Site preparation and operation. All wells drilled had marsh-level drill- 

 ing sites surrounded by levees. Well sites ranged from 75 by 90 m (250 by 

 300 ft) to 122 by 122 m (400 by 400 ft). 



The earlier two wells had mud reserve pits dug into the marsh. The most 

 recent well, however, was allowed only one small reserve pit; all the rest of 

 the fluids had to be contained in steel tanks, and tailings had to be hauled 

 away. The refuge provided a mud-disposal site on the uplands. Significant 

 activity took place both at the wellsite and along the board road. Vehicles 

 continuously moved back and forth with supplies and crew. A vacuum truck made 

 many trips along the road to the mud-disposal site. 



Placement and operation of production facilities. No production facili- 

 ties were located in the refuge. If the most recent well had been productive, 

 plans were to have production facilities on the uplands with buried flowlines 

 from the well . 



Installation and maintenance of lines. At the time of the study an 

 application was under consideration for placement of three adjacent pipelines: 

 15 cm (6 inches) for propylene; 25 cm (10 inches) for oxygen; and 31 cm (12 inc 

 for nitrogen. Three other natural gas pipelines flow to the Dow Chemical 

 Company plant near Freeport. These are 15-cm (6-inch), 20-cm (8-inch), and 

 41-cm (16-inch) lines (Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Corporation, 1975). They 

 were placed before the refuge was acquired. 



Spills 

 had a serious sp 

 and formation ma 

 In some places, 

 coming from the 

 operation associ 

 accident. Resto 

 reefs, dredging 

 live reef areas 



and cleanup. The oil and gas operations on the refuge have not 

 ill. However, in 1973 a nearby well suffered a blowout. Mud 

 terials were spread over a large area, more than 100 ha (247 ac 

 sediment ranged from 15 to 120 cm (6 to 47 inches) thick, some 

 blowout, while other amounts may have come from a dredging 

 ated with the drilling. Some refuge land was affected by this 

 ration recommendations included removing silt from covered 

 more silted areas, and spreading clean oyster shell on former 

 to favor setting of oyster spot. 



hea 



i 



res 



Site shutdown and restoration. No records exist concerning the cleanup 

 operations for wells drilled previous to the refuge acquisition. For the two 

 wells drilled in 1972, the board road was removed and the old reserve pits 

 were fenced to keep cattle from intruding. The levee walls were breached, and 

 board flooring was removed. At the more recent well, the flooring was removed 

 and the board road was taken up. Part of the levee was immediately reseeded 

 with gulf ryegrass and fertilized; the rest was allowed to revegetate by 

 natural succession. Revegetation proceeded well during the growth period 

 until dry conditions slowed the process. Feeding by geese resulted in crop- 

 ping of above-ground vegetation and rooting of rhizomes. 



136 



