CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The developers of the Rover Pipeline may wind up paying a $430,030 penalty over an alleged pattern of environmental violations.
A proposed consent order between Rover and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection became public today.
MORE: Read the consent order for Rover Pipeline.
It goes out for a public comment period that lasts until July 13. People can submit comments to WVDEP via email at dep.comments@wv.gov
Construction of Rover Pipeline is almost complete, the company reported last month.
The 713-mile Rover will transport gas from processing plants in West Virginia, eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania to the Midwest Hub near Defiance, Ohio.
From there, 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 other 32 percent will be delivered to markets in Michigan.
The Rover Pipeline has been the subject of two cease and desist orders, which are issued to violators or responsible parties to get into immediate compliance.
Numerous inspections of the Rover Pipeline, dating back to April 2017, resulted in notices of violation.
Such notices don’t necessarily lead to a monetary penalty. But a monetary penalty may be considered appropriate for certain types of violations, depending on severity or an extended pattern.
Consent orders with monetary penalties normally take longer because there is discussion with the violator over findings of fact and discussion on the plan of corrective action.
If the comment period results in a change to the order, the agency would typically present that change to the responsible party for their consent.