ULNRC-05902, Enclosure 6: Ameren Transmission Vegetation Management Program
| ML12244A575 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Callaway  |
| Issue date: | 08/30/2012 |
| From: | Ameren Missouri, Union Electric Co |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| Shared Package | |
| ML122440687 | List:
|
| References | |
| ULNRC-05902 | |
| Download: ML12244A575 (10) | |
Text
ULNRC-05902Enclosure6 Ameren Transmission Vegetation Management Program Ameren's objective for managing vegetation on transmission rights-of-way will be to prevent outages from vegetation located on transmission rights-of-way and minimize outages from vegetation located adjacent to the right-of-way.
The Ameren Transmission Vegetation Management Annual Work Plan will document the methods to be utilized and the circuits that will have vegetation management work performed in that year. See Appendix "H" Ameren annual Transmission Vegetation Management Work Plan. Ameren will manage vegetation on transmission rights-of-way using a zoned approach where possible.
Typically, a right-of-way will consist of two zones: Zone 1 is the Wire Zone and shall be defined as the area occupied by the structures and conductors.
The zone will start at the centerline of the structure and extend out 20 ft. beyond the outside conductor.
The width of this zone will vary with types of construction found on the ROW. Zone 2 is the Border Zone and shall be defined as the area from the outside edge of the wire zone extending to the mature tree line and/or the outside edge of the defined ROW. Some rights-of-way, due to existing easement width, may not have a border zone. Patrol Policy Ameren will patrol lines >100 kV and:::; 200 kV by air or ground once per year. Patrols will be done during the growing season (May 1 -October 15). All lines 200kV and above and circuits deemed critical to the reliable operation of the Ameren Transmission system will be patrolled twice per year. One patrol will be completed during the growing season (May 1 -October 15), and one patrol will be completed by using ground patrol resources.
Ameren Vegetation Supervisors are required to complete one of the two patrols. One patrol may be completed using trained outside contractor resources.
All patrol dates shall be recorded in Ameren transmission patrol log located within the Ameren Tree Manager software.
All patrols are to record data as specified on the Ameren Hot Spot Patrol form and Vegetation Management Plan. Each Ameren Vegetation Supervisor shall be responsible for issuing and verifying completion of any and all hot spot work reported on the patrol. All work is to be completed in the time frame specified by ratings criteria on the patrol form. All completed work shall meet the specifications as defined in the CLEARANCE SPECIFICATIONS section of the AmerenUE, AmerenCIPS, AmerenCILCO and AmereniP Vegetation Management Program. Ameren vegetation supervision shall record all patrol dates in the Ameren Master Patrol log.
Stage 2 -Ameren and contractor supervision will do a joint efficacy audit on each circuit that has had herbicide applications.
The purpose of the audit is to ensure that acceptable efficacy levels are obtained as a result of the herbicide application per Ameren specifications.
Timing of this audit will be dependent upon the application technique employed and the time of year that the application was done (see Appendix D). In addition to the audits listed above, Ameren supervision reviews all completed work as they do circuit patrols. All work found to be non-compliant is to be corrected immediately to meet Ameren specifications.
If non-compliant work is found, then the contractor will audit 100% of the work completed by that crew on all circuits where work was performed and corrected at the contractor's expense. Clearance Specifications Clearance 1 (Clearance to be achieved at the time of transmission utility vegetation management work.) Voltage 200kV and Above Wire Zone 1. Vegetation in this zone should be managed to promote the growth of native plant species that have a mature height less than 10ft. All plant species that normally reach a mature height greater than 10 ft. tall should be removed by mechanical methods or controlled by approved herbicide applications.
Exceptions may be permissible for locations where the clearance between the conductor and vegetation is greater than 20 ft. 2. If operating conditions cause conductors to sag such that ground to conductor clearance is less than 30ft., then all vegetation should be maintained for a mature height of less than1 0 ft. tall. 3. If operating conditions cause conductors to sag such that ground to conductor clearance is greater than 30ft., then all vegetation should be maintained to provide a minimum of 20 ft. clearance.
- 4. No tree growth will be allowed to overhang any conductor, structure or guy line associated with any transmission circuit or structure.
Border Zone 1. All vegetation should be maintained with a side clearance of 40 ft. from the conductor or to the existing maintained right-of-way.
- 2. In the border zone floor, vegetation should be managed to promote plant species with a mature height less than 20 ft. tall. All plant species that normally reach a mature height greater than 20 ft. tall should be removed by mechanical methods or controlled by approved herbicide applications.
Exceptions may be permissible for locations where the clearance between the conductor and vegetation is greater than 20ft. 2
- 3. In an area where the conductor sag places the line at less than 30 ft. of clearance from the ground, then vegetation in the border zone shall be managed to promote species which are less than 10ft. tall at maturity.
- 4. No tree growth shall be allowed to overhang any conductor, structure or guy line associated with any transmission circuit or structure.
Circuits with Operating Voltages S 200kV and >100kV Wire Zone 1. Vegetation in this zone should be managed to promote the growth of native plant species that have a mature height less than 10 ft. All plant species that normally reach a mature height greater than 1 0 ft. tall should be removed by mechanical methods or controlled by approved herbicide applications.
Exceptions may be permissible for locations where the clearance between the conductor and vegetation is greater than 20 ft. 2. If operating conditions cause conductors to sag such that ground to conductor clearance is less than 30ft., then all vegetation should be maintained for a mature height of less than 10 ft. tall. 3. If operating conditions cause conductors to sag such that ground to conductor clearance is greater than 30ft., then all vegetation should be maintained to provide a minimum of 20 ft. clearance.
- 4. No tree growth will be allowed to overhang any conductor, structure or guy line associated with any transmission circuit or structure.
Border Zone 1. All vegetation should be maintained with a side clearance of 30 ft. from the conductor or to the existing maintained right-of-way.
- 2. In the border zone floor, vegetation should be managed to promote plant species with a mature height less than 20 ft. tall. All plant species that normally reach a mature height greater than 20 ft. tall should be removed by mechanical methods or controlled by approved herbicide applications.
Exceptions may be permissible for locations where the clearance between the conductor and vegetation is greater than 20 ft. 3. In an area where the conductor sag places the line at less than 30 ft. of clearance from the ground, then vegetation in the border zone shall be managed to promote species which are less than 10ft. tall at maturity.
- 4. No tree growth will be allowed to overhang any conductor, structure or guy line associated with any transmission circuit or structure.
Any deviations or exceptions from the above Clearance 1 shall be reported both verbally and in writing (within 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br />) to the Ameren Supervisor or Superintendent.
In addition, the specific location and description of the deviation or exception should be noted on crew/patrol map. 3 Clearance 2 (Minimum clearance distance to be maintained at all times) Voltage 200kV and Above 1. At no time shall minimum clearances be less than those set forth in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard 516-2003 (Guide for Maintenance Methods on Energized Power Lines) and as specified in its Section 4.2.4, Minimum Air Insulation Distances without Tools in the Air Gap. 2. All vegetation within the wire zone should be maintained at minimum clearance distance of 20 ft. from the conductor with a minimum side clearance of 20 ft. 3. If a line normally operates with less than 30 ft. of ground clearance, then all vegetation within the wire zone should be maintained at a height less than 10 ft. tall within the wire zone and the border zone. 4. No tree growth shall be allowed to overhang any conductor, structure or guy line associated with any transmission circuit or structure.
- 5. Any deviations from the above Clearance 2 definition shall be recorded as a Priority 1
- condition.
Circuits with Operating Voltages :S 200kV and >1 OOkV 1. At no time shall minimum clearances be less than those set forth in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard 516-2003 (Guide for Maintenance Methods on Energized Power Lines) and as specified in its Section 4.2.4, Minimum Air Insulation Distances without Tools in the Air Gap. 2. All vegetation within the wire zone should be maintained at a minimum distance of 15ft. from the conductor.
- 3. Vegetation within the border zone should be maintained with a minimum side clearance of 15ft. 4. No vegetation shall be allowed to overhang any conductor, structure or guy line associated with any transmission circuit or structure.
- 5. Any deviations from the above Clearance two definition shall be recorded as a Priority 1* condition.
Personnel Qualifications Ameren Vegetation Supervisors Education:
High school graduate.
Prefer Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts Degree in Forestry or related field. Experience:
Five or more years of experience in Forestry/Horticulture with knowledge of overhead construction and operations.
Successful applicant will be required to obtain International Society of Arboriculture Arborist Certification within one year of acceptance of a Vegetation Management Supervisors position.
Other: Successful applicant must sign agreement stating that they will abide by the Certified Arborist 4 agreement.
Ameren Vegetation Supervisors should maintain their arborists' certification as long as they are employed as an Ameren Vegetation Supervisor.
Good leadership, decision-making, communication and human relations skills, particularly relating to customer relations.
Ameren Vegetation Management Superintendent Education:
High school graduate.
Prefer Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts Degree in Forestry or related field. Experience:
Must have 5 or more years of experience in the utility vegetation management field. Must have knowledge of overhead electrical construction and operations.
Other: Must be an ISA Certified Arborist.
Shall maintain their arborist's certification as long as they are employed in this position.
Must maintain appropriate state pesticide license. Good leadership, decision-making, communication, and human relations skills, particularly relating to customer relations.
Contractor Personnel All contractor first line supervision must attain ISA arborist certification with in one year of accepting a position as a general foreman. All contractor supervisory personnel must demonstrate knowledge of overhead electrical construction and operations and have thorough knowledge of ANSI 133.1 and ANSI A300 -2001 standards.
All contractor personnel shall be line clearance qualified trimmers and shall follow ANSI 133.1 and ANSI A300-2001 standards when performing line clearance trimming work. All contractor personnel applying herbicides on Ameren rights-of-way shall possess all applicable state and federal licenses and certifications required for this work. In addition, all contractor personnel shall meet the qualifications required by their companies before performing work as line clearance qualified employees on Ameren's system. Mitigation Procedure If mitigating circumstances such as easement language, environmental issues or property owner objections prevent work from being done to Clearance 1 standards, then at a minimum clearances greater than Clearance 2 should be obtained and this location should be filed in the transmission maintenance log. Every effort will be made to remove vegetation that is preventing Clearance 1 standards from being achieved with an emphasis being placed on yard trees located within either zone. We will include such incentives as tree replacements for property owners with an understanding that the replacement trees will be planted off the right-of-way.
Ameren vegetation supervision will then schedule work for this location in the appropriate time frame to maintain clearances greater than those listed in Clearance
- 2. Ameren Vegetation Management supervision will work with the appropriate Ameren personnel, property owners and outside agencies to achieve clearances as defined in Clearance
- 1. 5 Definition of a Priority 1 Condition: Vegetation in the "Wire Zone" within 20 feet of the conductor on voltages greater than 100kV Vegetation in the "Border Zone" within 20 feet to the side of the conductor for 200kV & above Vegetation within 15 feet to the side of the conductor for below 200kV and above 1 OOkV Any dead or hazard tree located on or off the right-of-way that if it were to fail could contact the conductor, structure or guy wire. Priority 1 Notification Procedure All Priority 1 conditions found during a patrol or while performing vegetation management activities shall be recorded on the Hot Spot Patrol form or circuit map and called to the appropriate Ameren Vegetation Supervisor immediately.
If this supervisor is not available, then the information shall be called to the Vegetation Management Superintendent of transmission.
An electronic message containing a copy of the Hot Spot Patrol form (Appendix F) with the Priority 1 condition recorded should be e-mailed to the Vegetation Supervisor and the Vegetation Superintendent.
Priority 1 conditions will be scheduled for work immediately.
Work to be performed should provide clearance as stated in the requirements for Clearance
- 1. Communication of Vegetation Conditions that Pose an Immediate Threat to System Reliability The condition shall be reported immediately upon discovery to the appropriate Ameren Vegetation Supervisor or the Ameren Vegetation Superintendent and the Ameren Transmission Operations Supervisor.
The information reported shall include the location of the violation, the line involved, the time required to correct the situation, and any observed transmission facility damage. The Ameren Vegetation Supervisor will request, from the Ameren transmission operations supervisor, any equipment outages required to complete the work. Outages will be granted as system conditions permit. If the situation can be resolved without an outage, the work shall begin immediately and the Ameren Vegetation Supervisor will notify all parties when the work is complete.
Dead and Hazard Trees Dead and hazardous trees should be cut down or trimmed to a point that if they were to fail would not cause a flashover on the circuit or any facility including guy wires. This applies to all trees that are determined to be a hazard whether they are located within the right-of-way boundary or outside the right-of-way boundary.
Hazardous trees typically are those trees that have apparent structural defects. Hazard and danger trees may include dead or live trees. If any dead or hazard tree is determined to be an immediate reliability concern, Priority 1 notification procedures shall be followed.
6 Tree Trimming Standards All trimming shall be performed in accordance with ANSI A300 standard, specifically Section 5.9 which refers to utility pruning. In addition, all trimming personnel shall follow as a minimum the safe work practices as stated in ANSI133.1-2000.
ANSI A300 and ANSI 133.1-2000 have been adopted by the International Society of Arboriculture and the National Arborist Association as pruning standards for the utility industry.
Ameren supervision shall record all work activities in the Ameren Master Maintenance log. Data recorded shall include trim order numbers, work type, start and completed date, supervisor responsible for the work and contractor information.
Herbicide Applications General Statement As part of Ameren's commitment to provide reliable service to our customers in a safe, economical and environmentally sound manner, herbicide applications are required to maintain vegetation within the transmission rights-of-way.
Only EPA approved herbicides shall be applied on Ameren rights-of-way.
All herbicides applied shall be approved by Ameren. Contractors shall be required to submit a Pesticide Use Request form before any applications are made to Ameren rights-of-way. Ameren shall contract with firms that meet high industry standards and employ personnel that meet all the requirements to perform applications as specified in the Missouri and Illinois pesticide use acts. Contractors shall keep application records as specified by the Missouri and Illinois pesticide Use Acts depending upon which state the applications are made. Ameren personnel shall document all applications in the Ameren Master Maintenance log. Application Techniques All herbicides are to be mixed and applied in accordance with product labels. Applications may be done using the following methods if approved by Ameren Vegetation Management personnel: Aerial foliar applications (helicopter only) Low volume foliar applications High volume foliar applications Dormant stem (basal) applications Cut stubble applications Cut stump applications All ground applications are to be done using selective application methods. Only woody plants, vines and noxious vegetation should be targeted.
Forbes, legumes, grasses and wild flowers are not to be treated. Cultivated berry bushes, ornamental shrubs, fruit trees and yard trees are not to be treated except under specific instructions from Ameren Vegetation Management supervision.
7 Brush located along roadways, fences, railroad rights-of-way that could fail and cause a public hazard should not be treated. Generally, woody brush up to 10 feet tall may be targeted.
Ameren Vegetation Management supervision shall be notified of any herbicide applications that are to take place in a dedicated wetland type environment.
Only herbicides labeled specifically for wetlands shall be applied. Every effort should be made for applications outside of the peak nesting period for waterfowl (April/May).
All foliar applications should be done between May 15th and October 31st. If climatic and environmental conditions change that may impact the desired application window, then applications should be adjusted to accommodate this change. Customer Contact Property owners are to be notified of the intent to do herbicide applications.
The contractor doing the applications shall be responsible for property owner notification.
Ameren will review any printed material before it is distributed.
Property owner shall be given two weeks to reply to the notification.
The Ameren Vegetation Supervisor shall be informed prior to any applications of properties where notification cannot be confirmed or concerns expressed.
In the interest of good customer relations, contact should be made where possible before a crew enters a property.
Right-of-Way Access Where possible, all access should be along the transmission rights-of-way or through Ameren approved routes. At no time shall a contractor enter into an agreement with a property owner for access through an alternative route without prior approval from Ameren supervision.
Contractors are responsible for any and all damage claims that may take place as a result of their use of alternative access routes. Right-of-way access routes are to be kept clear of vehicles at all times. Where possible, all access should be along the transmission rights-of-way or through Ameren approved routes. At no time shall a contractor enter into an agreement with a property owner for access thru an alternative route with out prior approval from Ameren supervision.
Contractors are responsible for any and all damage claims that may take place as a result of their use of alternative access routes. Right-of-way access routes are to be kept clear of vehicles at all times. Audit Policy The audit process will encompass all types of contractor work including trimming, planning and patrolling activities and herbicide applications on all Ameren companies' transmission way. 8 The Ameren Vegetation Management Transmission audit is designed to ensure contractor's compliance to Ameren's clearance specifications, trimming standards and patrol procedures.
- 1. Trimming Crew Audits At a minimum, contractor management will submit one completed Ameren Transmission audit per crew (see Appendix A), per month (2 days of work). Ameren supervision will then be responsible for reviewing all audits and field checking a minimum of 20% of the audits. 2. Patrol Audits Ameren Vegetation Management Supervisors will schedule two audit sessions per quarter in the field with contractor planner/patrol personnel.
The audit sessions should focus on recording data as required per the Ameren Transmission Hot Spot Patrol form and Ameren Transmission Vegetation Management plan for patrol work completed and patrol work to be done in the future. One session should review patrol work completed in that quarter and will focus on the accuracy of information on patrols done in that quarter. The other session should be dedicated to training associated with documenting clearance requirements, work type and other data as required on the Ameren Transmission Vegetation Management Plan. If audits reveal deficiencies in recording accurate clearance information, then the contractor shall re-patrol all circuits assigned to the individual planner who performed the circuit patrol. The re-patrols should be done at no additional costs to Ameren and should be scheduled immediately upon discovery of deficiencies.
- 3. Drive-by Audits Ameren supervision will be responsible for performing monthly drive-by audits to monitor compliance with safety, crew configuration including equipment and personnel, contractor performance and invoicing (see Appendix B). 4. Herbicide Application Audits Audits for herbicide applications will be done in two stages. Stage 1-Ameren Vegetation Supervisors will audit the crew activity at the time of the herbicide application.
The purpose of this audit will be to monitor the following:
safe work practices, adequate coverage, no sprays are recorded and proper application techniques are followed (see Appendix C and E). Stage 2 -Ameren and contractor supervision will do a joint efficacy audit on each circuit that has had herbicide applications.
The purpose of the audit is to ensure that acceptable efficacy levels are obtained as a result of the herbicide application per Ameren specifications.
Timing of this audit will be dependent upon the application technique employed and the time of year that the application was done (see appendix D). In addition to the audits listed above, Ameren supervision reviews all completed work as they do circuit patrols. 9 All work found to be non-compliant is to be corrected immediately to meet Ameren specifications.
If non-compliant work is found, then the contractor will audit 100% of the work done by that crew on all circuits where work was performed and correct at contractor's expense. Outage Reporting All vegetation caused outages shall be inspected by the Ameren Vegetation Management Supervisor.
The supervisor shall fill out the Ameren Transmission Outage Report form and forward to the Ameren Vegetation Management Superintendent of transmission (see Appendix G). The Superintendent shall provide the Manager of Safety and Resource Management a monthly report on the number and types of vegetation related transmission outages. The Manager of Safety and Resource Management department will complete the quarterly outage reports and file with the RRO as required by NERC FAC-003-1.
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