In light of accidental discharges of drilling fluid in Ohio during construction of the Rover Pipeline, company officials filed a letter with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the additional steps that Rover is pursuing to remediate any possible effects. In the letter, Joey Mahmoud, Executive VP – Engineering with Energy Transfer Partners, details a number of measures that the company has taken to ensure that the incidental returns of drilling fluid are quickly and thoroughly addressed, underscoring the Rover team’s dedication to mitigating any potential environmental impacts. As he writes:
Environmental stewardship is a core value of our organization. We strive in all our construction projects to utilize best practices to protect the environment.
Mahmoud also goes into detail on the above-and-beyond measures that the Rover team has employed to mitigate the accidental releases of drilling fluid in Ohio, which include hiring an expert HDD engineering firm, deploying additional personnel at each HDD site, and even using aerial drones to closely monitor each site:
Rover is eager to work with the Commission and State and local officials to enhance and use best management practices to try and prevent future inadvertent returns from occurring as we complete the Rover Pipeline. To that end, Rover has taken a number of steps to help safeguard against a similar occurrence in the future. Rover has just recently retained GeoEngineers, an expert HDD engineering firm specializing in geotechnical and environmental issues.
Rover has also mobilized additional construction/environmental personnel at each HDD site to increase pedestrian surveillance for potential inadvertent returns to ensure that any inadvertent release is observed at the earliest possible time. Rover has also expanded the pedestrian inspection radius to monitor for inadvertent releases on surrounding properties, and is now deploying aerial drones to help monitor for inadvertent releases at each HDD site.
The company’s rapid response to the incidents and its ongoing communications with both the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are testament to Rover’s desire to work with authorities in attaining a solution to the incidents. The Coalition for the Expansion of Pipeline Infrastructure looks forward to a timely remediation of any affected area and a successful completion of the construction process.
Read the full letter here.