In a letter issued late on Monday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) lifted the moratorium on horizontal directional drilling in certain segments along the Rover Pipeline construction route. Nine crossings were referenced in the moratorium, and Rover can resume drilling in all locations. This comes after months of the project being delayed, slowing its progress and preventing the much needed pipeline infrastructure from coming online and helping transport domestically produced natural gas across the country.
As Natural Gas Intelligence writes,
“Rover has demonstrated sufficient progress on the required rehabilitation and restoration of the areas affected by the inadvertent release and drilling mud contamination,” FERC wrote. “Rover has also developed and filed specific measures to address the recommendations” made by J.D. Hair & Associates Inc. following an independent review “as well as staff’s site-specific recommendations for the referenced nine crossings.”
The CEPI coalition is very excited with this new development, and we’re glad to see progress continue towards bringing the entirety of Rover online as soon as possible. The first section came online just a few weeks ago, and is already transporting much-needed natural gas to regional markets, providing an important heating source just before the winter and helping promote America’s energy independence. We hope to see pipeline infrastructure continue to expand so we can best utilize our incredible natural resources.