As DTE Energy upgrades the infrastructure that delivers safe and reliable natural gas to customers in communities throughout Michigan, the work doesn’t stop when a new gas line is Installed.
The Gas Renewal Program is replacing steel and cast-iron pipes with more efficient, durable and environmentally friendly materials. Crews are replacing approximately 200 miles of pipe every year and, by the time the work is complete in 2035, leaks and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced statewide by an estimated 500,000 metric tons per year.
But greenhouse gas emission reductions aren’t the only environmental consideration as this work is underway. DTE’s environmental team is part of the process every step of the way, from planning to installation to ensuring that there are no problems with erosion once the upgrade is complete.
This part of the work is where Lance Kleino, environmental engineer with DTE, and his team come in.
Once the GRP team has established the plan for an area, Kleino takes that plan and starts the environmental side of the process. After securing the necessary permits, he works alongside the teams installing the new lines to implement erosion controls to keep runoff out of local waterways.
Kleino’s GRP work falls mostly within the city of Grand Rapids, and he spends a lot of time ensuring sediment is captured before ending up somewhere it doesn’t belong, something that is uniquely challenging in that region.
“We use erosion controls like catch basins, a permeable sack that lets water flow through but catches sediment that runs down from an uphill project,” he said. “That’s a huge one. The city of Grand Rapids has so many basins.”
Other controls, like soil fencing and silt fencing, ensure materials stay where they’re meant to be and that the newly installed line stays on solid ground.
This is the other part of Kleino and his team’s work: following up after installation.
Once the new line is in and the crew packs up and goes home, Kleino comes back every week to make sure the basins and fences are doing their job and is there to help customers if something does go wrong in between.
“It all goes back to the customer,” he said. “If we do receive a call, we get to that customer first and make sure they’re happy with our work.”
For Kleino, the extra work around the GRP is all worth it for the protection it provides the environment.
“We absolutely want to protect our waters,” he said. “Grand Rapids is a beautiful waterway.”
To find out more about GRP work, click here.