November 12, 2015

Coming Together To Build Our Energy Future

This week, Danny Hendrix, Business Manager of Pipeliners Local 798 and member of the Coalition for the Expansion of Pipeline Infrastructure (CEPI) was published in the Detroit News. In the piece, Hendrix highlights the diverse partnership of labor unions, business groups, rural farms, and trade associations that has come together in support of expanding critical energy infrastructure across Michigan and Ohio.

Hendrix notes, “Pipelines are the safest means of transporting natural gas and they don’t interfere with our existing infrastructure. Our region and county already have large natural gas pipelines which safely cross sensitive rivers, streams, pastures, and mountains. Each year, pipelines safely carry more than 14 billion barrels of crude oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, and most of us don’t even give them a passing thought.”

Furthermore, Hendrix says that, “Upgrading and expanding our pipeline networks in Michigan and Ohio can help create thousands of new, high-paying jobs, generate significant economic activity and expand the local tax base. With every $1 billion invested, hundreds of thousands of workers are employed to explore, produce, transport and distribute the natural gas. Millions of dollars in new equipment sales can be attributed to the recent boom in natural gas production and transportation.”

The benefits of pipeline projects aren’t just limited to job creation Hendrix writes, noting that “Both Michigan and Ohio will collect hundreds of millions in new tax revenues yearly for states and counties along the route, funding our schools, public works projects, and other local needs.”

Click here to reach Danny Hendrix’s full opinion piece on the Detroit News.