Michigan, Ohio residents ask for revocation of Rover pipeline permit.
ANN ARBOR, MI – Groups of Michigan and Ohio residents are banding together to ask the Army Corps of Engineers to revoke a permit for the Rover gas pipeline project, under construction by the same company that built the Dakota Access pipeline.
A gas pipeline company is closer to constructing in Lenawee, Washtenaw and Livingston counties, but must complete tree clearing by March 31 to preserve an endangered bat.
Opponents of the pipeline are looking to have the Army Corps revoke ET’s blanket permit for construction, citing horizontal directional drilling practices that have damaged wetlands and killed aquatic animals at water crossings in Ohio.
According to the letter submitted to the Army Corps May 31 by Lodge and Talbott, the ET Rover project was cited for 18 pipeline-related spills in Ohio with most involving water pollution within the first two months of construction.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) halted any new work involving horizontal directional drilling on the pipeline on May 10 in a letter to ET.
"We’ve been trying to understand the pipeline and the process and the FERC process, and the environmental impact and what it means for our local communities," Rowley said.
Another letter calling for the withdraw of the blanket permit was sent to FERC, in addition to the Army Corps, Rowley said.
Removal of the blanket permit would require the company to seek site-by-site drilling permits, and likely delay construction of the ET Rover pipeline.
Rowley, who has been monitoring the project since 2014, said he hopes Rover pipeline construction into Michigan is halted for good.