Silver Lake entrapment

Silver Lake - Pinckney Recreation Area - ENTRAPPED by Rover pipeline

We have one message to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC):

HALT CONSTRUCTION of the Rover pipeline hugging Silver Lake pending investigation of the route leaving us with NO EVACUATION ROUTE, NO EARLY WARNING ODORANT, and potentially in a new flood zone created by Rover ignoring the Silver Lake run-off stream.

PHMSA says the Silver Lake entrapment route could have a 'Guillotine' failure - "Not out the realm of possibility for catastrophic failure"

Rover has already been sent one warning for pipeline violations by PHMSA in Michigan. Read it here: PHMSA warning

If you see a violation , take a photo and file a complaint using this easy to fill in form!

Take a facebook-live walking tour of the entrapment zone (7/2/17):

North Dexter-Townhall Rd

Stinchfield Woods Rd

South Dexter-Townhall Rd

A message from the MI Citizens against Rover Pipeline:

Happy Fourth of July at beautiful Silver Lake! We want to let you know about the construction you see on the way in to beautiful SIlver Lake beach. A company called ET Rover is building a natural gas pipeline that, when finished, will have a blast radius of a half mile or more if there is a gas explosion (blasts are not uncommon).

The current route around the lake has NO EVACUATION ROUTE, and there will be NO ODORANT for early warning.

• All three entrances and exits would be impassable to the Pinckney State Recreation Area and Silver Lake in case of pipeline emergency, thus entrapping any park visitors and all residents of Silver Lake during a potentially massive and deadly explosion from leaving or emergency help from entering.

A safer route exists half a mile east of the proposed route and concerned citizens are calling for Rover to adopt this safer alternative.

WE WANT FERC TO HALT CONSTRUCTION of the pipeline pending investigation of the entrapment route.

Sincerely, Michigan Residents Against Rover Pipeline

Rover pipeline WRONG route leaves 2000+ residents and visitors with NO EVACUATION route and NO EARLY WARNING odorant.

In March of 2017 the residents of Silver Lake, Dexter Township Michigan, awoke to the harsh clamor of dozens of workmen feverishly denuding a wide swath of land just behind their homes. They were surprised to find that the incoming pipeline they had been led to believe would be collocated with a powerline at a safer distance from their homes and parks was now to hug their community. The maps that had been published in the local library and the statement made by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the Final Environmental Impact Statement all said one thing: LOCATE THE PIPELINE WITH THE POWERLINE EAST OF THE LAKE - which would avoid entrapping the neighborhoods and rec areas.

The Silver Lake route was the result of a last-minute route change, which we believe was an error on FERC's part. Problematically, the human & environmental were never fully studied and the residents were not duly notified as is required by law. Encompassed within the entrapped area:

  • Ann Arbor YMCA Camp Birkett (100+ kids and 20+ camp counselors daily every week all summer)
  • Pinckney Recreation Area including: Silver Lake Beach, parts of the Potowatami Trail, all of Crooked Lake campground (500+ parking spaces, up to 2000 people per season on any given day)
  • Post 46 Hunt/Fish Club and campground (100+ member families)
  • 90+ residences (up to 400+ people per season

But that's not what happened. Rover is ringing the Lake with back hoes, dump trucks, and digging equipment NOW. On July 4th weekend, some lake residents received a letter asking them to be the front line in observation, as indeed Rover spilled 5,000,000+ gallons of drilling mud in Ohio in April, not noticing the themselves that the spillage "encompassed a period of nearly three weeks."

Rover appears to expect the Michigan citizens to be the first line of observation for errors. We will oblige, as we learned from our Ohio counterparts who lost their pristine wetlands at the Tuscawaras River site what happens if the citizens trust Rover to watch themselves. Note that the initially cited 2,000,000 gallons in this article was later determined to be 5,000,000, some of which was contaminated with toxic diesel fuel.

CITIZENS ASKED TO BE VIGILANT AGAINST ROVER MISDEEDS

Rover appears to expect the Michigan residents trapped in the Rover-zone to be the first line of observation for errors.

Residents received a letter from Rover on July 1st, 2017 (Rover did not date the letter), asking them to be vigilant for spills.

We will oblige, as we learned from our Ohio counterparts who lost their pristine wetlands at the Tuscawaras River site what happens if the citizens trust Rover to watch themselves.

Calling Rover is NOT enough, however, as Rover has some history of ignoring spillage, for over 3 weeks. Note that the initially cited 2,000,000 gallons in this article was later determined to be 5,000,000, some of which was contaminated with toxic diesel fuel. In this letter from FERC on May 10, 2017, it is noted that the spillage continued for OVER THREE WEEKS before Rover put a stop to it.

Print the MI Handy Pipeline Contact List below to know who to call.


POTENTIAL VIOLATIONS AND REPORT FORM

The following Pipeline Construction Violation Watchlist is borrowed from folks in Florida who were besot with the Sabal Trail pipeline --- Rover in Ohio and Michigan has all the same potential problems, and has already been served with multiple violations (including a 5,000,000 gallon spill). If you see ANY of these violations, first take a photo noting the exact time and location, and then fill out the Army Corps of Engineer violation Complaint Form (link below on right).

If you have photo documentation of an apparent violation and you do not feel comfortable filling out the form, email your evidence to overwithrover@gmail.com for help.

DO NOT ENTER THE ROVER EASEMENT TO OBTAIN PHOTOS. We citizens must observe all laws and regulations at all times.

Rover misbehaving? Let authorities know!

CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY IF YOU SEE SOMETHING THAT ENDANGERS HUMAN LIFE

(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 .

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rover – Senior Right of Way Agent (please note that different landowners may have different agents)

Mike Gray 231-392-2589 mike.gray@contractlandstaff.com 405 Little Lake Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48103

Rover - Community Affairs representative

Gretchen Krueger Gretchen.krueger@energytransfer.com

FERC’s Office of Energy Projects

Terry Turpin, Director John Wood, Acting Deputy Director Telephone: 202-502-8700 FAX: 202-219-0205

888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426

FERC’s Gas Environment and Engineering

Rich McGuire, Director Telephone: 202-502-6177 rich.mcguire@ferc.gov

Shannon Jones, Deputy Director Telephone: 202-502-6410 Email: shannon.jones@ferc.gov

Putnam Township Supervisor

Dennis Brennan 734-878-3131 ext. 113 supervisor@putnamtwp.us

Dexter Township Supervisor

Harley Rider 734-426-3767 supervisor@dextertownship.org

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

Environmental Assistance Center 800-662-9278

Michigan DNR

Charles Dennison, Pinckney State Recreation Area Office 734-426-4913 DennisonC@michigan.gov

8555 Silver Hill Road, Pinckney, MI 49169

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The most important advice is to document everything: pictures, video, written correspondence.

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

  1. Unusual seeping of non-toxic clay and water slurry on the surface of the ground
  2. Discoloration of surface water in any areas near to Rover activity

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:

  1. "Get pictures, especially if they can be of license plates on vehicles. Damage and the wrongdoers, who could possibly be improperly using overweight vehicles for the roadways under assault, have to be identified before they disappear."
  2. Then report the damage to the county Road Commission. "They might not have been consulted and there may be permits that would have been required."

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:

  1. Document the incident in every way possible. (Photographs, get license plate #s, date and time).
  2. Contact us immediately. We will help you to report the incident to Rover and FERC, and also report it to our attorney.

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.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Click here for an extended 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 .



What did the citizens do to let FERC know that Rover was following the wrong route?

EVERYTHING POSSIBLE, including contacting Michigan's Senators, and having the Senate staff tour Silver Lake's entrapment zone.

The citizens also received a UNANIMOUS RESOLUTION from the Washtenaw County Commissioners on 6/28/2017 opposing the misroute that entrapped the Lake residents, camps, and visitors.

"There was a huge government failure here," stated Commissioner Michelle Deatrick.

FERC STONEWALL: Despite the Motions and Letters to FERC and the Army Corps of Engineers, FERC thus far has not responded to us or our Senators that the construction be halted until investigated.

Motions and letters to and from FERC:

Maps:

FERC FEIS:

  • FEIS - FERC's statement that the ITC collocation route is NOT RECOMMENDED - Page 132/481: FERC sums up the information presented regarding what is the proposed route (entrapping Silver Lake) vs. the ITC collocated route, and concludes with certainty that “collocation with the existing transmission line along this 3-mile-long segment would offer a significant environmental advantage; therefore, we recommend that: • Rover should adopt the 3-mile-long Market Segment Alternative Section 2 to collocate the proposed pipeline with the ITC corridor.“ https://www.ferc.gov/industries/gas/enviro/feis/2016/07-29-16-rover-pipeline/impact-statement.pdf

Five ways to stop that "I've been Rovered" helpless feeling:

  1. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK for info on upcoming meetings and events.
  2. Share OVER WITH ROVER on your own page, and with your elected officials.
  3. JOIN OUR LIST to get updates on ET Rover activities in Michigan.
  4. Contact us directly via email overwithrover@gmail.com or etgohomepinckney@gmail.com.
  5. No time to get involved? You can still make a TAX DEDUCTIBLE donation to our legal fund.