The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality isn't going to try to halt construction of the Rover gas pipeline near Silver Lake.
DEQ spokeswoman Melody Kindraka said the agency's engineers reviewed a request for a stop-work order due to environmental concerns and decided construction can proceed.
Terry Lodge, an attorney representing Silver Lake area residents in Washtenaw and Livingston counties, asked the DEQ this week to issue a stop-work order due to concerns that pipeline construction near the eastern and northern shores of the lake, about 12 miles northwest of Ann Arbor, will impede the lake's drainage creek system that carries water downstream into the Huron River watershed.
In an interview on Wednesday, July 12, Kindraka said the permit conditions the DEQ issued require the construction company to restore the ground to existing elevation levels after construction, so any disturbances to the Silver Lake area will be temporary and will not result in any lasting change to the drainage from the lake.
Energy Transfer Partners is building a 713-mile gas pipeline from West Virginia and Pennsylvania through Ohio into Michigan, passing through Washtenaw County on its way to Livingston County.
The project has federal approval and Energy Transfer Partners has said safety is its top priority, including safety of the environment.
Kindraka said the DEQ is aware of some of the environmental concerns regarding the Rover pipeline construction in Ohio, where there were 18 reported spills of drilling materials as of May, damaging wetlands, so the agency issued a permit with several conditions to ensure none of the problems that happened in Ohio happen here.
She said the Michigan DEQ is hoping residents can be the agency's extended eyes and ears and report anything unusual while the Rover pipeline is being constructed, such as excessively muddy water.
Residents can call the DEQ's pollution emergency hotline by dialing 1-800-292-4706.
Source: M Live http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2017/07/michigan_deq_rejects_request_t.html
