FERC To Review Pipeline Policies in Face of Multiple Pipeline Spills
Energy Transfer Partners troubled $4.2 billion Rover Pipeline, carrying fracked gas 1150 km across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan and Canada, has had another accident with a spill of fluids into wetlands near the Tuscarawas River in Ohio.
The discharge of 570,000 liters of drilling fluids "lost down the hole" under the Tuscarawas has halted pipeline construction, at least for the time being. Three attempts to seal the hole have failed. This is the same site where more than 2 million gallons of the fluid – mixed with diesel – leaked last April and turned up in a wetland.
The state has sued Rover for $2.3 million over the cleanup costs from the first spill, after the pipeline’s owners refused to pay state fines. There’s no indication if the fluid in the latest spill contained diesel.
Energy Transfer is currently flying drones around the contaminated area to better monitor the situation.
Energy Transfer's misfortune may have consequences for the entire pipeline industry in the United States, as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently announced plans to review its pipeline policies for the first time since 1999, likely signaling more onerous regulations.