Filing a violation complaint is simple, fast, and can be done anonymously. Not sure if what you see is a violation? Read the filing instructions and examples of violations and then fill out and send the one page PDF form.
Photo taken by an observant resident August 2017 in Putnam Township, Livingston County, MI
Is the problem too urgent to send or email a form?
How can this be safe?
Letter sent to FERC 6/29/17: Rover is requesting that FERC lift the ban on Horizontal Directional Drilling, the same procedure that caused an "inadvertent return" of more than 5.000.000 gallons of drilling fluid in Ohio. If the ban is lifted, the Portage River/Hell Creek site just north of Silver Lake, and on the misroute, will undergo HDD. If a similar spill occurs at Hell Creek, the potential is high that much of the Huron River Watershed could be affected, including the drinking water of the City of Ann Arbor.
The Silver Lake community including the YMCA Camp Birkett, Pinkney Recreation Area State Park beach, Crooked Lake campground, Post 46 Hunt/Fish Club, and more than 90 residences are inadvertently entrapped by an apparent misroute of the Rover pipeline. All three access roads to the residential neighborhoods and this popular recreation spot are cut off by the lake-hugging Rover pipeline route.
The new route does not allow for emergency access should there be a pipeline catastrophe. The route that was recommended by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in their Final Environmental Impact Statement in July 2016 did provide access. Further, there will be no odorant in this section of the pipeline.
Please take two minutes to fill out this form now: http://bit.ly/FERC-HALT-construction-NOW-pending-investigation
May 24, 2017: Detroit Free Press - Activists ask feds to halt ET Rover pipeline over environmental concerns by Jennifer Eberbach
The hearing was held on Thursday, May 25, 2017 to consider the nominations of Mr. Dan R. Brouillette of Texas to be Deputy Secretary of Energy, and Mr. Neil Chatterjee of Kentucky and Mr. Robert F. Powelson of Pennsylvania to be Members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. An archived video is available on the committee’s website.
"Neil Chatterjee is Sen. Mitch McConnell’s energy adviser, and Rob Powelson is a Pennsylvania utility commissioner. Expect fossil fuels to have their say in federal grid policy." , says Jeff St. John in GreenTechMedia.
Stay vigilant, Michigan, Rover's creeping north toward you.
Quoted from: "Oil and Gas Journal"
Ohio EPA concerns lead FERC to partially halt work on Rover Pipeline
WASHINGTON, DC, May 12, 2017 By Nick Snow , OGJ Washington Editor
"Letter to Rover Pipeline
In its May 5 letter to Rover Pipeline, Ohio EPA ordered the company to immediately implement a release prevention and emergency contingency plan which it submitted for review and the agency approved on Apr. 29.
It also required Rover to submit a wetland restoration plan for affected areas Ohio EPA identified within 30 days, submit a notice of intent to acquire coverage under an Ohio EPA stormwater construction permit within 7 days and submit a stormwater prevention plan for review and approval within 14 days, and pay $431,000 to settle Ohio EPA’s civil penalty claims within 30 days.
In his May 10 letter to Mahmoud, FERC Energy Projects Office Director Terry L. Turpin said that the federal energy transportation regulator was ordering Rover Pipeline to not commence new HDD activity after 2 million gal of bentonite slurry leaked onto Category 3 wetlands adjacent to the Tuscarawas River in Stark County, Ohio, on Apr. 13.
He said after FERC staff members reviewed information from the compliance monitor, drilling logs, geotechnical bore logs of the subsurface geology, and staff’s onsite inspection, they found returns of drilling mud were absent or intermittent during the nearly 3 weeks that the pilot drill, the 30-in. ream, and the 40-in. ream were completed.
“During this period of absent (or intermittent) returns to the drilling rig, Rover continued to advance the drilling activities,” Turpin said.
Based on this information—as well as the volume, extent, and condition of drilling mud in the wetland—FERC’s staff had serious concerns about the incident’s magnitude, which was several orders greater than other documented HDD inadvertent returns for the project; its environmental impacts; the lack of clarity regarding underlying reasons for its occurrence; and the possibility for future problems, he told Mahmoud.
“Given that the site of the release extended near, and extended over Rover’s approved centerline, a stoppage of additional drilling is warranted to facilitate a review of Rover’s efforts to search for and locate any potential releases,” Turpin said."
Read an article about the group action in Inside Climate News.
In other words, "Dear Homeowners, if we make a mess it's up to you to let us know, else we will ignore it until all the damage is done."
But in the Ohio spill's case, they waited THREE WEEKS before stopping the spill.
(unattended fire, Rover equipment being used outside of easement, etc.)
Otherwise, contact the appropriate entity below to register your complaint. Keep this list handy: Click here to print pdf.
Click here for a watchlist of pipeline violations and here for the Army Corp of Engineers Violation Complaint Form.
To help us keep track of Rover’s violations, please also send a copy of your complaint to overwithrover@gmail.com .
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mike Gray 231-392-2589 mike.gray@contractlandstaff.com 405 Little Lake Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Gretchen Krueger Gretchen.krueger@energytransfer.com
Terry Turpin, Director John Wood, Acting Deputy Director Telephone: 202-502-8700 FAX: 202-219-0205
888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426
Rich McGuire, Director Telephone: 202-502-6177 rich.mcguire@ferc.gov
Shannon Jones, Deputy Director Telephone: 202-502-6410 Email: shannon.jones@ferc.gov
Dennis Brennan 734-878-3131 ext. 113 supervisor@putnamtwp.us
Harley Rider 734-426-3767 supervisor@dextertownship.org
Environmental Assistance Center 800-662-9278
Charles Dennison, Pinckney State Recreation Area Office 734-426-4913 DennisonC@michigan.gov
8555 Silver Hill Road, Pinckney, MI 49169
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The Tuscawaras River experience in Ohio would indicate that Energy Transfer Partners is not diligent about following rules unless forced, and that FERC doesn't enforce the rules until the situation has become desperate. Our observations and reports may be needed to prevent the destruction of the Portage River/Hell Creek at the HDD site in the Huron River Watershed. After multiple legal filings imploring action, our only remaining recourse as citizens is our ability to shine a light on Rover's misdeeds.
Serious misdeeds include:
SPILLS If you see the following, or anything unusual, contact Rover’s project hotline at 1-888-844-3718
ROADS If you have reason to believe that a particular road will be used by Rover crews or machinery, we recommend photographing it now, in its original state. Then, if the crews do damage the road, it will be helpful to have these "before" and "after" photographs as proof of the damage. If you see trucks or heavy equipment damaging roads:
TREES For ecological reasons, Rover is prohibited from clearing trees anywhere along the pipeline route after March 31. If you observe Rover clearing trees after March 31:
BURNING BRUSH Rover has already been cited for burning without permission near homeower’s property. If you see burning activity contact the property owner to confirm permission has been given and proper permits obtained. If either has not, contact the authorities immediately.
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HERE IS WHAT YOU DO - other than helping shovel the spilled drilling clay...
Call our elected representatives to make sure they understand what is at stake with FERC. Click here for Senator's phone #s and questions to ask. You can call up to 6x/day!
And, while you're conversing with them, it wouldn't hurt to mention your personal experience with ET Rover.
WATCH FOR STORMWATER OVERFLOW
Farmers in Ohio are are wary of more Rover errors, and so is the Ohio EPA. They are updating their administrative order for Rover to pay $714,000 in response to damage caused in the first several weeks of construction.
MYTH: The Rover pipeline is a done deal and there is nothing you can do about it.
TRUTH: You have a voice, and your voice counts... when you use it!
Read the article to the right to learn more about Rover's hiring county deputies to protect themselves from whom... ? US, the landowners.
Get a view of Rover's road - after the trees come down and are dragged away.
Jennifer Eberbach, Livingston Daily
March 27, 2017 6:04 a.m.
Sections of this pipeline will be routed under the Portage Creek, Various watersheds and private properties surrounding the Portage/Huron Watershed.
Citizens have not been made fully aware of this potentially hazardous pipeline and the dangers this could cause.
This site acts as an information exchange between residents and concerned citizens.
NEXT MEETING:
Friday, May 19, 4:30pm, Downtown Pinckney at the Gazebo
For more information about our group, ways you can help, and upcoming meetings:
https://www.facebook.com/ETRovergohome/
Contact us directly: overwithrover@gmail.com and etgohomepinckney@gmail.com
There are three ways every citizen can make a difference:
First, and most important, *stay informed* about the progress of the pipeline and your rights as a citizen.
Second, *be vocal* about what is important to you.
Third, make a *tax-exempt donation* to our extraordinary legal team.