Information on Landowner Access 

to Conduct Field Surveys for Natural Gas Projects

Field Surveys and Survey Access

Natural gas companies must conduct field surveys before constructing natural gas facilities to 

gather environmental and engineering information. Different types of surveys are conducted to 

aid in the project design and assess potential environmental impacts. Natural gas companies will 

try to obtain landowner permission to access the areas it is evaluating for the location and 

construction of project facilities in order to conduct field surveys. 

Typically, field surveys are conducted before a natural gas company files an application with the 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Landowners whose property may be directly affected 

or adjacent to a natural gas facility will probably first learn about the project from the natural gas 

company as it plans the project and studies potential locations. A “land agent” or other 

representative of the natural gas company will typically contact landowners to discuss

permission to conduct field surveys, the specifics of what will occur on the landowner’s property 

during the surveys, and answer any questions the landowner may have. It is important to 

understand that granting survey permission alone does not grant approval to the natural gas 

company to locate facilities on the landowner’s property or the right to use the property to 

construct the project. Until a landowner grants permission to survey, or completes an easement

agreement, the natural gas company must abide by the applicable state trespass laws. Some

states have specific legal requirements that a natural gas company must follow in seeking survey 

permission. In addition, some states have laws that allow a natural gas company to gain access 

to property for survey purposes during the planning phase of a project without permission from

the landowner.

In most instances, field surveys will cover an area much larger than the proposed workspaces for 

the project. For pipeline projects, field surveys commonly consist of a 300-foot-wide linear 

survey corridor, while the actual area needed for construction of the pipeline facility may only 

consist of a 100-foot-wide construction right-of-way and a 50-foot-wide operation/permanent 

right-of-way. This means that while a proposed pipeline’s right-of-way and construction 

activities may not be located on a landowner’s property, the landowner’s property could be 

within the field survey corridor. The wider survey corridor assists Commission staff and the 

natural gas company in assessing possible impacts on environmental features adjacent to project

construction activities. 

Types of Surveys 

Typical field surveys conducted as part of natural gas project review may include, but are not 

limited to, the following: 

• civil surveys to locate and mark the boundaries of the survey corridor and identify the 

planned facility footprint/pipeline centerline; identify the location and elevation of roads, 

buildings, streams, and water supply wells. 

• geotechnical surveys which involve borings to identify subsurface soil, bedrock, and 

groundwater characteristics. 
• cultural resources surveys to determine the presence or absence of historic and prehistoric 

objects, structures, or sites.

• wetland delineations and waters of the U.S. surveys to determine the presence or absence 

of wetlands and/or waterbodies, and map and delineate wetland and waterbody 

boundaries.

• threatened and endangered species surveys to assess wildlife and fishery habitat and

survey for individual species if suitable habitat is present.

• raptor and other migratory bird surveys to assess habitat and identify individual species

and nest sites.

• noise surveys to measure existing noise levels and identify noise-sensitive areas such as 

residences, schools, hospitals, and churches.

How FERC Uses Information Gathered During Surveys

Field surveys help identify construction constraints and sensitive features, such as structures, 

water supply wells, cultural resources, protected wildlife species, and wetlands, and provide

information to the natural gas company that can assist with routing a pipeline and developing 

mitigation measures. The results of field surveys are summarized in the natural gas company’s 

application, which is filed with the Commission, and typically provided as appendices to the 

environmental resource reports. As noted above, survey reports assist Commission staff in

considering a proposed project’s possible impacts on landowners and environmental features on 

their property. Surveys can also help guide Commission staff in suggesting route modifications 

to reduce environmental impacts. 

The Commission will assess natural gas project proposal with the best available information 

from publicly available records and databases, aerial photos, and topographic maps to design its 

project and identify environmental impacts, if the natural gas company is unable to obtain 

landowner survey access. If a natural gas company are unable to obtain landowner survey 

access, the natural gas company may have limited ability to incorporate landowner preferences 

into its project design. 

The survey reports are also important to federal, state, and local resource agencies, as well as 

federally-recognized Native American tribes and the public, in their review of a proposed 

project.