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W.Va. DEP Orders Rover Pipeline to 'Cease and Desist'

Rover Pipeline
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The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection issued a cease and desist order to Rover Pipeline citing permit violations in Doddridge and Tyler counties.

The state’s regulatory agency says the company failed to properly install and maintain erosion control devices. The DEP also says the company failed to control pollutants in stormwater discharges. DEP inspectors observed and documented these violations around compressor sites and along pipelines in April, May, June and July of this year.

As a result several roads and streams have been impaired. Rover Pipeline LLC was ordered to stop all development and has 20 days to respond with plans to address violations. Company officials say construction at sites noted by the DEP has stopped while issues there are resolved, but that work continues in Hancock and Marshall counties.

The $4.2 billion pipeline, which was approved and began construction early this year, is designed to carry shale gas from this region to northeast and Canadian markets.