CHARLESTON, W.Va. (CN) – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection on Wednesday lifted part of cease-and desist-order against Rover Pipeline LLC, finding some violations in the fledgling pipeline project have been corrected.
The $4.2 billion, 713-mile Rover Pipeline will transport domestically produced natural gas from sites in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, among other places, to markets across the United States and Canada.
The state’s environmental watchdog issued a cease-and-desist order on July 17 after finding Rover Pipeline hadn’t implemented controls to prevent sediment deposits in unnamed tributaries of Buckeye Creek. The department also found Rover hadn’t properly installed and maintained perimeter controls, didn’t maintain all erosion-control devices at their compressor site, and allowed sediment-laden water to leave the site without going through a filtering device.
Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission banned Rover from new drilling after the release of nearly 2 million gallons of drilling fluid into the Tuscarawas River wetlands in Ohio.
Jake Glance, chief communications officer for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, declined further comment on the department’s latest action.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.