We believe our commitment to environmental stewardship is not only a moral obligation, but also makes good business sense, and helps drive the success of our projects and operations company-wide. We want our neighbors to know that protection of the environment is a priority and we continuously evaluate and strive to reduce environmental risks, which can affect our business and the community.
Environmental Policy
Enterprise is committed to being a responsible steward of the environment. Our Environmental Policy is focused on minimizing the impact of our operations, improving our operational efficiency, and protecting the environment. A copy of our Environmental Policy is available on the Code of Conduct & Related Policies page of our website.
We design project footprints that minimize impacts to sensitive natural and cultural resources such as wetlands, archaeological sites, and protected species, all of which improve project viability. Further, we proactively enroll in various habitat conservation agreements that not only include minimization measures that reduce overall project impacts to habitat of federal/state-listed and other sensitive species, but also provide significant financial support to the continued protection and enhancement of essential habitat. An example is our participation in the Williamson County Regional Habitat Conservation Plan wilco.org which provided guidance that allowed us to proactively minimize and mitigate impacts to sensitive species and natural resources during the construction of our Midland-to-Sealy Pipeline through Central Texas in 2017.
Before Restoration
After Restoration
We actively seek opportunities to restore essential tidal marsh habitat by supplying private and government entities with suitable material dredged from our marine facilities. Enterprise’s involvement has helped restore essential tidal marsh habitat that has been significantly lost to subsidence and other factors over the last several decades. Our most recent example occurred along the banks of the Houston Ship Channel. The San Jacinto monument, a 567-foot limestone obelisk topped with a 220-ton star structure, marks the spot of the decisive battle for Texas independence in 1836. Since 1994, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has been working to restore the San Jacinto battleground to its original appearance. The project is designed to give visitors a more accurate picture of the landscape that existed at the time and a better appreciation of how those conditions impacted the battle. Enterprise supported this initiative by providing more than 475,000 cubic yards of dredging material from our Morgan’s Point ethane export terminal which went into service in 2016. The fill material was used to raise a 100-acre area of the battleground that had subsided over the years. Restoration efforts have allowed the reestablishment of native grasses that were once characteristic of the marsh, which will increase the habitat for birds, small mammals and several marine species. The project will also facilitate the creation of a pedestrian trail. Another benefit of restoring the marsh is protection of the site against storm surges such as those caused by Hurricanes Ike in 2008 and Harvey in 2017. In commenting on the public/private partnership, TPWD State Parks Director Brent Leisure said, “It’s a great example of how industry can continue to operate in the area while helping to restore and maintain the natural and cultural heritage of the San Jacinto Battleground.”
As a result of the strong teamwork between Enterprise, TPWD, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Texas Historical Commission and contractors Atkins and Weeks Marine, Inc., this initiative earned the Environmental Excellence in Navigational Dredging Award in 2017.
"I am very proud of the performance of our employees involved in this project, especially their commitment to environmental stewardship and completing the job safely," said Jim Teague, chief executive officer of Enterprise’s general partner. "This initiative is consistent with Enterprise’s philosophy of pursing creative solutions that meet the goals of the company and its partners."
Some of the more substantial challenges associated with the project were:
Accelerated schedule – only 20 months from design to completion
Dredge material – comprised mainly of medium-to-stiff plastic clays intermixed with fine sand and silt
Transport distance – dredge material transported 9.7 miles from Morgan’s Point terminal to 150-acre marsh site
Utilities – active infrastructure network bisected work locations
Cultural resources – significant concentrations of artifacts
Active construction site – ongoing development of Morgan’s Point dock required continuous coordination between dredging and construction equipment
Freshwater inputs – three upland freshwater sources drain through the site, requiring careful management of water flow
Weather – record flooding posed dewatering challenges.
Conservation & Biodiversity
We believe our commitment to environmental stewardship is not only a moral obligation, but also makes good business sense, and helps drive the success of our projects and operations company-wide. In addition to playing an integral role in the long-term growth of our company, protecting the environment is also important to our business partners and the communities in which our personnel (including our employees, independent contractors and other service providers) live and work. We want our neighbors to know that protection of the environment is a priority and we continuously evaluate and strive to reduce environmental risks, which can affect our business and the community. We have implemented system-wide programs to mitigate this risk and help ensure compliance with federal, state, and local rules and regulations.
We employ an avoidance approach in our construction process and, in our effort to minimize the impact of our operations, we seek to avoid sensitive areas, habitats, and seasons, when possible. In advance of project construction, we survey and assess our proposed route and/or sites to evaluate and identify the presence of threatened or endangered species, sensitive areas and habitats, high consequence areas, and areas of historical or cultural significance. Our approach to land use and biodiversity is governed by the principles of our Environmental policy, including our commitments to maintain efficient operations with a goal of using natural resources and energy more efficiently in the future, and to minimize disturbances from existing and future operations. In practice, our approach may involve:
· Extensive environmental surveying and permitting efforts,
· Co-locating pipelines within existing right-of-ways,
· Adjusting routes to avoid sensitive areas,
· Adjusting construction schedules to avoid sensitive seasons (such as mating seasons for threatened species),
· Safely drilling or boring under certain habitats and water bodies to minimize disturbances,
· Engagement with community and environmental stakeholders, and
· Engagement with agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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Emission Reductions
We are committed to reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity of our operations. We focus on reducing process, fugitive, and operational GHG emissions whenever possible. The main avenues to achieve emissions reduction across our system include:
Capturing and liquefying vapors rather than flaring;
Installing lower-emitting equipment when upgrading assets;
Investing in technologically advanced control equipment; and
Eliminating or minimizing waste streams.
Since 2011, Enterprise has experienced a historic period of growth primarily attributed to the development of U.S. shale resources and the renaissance of the U.S. petrochemical industry. From 2011 to 2019, the company put ~$28 billion of organic growth projects into service including 6 natural gas processing plants (totaling over 2.7bcf/d of capacity), over 5,000 miles of natural gas, NGL, crude oil and petrochemical pipelines, 7 NGL fractionators (with over 705 MBPD of capacity) and a world-scale propane dehydrogenation (“PDH”) facility. We also completed over $8 billion in acquisitions that added 7 marine docks at the Houston ship channel, over 20 million barrels of crude oil storage, 11 central gathering plants and 171 MBPD of condensate stabilization.
While substantially increasing our footprint and volumes handled by our assets, we focused on taking actions to reduce the partnership’s direct emissions intensity per barrel equivalent (BOE) through our integrated system. Our investments in midstream infrastructure over this period led to volume increases across our system. Total petrochemical facility volumes increased 65%, total NGL fractionation volumes increased 23%, total liquids pipeline volumes increased 65% and total fee-based processing volumes increased by 108%. This compares to growth of 17% in our direct emissions during this period, including emissions owned by our customers that are reported by our assets. As a result, our direct emissions intensity per BOE handled actually decreased by 19%.
Reportable direct CO2 equivalent emissions with global warming potential ratios including: Subpart C – Emissions from Stationary Combustion Equipment (regardless of facility) & Subpart W – Emissions from Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: all other equipment emissions from natural gas processing, transmission, storage. Also, includes emissions from gas gathering and boosting.
New assets from acquisitions or construction impact total direct emissions, including: Oiltanking and EFS acquisitions, new pipelines, processing facilities, storage and export facilities.
Total direct emissions increased 17% when compared to 2011.
Energy Use Initiatives
We believe operational efficiency is key to our ability to continue to provide critical infrastructure services in a sustainable and reliable manner. We are committed to using energy efficiently across our operations. We continuously review opportunities to improve our operational efficiency on existing and prospective assets, and rely on a diverse mix of energy sources, including solar and wind power. Examples of our use of efficient and/or renewable energy sources include:
Solar Energy
We have over 16,200 metering stations across the United States operating on solar power. These stations generate approximately 7 megawatt hours of power generation per day. These solar operated stations run natural gas chromatographs, measurement, controls, and communications equipment. Enterprise also utilizes solar units to generate power to certain cathodic protection system installations for the purpose of corrosion prevention across our liquid and gas pipelines. Power generation at the point of power consumption eliminates the inefficiencies and environmental footprint of conventional electrical transmission and distribution systems. Solar powered stations also save resources by eliminating the need for chemically treated electric poles and high capacity wiring which benefits property owners by minimizing the electrical infrastructure needed across their land.
Wind
In certain areas of operations where wind is an attractive power source, Enterprise utilizes wind turbines to generate power for cathodic protection systems for the purpose of corrosion prevention across our liquid and gas pipelines.
ERCOT Demand Response Program
Enterprise participates in a program established by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) designed to preserve the reliability of the electric grid, and mitigate the negative implications of surges in electricity demand during peak hours. At certain locations, Enterprise has the ability to act as a “Load Resource” by temporarily modifying our operations to reduce our power usage during periods of peak grid consumption. This contributes to greater operational efficiency in the electric markets, and lessens the need for incremental power generation facilities to accommodate surges in electric demand. As described by ERCOT, “the value of a Load Resource’s load reduction is equal to that of an increase in generation by a generating plant.[1]” ERCOT’s Demand Response program is increasingly important as the grid becomes more reliant upon intermittent renewable resources. Through collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, we are able to contribute to the reliability of the Texas electric grid and the efficient use of resources. http://www.ercot.org/services/programs/load/laar
Renewable Energy Initiative
In addition to Enterprise-installed power generation sources described above, we purchase power generated by wind and solar sources. In 2019, we estimate that approximately 18% and 17% of our electricity usage in Texas and company-wide, respectively, was attributable to wind and solar power generation sources. In 2020, we launched a new initiative to evaluate opportunities for expanded solar power purchasing and/or installations across our systems. We believe this initiative will help further our goal to use natural resources more efficiently in the future.
CO2e Sequestration Initiatives
Enterprise currently sequesters approximately 35,000 metric tons per year of carbon dioxide in geologic storage. The 2018 expansion of the federal Section 45Q tax credit may support additional opportunities to sequester or beneficially reuse carbon dioxide that is produced as a byproduct of some of our operations. We do not currently claim a credit under Section 45Q, but we are evaluating Section 45Q and the Department of the Treasury’s recent guidance and proposed regulations with a view to whether the expanded tax credit will support operational changes and/or commercial agreements that would add financial value for our limited partners while also reducing our carbon footprint.
Recycling & Building Services
Enterprise’s corporate office is located at 1100 Louisiana, known as “Enterprise Plaza”, in downtown Houston, Texas. 1100 Louisiana is an ENERGY STAR®-rated, LEED Gold building with efficient water-use and lighting resources.
In 2019, across our locations in Texas, our recycling contractor collected and processed 237,110 pounds of paper waste on our behalf, and reported associated savings of:
This Translates into:
2,040 Trees
831,390 Gallons of Water
486,957 Kw of Energy
7,132 Pounds of Pollutants Kept Out of the Atmosphere
