Rover Pipeline Gets Approval to Commence Construction
From The Columbus Dispatch:
Clearing land and trees for the Rover Pipeline that will bisect Ohio can begin immediately after a federal judge gave his permission Tuesday.
U.S. District Court Judge Algenon L. Marbley granted a preliminary injunction preventing landowners from stopping construction crews from entering their land. However, his ruling applies to 232 landowners who already have negotiated or are negotiating agreements with the company to be paid for rights of way to their 270 properties.
It does not give the company permission to enter the land of 21 owners of 15 other parcels, some of whom have not been properly served with the complaint.
"You just cannot take somebody's property without any notice or opportunity to be served," Marbley told Tom Zabel, a Houston attorney representing Rover. Rover's parent is Texas-based Energy Transfer.Read more here.
The Coalition for the Expansion of Pipeline Infrastructure also published the following release:
In early February, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the Rover Pipeline. In the latest development in the project’s regulatory review process, FERC granted Rover’s request to commence construction. This is an incredibly important step for the Rover Pipeline, as this critical infrastructure project progresses toward operation.
As Rich McGuire, FERC Director of Division of Gas – Environment and Engineering, writes in his letter to the Rover team:
I grant your February 3, 2017 request for Rover Pipeline LLC [. . .] to commence construction of the Rover Pipeline [. . .] This letter authorizes use of all access roads associated with the Rover Pipeline Project not previously authorized in our February 13, 2017 letter. In considering this notice to proceed, we have reviewed your Implementation Plan, as filed on February 3, 2017, and its supplements. The Implementation Plan and your supplements included the information necessary to meet the pre-construction conditions of the Commission’s February 2, 2017 Order Issuing Certificate (Order) in the above-referenced dockets. In addition, we have confirmed the receipt of all federal authorizations relevant to the approved activities herein.
CEPI applauds FERC for successfully completing its review of the Rover Pipeline project. After a two year process in consultation with a wide range of community stakeholders and industry experts, FERC has concluded that Rover will not result in any adverse impacts during its construction or operation. This brings the project closer to catalyzing a number of economic benefits for the region – from millions of dollars in investment and tax revenues to 10,000 construction jobs, and ultimately access to affordable, clean-burning natural gas.
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