Construction of a new natural gas pipeline will be soon commencing in Fulton County.
Rover Pipeline LLC will run from Pennsylvania through Ohio and north into Michigan and Canada and bring 3.25 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/day) of domestically produced natural gas to markets in the Midwest, Northeast, East Coast, Gulf Coast and Canada.
The pipeline will come north from Defiance County, through Henry County and up east of Archbold in Fulton County through German and Franklin townships before turning northeast through Dover and Chesterfield townships, Fulton County Engineer Frank Onweller said.
The project received a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Feb. 2.
Construction will begin locally in April or May with targeted in-service goals of July 2017 for Phase I and November 2017 for Phase II.
“The Rover Pipeline has all the permits and agreements executed,” Onweller said, “It is ready to move forward.”
Crews are in the process of removing trees along the route and pipe will begin to be laid next month, Onweller said. The construction phase should take a couple of months, he said.
Onweller could not speak to the status of easements for private properties.
While some areas, namely in Michigan, residents have voiced strong opposition to the pipeline, Fulton seems to have taken it all in stride, Onweller said. The company itself has followed proper procedures, he said.
The pipeline has an estimated $4.2 billion price tag. It will gather gas from processing plants in West Virginia, eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania for delivery to the Midwest Hub near Defiance, where about 68 percent of the gas will be delivered via interconnects with existing pipelines in Ohio and West Virginia for distribution to markets across the U.S.
The remaining 32 percent of the natural gas will be delivered to markets in Michigan through an interconnect in Livingston County, Michigan, with the existing Vector Pipeline, which has established delivery points to local distribution companies and the vast Michigan storage fields throughout the state. Additionally, Vector will transport natural gas that is not delivered to Michigan markets on to the Dawn Hub in Ontario, Canada.
The company’s website says it work with landowners to minimize impacts to the land and restoring it. State-of-the art technology will be used to promote safety.
James Pruitt may be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com
