symbols depicted on the raster charts.

• Current cartographic practices require the cartographer to apply the digital pipeline data directly to the ENC.

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

BSEE Pipelines – From Construction Letter to Chart

• Receive construction letter from pipeline operator and determine chart applicability. Enter pipeline metadata into NDB-internal BSEE Pipeline Database.

• Check the BSEE website database for change in segment status.

• Download pipeline segment data from BSEE website upon change to BSEE Status “Active” or other chartable status.

• Combine segment data and construction letter in a source document record.

• Use the BSEE data in the source document record to add, revise, or remove the pipeline symbol on the charts.

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

To chart or not to chart BSEE pipelines?In some circumstances, no charting action will be taken if:

• At the scale of the largest-scaled chart, the pipeline’s length is less than half of a pipeline symbol.

• The pipeline is already charted.

• The largest-scaled chart that the segment falls on doesn’t show pipelines.

• There is a Gas and Oil Well Structures caution note present.

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

BSEE Pipelines - Offshore Louisiana

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Pipeline Symbols on NOAA ENC®

Portion of Chart 11366 – Not to ScalePortion of US3GC04M – Not to Scale

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Pipeline Symbols on NOAA ENC®

Portion of Chart 11366 – Not to Scale

Office of Coast SurveyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Conclusion