While the direct economic benefits of natural gas pipeline infrastructure – job creation, investment, and ultimately access to natural gas – are frequently discussed, one hears less about other positive impacts that extend well into local communities through which projects like the Rover Pipeline pass.
Amy Rutledge, executive director of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, and Zach Frymier, director of energy and environmental policy at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, recently took the opportunity to expound upon these benefits in an opinion editorial in the Canton Repository. Rutledge and Frymier underscore the many benefits of natural gas infrastructure for businesses and residents across Ohio:
With so much of the Rover Pipeline running through Ohio and the Hub in Defiance being such a critical part of the pipeline’s operation and functionality, nearly $135 million of the anticipated $147 million in annual property taxes will be collected by the state of Ohio.
Pipeline officials have also committed to manufacture over 75 percent of the pipeline’s materials here in the U.S., which is sure to benefit Ohio’s substantial manufacturing sector that accounts for nearly 18 percent of total output and employs over 12.5 percent of the state’s total workforce.
Incidentally, as the 8th largest consumer of natural gas in the country, Ohio businesses and residents alike will benefit from access to this new steady stream of reliable and affordable energy with which to power their homes and businesses, including the residents and businesses of Carroll County.
As Rutledge and Frymier conclude:
[W]hat is absolutely undeniable is the substantial economic impact that private industry can have once government gets out of the way. I have no doubt that the Rover Pipeline will soon prove this fact once more and become the economic savior of Ohio, Carroll County, and the amazing Ohioans residing in both.
CEPI applauds these two representatives of their respective Chambers for underscoring the many positive impacts of the Rover Pipeline, and looks forward to continued demonstrations of support for the project.