Written by Chloe Marie –
Research Fellow
This
article is intended to provide an overview of the current status of the Rover
Pipeline project as well as a review of recent legal developments related to
construction activities in the project.
Overview
of the pipeline project current status
The
Rover Pipeline is a 713-mile new project designed to carry 3.25 Bcf per day of natural
gas produced from the Marcellus and Utica Shale areas to markets in the
Midwest, Northeast, East Coast, Great Lakes, and Gulf Coast regions of the
United States as well as Canada. More specifically, 68% of natural gas produced
will be shipped to U.S. markets via interconnection points located in West
Virginia, eastern Ohio, and Midwest Hub facilities near Defiance, Ohio. The
remaining 32% will be sent off to markets in Michigan and on to the Dawn Hub in
Ontario, Canada, through the existing Vector pipeline.
Rover
Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, is responsible for the
construction and operation of the Rover Pipeline. On February 20, 2015, Rover
Pipeline LLC filed an application for construction and operation of the Rover
Pipeline project pursuant to Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act. The Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted such application through the
issuance of a Certificate of Public Convenience
and Necessity
dated February 2, 2017.
In
July 2016, FERC released a Final Environmental Impact
Statement and
concluded that approval of the Rover Pipeline project would create adverse and
significant environmental impacts; however, these impacts could be reduced to
acceptable levels through the implementation of mitigation measures that were
suggested by FERC staff.
Several
other permits necessary for the construction and operation of the Rover Pipeline
project have been issued by various federal, state, and county agencies including
the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, West Virginia
Department of Natural Resources, West Virginia Division of Culture and History,
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania
Fish and Boat Commission, Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission,
Washington County Conservation District, Ohio Department of Environmental
Protection, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio State Historic
Preservation Office, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Michigan
Department of Natural Resources, Michigan State Housing Development Authority,
and several County Drain Commissions in Michigan. For more information on these
approvals, please see the following link.
According
to Rover Pipeline LLC, the Rover Pipeline is expected to be fully operational
in the second quarter of 2018; however, recent legal challenges may delay such
expectation.
Overview
of the current legal developments
On
April 13, 2017, Ohio EPA recorded a spill incident that occurred in Stark
County, Ohio, resulting from the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) process
on the Rover Pipeline project. This incident involved 2 million gallons of
bentonite-based drilling fluid spilled into wetlands by the Tuscarawas River.
Consequently, in a letter dated May 10, 2017, FERC ordered
Rover Pipeline LLC to interrupt further horizontal directional drilling where
drilling activity had not yet started. FERC stated that its staff would review
Rover Pipeline LLC’s plan of action to prevent further incidents.
On
May 26, 2017, Ohio EPA found detectable levels of diesel fuel contamination
near the Tuscarawas River. Despite concluding that the diesel fuel
contamination did not represent any danger to human health and the environment,
Ohio EPA determined that concerns remained over the potential long-term
environmental impacts resulting from the presence of the diesel fuel.
Therefore, FERC informed Rover Pipeline LLC in a follow-up letter dated June 1, 2017, that it would
analyze “the underlying facts that led to the presence of petroleum
hydrocarbons in the drilling fluid.” On September 18, 2017, FERC granted permission for Rover Pipeline LLC
to resume construction.
On
September 22, 2017, Ohio EPA issued a notice of violation #13
reporting another illegal discharge of soap wastewater used in the
company’s boring operations into a tributary of Irish Creek, Loudon Township,
Carroll County. Ohio EPA stated that “approximately 500 feet of waterway was
impacted by the spill requiring 6,000 gallons of water to be recovered by
vacuum truck.”
On
November 3, 2017, Ohio Attorney General Michael DeWine filed a lawsuit against Rover Pipeline, LLC, on
behalf of Ohio EPA alleging that Rover Pipeline LLC “illegally discharged
millions of gallons of drilling fluids to Ohio’s waters, causing pollution and
degrading water quality on numerous occasion and in various counties across the
state” throughout the pipeline construction. Rover Pipeline LLC was asked to
comply with Ohio EPA-approved plans to prevent water quality pollution and
degradation and implement mitigations and relief measures. If it failed to do
so, Rover Pipeline LLC would be mandated to pay a $10,000 fine per day of
violation.
On
November 24, 2017, Ohio EPA identified various spill incidents during the
period from September 26 through November 16, 2017 and thus issued another notice of violation #19. The agency declared that the
recurrence of such incidents is “completely unacceptable;” and in a letter dated November 22, 2017, Ohio EPA
mandated Rover Pipeline LLC to develop a plan of action to prevent further
incidents resulting from the company’s Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)
activities.
In
January 2018, Ohio EPA claimed another spill incident near the Tuscarawas River
associated with the pilot hole installation in Stark County and requested Rover
Pipeline LLC to halt its drilling activity. On February 6, 2018, FERC approved Rover Pipeline LLC’s revised
drilling plan and allowed the company to resume its HDD activities.
On
March 5, 2018, West Virginia DEP ordered Rover Pipeline LLC to “immediately
cease & desist any further land development activity” pending review of the
company’s compliance with the terms and conditions of the Water Pollution
Permits and relevant laws and rules. This order is the result of multiple
environmental violations in the state relating to water quality and
protection.
Stay
tuned for further legal developments!
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