The Path Forward for Pipe Bursting Asbestos Cement Pipe

The city of Casselberry completed its $10.3 million asbestos cement (AC) pre-chlorinated potable water main pipe bursting project in April of 2014, which replaced approximately 56 kilometers (35 miles) of AC pipe. City staff has worked closely with the contractor, engineers, and regulators from the local to federal government to fully understand the applicability of the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) to pipe bursting of asbestos cement pipe. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and industry representatives have recognized the need to understand the potential environmental impacts of AC pipe rehabilitation and commissioned a study to determine those impacts. The environmental impacts of pipe bursting AC pipe have been analyzed with the Casselberry Water Quality Improvement Project as its pilot project. Results of the study indicate that bursting AC pipe is environmentally friendly while providing the option to rehabilitate the existing pipeline in place. This paper will present the results of impact study of pipe bursting AC pipe while clearly describing how to burst AC pipelines and meet all existing regulations. This paper will also describe the challenges and successes of implementing a pipe bursting project, from field application of pipe bursting technology to working directly with regulators and right-of-way controllers who may be skeptical about pipe bursting AC pipe. A potential path forward through submission of a potential Administrator Approved Alternate to EPA that accepts a streamlined AC pipe bursting process will also be presented.