Dakota Access firm told to stop work on pipeline after contaminating water

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

The firm behind the Dakota Access Pipeline has been ordered to stop work for a second time on another controversial project.

The $4.2 billion Rover natural gas pipeline has been contaminating water in West Virginia, according to a cease and desist order issued by the state's Department of Environmental Protection. Dozens of photos attached to the document, a copy of which was published by The Charleston Gazette-Mail, show problems at numerous streams, creeks and other waterways.

"We are complying with the DEP, and have stopped construction at the areas noted in the order. We do not anticipate any changes to our timeline," a spokesperson for Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind Dakota Access and Rover, told Reuters.

The state of Ohio previously fined Energy Transfer for spilling more than 2 million gallons of drilling fluids in wetlands. And the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ordered the firm to stop engaging in horizontal directional drilling at certain sites. Incidentally, that was the same type of drilling used complete the final portion of Dakota Access in North Dakota.

But the problems don't end there. Energy Transfer has been less than truthful about other types of activities in Ohio, The Wierton Daily Times reported, citing another document from FERC.

In the July 13 notice of alleged violations, FERC staff said "Rover falsely promised it would avoid adverse effects to a historic resource that it was simultaneously working to purchase and destroy." Energy Transfer purchased and then demolished the Stoneman House, which was built in 1843, last year, The Canton Repository reported.

The firm subsequently agreed to pay $2.3 million to the state to address the incident, the paper said.

The 713-mile Rover pipeline runs through West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan. A portion also runs through Pennsylvania.

Read More on the Story:
DEP orders halt to Rover Pipeline construction (The Charleston Gazette-Mail 7/25)
ETP's $4 billion Rover line hits another snag, this time in West Virginia (Reuters 7/25)
W.Va. DEP Orders Rover Pipeline to 'Cease and Desist' (West Virginia Public Broadcasting 7/25)
Road’s been rough for Rover Pipeline (The Wierton Daily Times 7/25)
Rover Pipeline project: 1st line constructed, 2nd could be delayed by federal order (The Richland Source 7/25)