On May 9, 2017, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency fined the builder of the Rover natural gas pipeline $430,000 for multiple water and air pollution violations. According to the Ohio EPA, construction of the pipeline has resulted in 18 incidents involving mud spills from drilling, stormwater pollution, and open burning. The next day, on May 10, 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a letter to the pipeline company, limiting the company’s authority to conduct horizontal directional drilling along the project until the company complies with certain measures outlined by Commission staff.
The Rover pipeline is expected to cost some $4.2 billion to construct and, once finished, will carry natural gas from West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, and eastern Ohio into Michigan.