IRREVERSIBLE/IRRETRIEVABLE 

COMMITMENT OF RESOURCES 

CHAPTER 7 
7.0 Irreversible/Irretrievable Commitment of Resources 

The vertical line in the margin identifies text that has been modified in this Final EIS and

differs from the corresponding text in the Draft EIS 

An irreversible or irretrievable commitment of resources refers to impacts on or losses to resources that cannot 

be recovered or reversed. Examples include permanent conversion of wetlands, or loss of cultural resources, 

soils, wildlife, agricultural, and socioeconomic conditions. The losses are permanent. Irreversible is a term that 

describes the loss of future options. It applies primarily to the effects of use of nonrenewable resources, such 

as minerals or cultural resources, or to those factors, such as soil productivity, that are renewable only over 

long periods of time. Irretrievable is a term that applies to the loss of production, harvest, or use of natural 

resources. For example, some or all of the timber production from an area is lost irretrievably while an area is 

serving as a winter sports site. The production lost is irretrievable, but the action is not irreversible. If the use 

changes, it is possible to resume timber production. The monetary investment by Overland Pass is not 

considered to be an irreversible or irretrievable commitment of resources. If this project was not built, the 

investment that would have otherwise been spent on these projects could be spent elsewhere. 

The proposed project would require an irretrievable commitment of natural resources from direct consumption 

of fossil fuels and construction materials. In addition, the purpose of the project is to irreversibly and 

irretrievably use NGL resources. Additional resource commitments are shown on Table 7-1. 

Table 7-1 Summary of Irreversible, Irretrievable Commitment of Resources by the Proposed 

Action

Resource 

Irreversible 

Impacts 

Irretrievable 

Impacts Explanation 

Water Quality and 

Quantity 

No No Water obtained from water sources for hydrostatic testing would 

be tested and discharged to the source water body or nearby 

stable upland areas. 

Soils and Vegetation No Yes Soil lost to increased erosion and vegetation production lost to 

conversion of land uses would be irretrievable losses. There 

would be an irreversible commitment of resources on land 

associated with the ROW and aboveground facilities. No 

irreversible or irretrievable special status plant species impacts are 

anticipated. 

Agricultural No Yes Irretrievable impacts could include the loss of agricultural crop 

production for the season during construction in impacted areas. 

No irreversible impacts are expected. 

Wildlife (terrestrial 

and aquatic) 

Yes Yes Removal or disturbance of habitat could create irreversible and 

irretrievable impacts. Aquatic habitat could be irreversibly affected 

at the Hams and Blacks Fork (RP 18.9) crossings. 

Cultural Resources Yes Yes Removal or disturbance of previously unidentified cultural 

resources would result in irretrievable and irreversible loss of data. 

Land Use Yes No Public access patterns would be maintained. Land use required 

for the operation of the pipeline would be an irreversible impact. 

Social and 

Economic 

No Yes There would be increased use of local contractors during 

construction of the pipeline. Non-local workforce would impact 

infrastructure resources. This represents irretrievable loss of 

workers and infrastructure during the construction phase. 

Air Quality No No Project emissions would not exceed federal or state air quality 

standards. Air quality would return to existing conditions after 

completion of the project. 

Transportation No No Short-term obstruction or temporary disruption to local roads 

would occur during construction along new pipeline segments. 

There would be no long-term impacts to transportation. 

7-1