Introducing Bentonite into the Environment in the Construction Stage of Linear Underground Investment Using the HDD Method

The study discusses the issue of introducing drilling fluid (bentonite) into the environment during the construction of linear underground investments, considering the example of the construction of the high-pressure gas pipeline, Czeszów—Kiełczów DN1000, which involved the use of the Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) method. The analyses concern the drilling stage as a low-waste technology, indicating the use and management of bentonite drilling fluid in a closed circulation cycle in the area of Pęciszów, poviat Trzebnica (Poland). The loss of drilling fluid in valuable natural areas during the construction stage of the gas pipeline has been analyzed. Drilling fluid is an element of the horizontal directional drilling technology (HDD). The analyzed area included a section of the route of the strategic gas pipeline, realized in June–July 2017 in an area of lowland ash and alder forest 91E0-3, a probable breeding site of the Bluethroat for a detailed description and common frog. The loss of the drilling fluid used in the drilling phase has been determined, depending on the type of soil and the related fraction as well as the possibility of treating the drilling fluid used to construct the drilling.