NEXUS pipeline seems likely to be completed soon

SANDUSKY — It looks like the NEXUS natural gas pipeline may soon be in operation in Erie and Sandusky counties.Many of the remaining efforts to stop or slow it down have been turned aside, and a spokesman said the pipeline will be in operation before the end of 2018."After more than three years of public and regulatory review, NEXUS has obtained all necessary authorizations and permits necessary to begin construction and has reached mutual agreements with nearly all landowners," said Adam Parker, a spokesman for the project. "Construction activities along the route commenced in mid-October 2017. Project activities on the pipeline will generally continue in Erie County until the project is placed into service in the third quarter of 2018."There isn't much construction activity yet in Erie County, Parker said."Construction activity in Erie County is generally limited to tree felling at this time. Additional pipeline construction activities will not reach Erie County for a month or so. There will be more to see at that time," he said.The 255-mile pipeline will run from Kensington in southeast Ohio through Ohio and Michigan, including portions of Erie County in the Berlin Heights and Milan areas and portions of Sandusky County. Completion of the pipeline would generate substantial tax revenues for local governments and school districts.The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, known as FERC, must approve all interstate pipelines. In August 2017, it issued a "certificate of public convenience and necessity" giving a green light for the pipeline to be built.Last minute attempted holdups of the pipeline have not gone well for the project's foes.The city of Green in Summit County had blocked the project with a court challenge. But in early February, Green's city council voted 4-3 to drop the lawsuit in exchange for $7.5 million, 20 acres of land next to an existing park and other considerations.The Sierra Club filed a request for FERC to reconsider its decision. FERC denied the request.The Sierra Club also filed a lawsuit to try to block the project. The Register asked for an update. Cheryl Johnson, the Beyond Dirty Fuels organizer for the club, replied and said: "We lost our declarant who settled with the company. Our challenge cannot move forward."Marcellus Drilling News, a publication covering the industry, stated in a Jan. 16 article "it looks like clear sailing for NEXUS to complete their project, even with various lawsuits pending."Foes have offered the Register the same assessment.Robert Wheeler, who owns a farm near Milan in the pipeline's path, told the Register he doesn't regret trying to fight it."I would not be opposed to Nexus if it was a 12-inch gas line and helped Ohioans, but it's not. 36 inches and high pressure, just 3 percent of gas from Nexus is to be used by Ohio and over 60 percent will be shipped out of the country to Canada," Wheeler said in an email."This is not a utility that will serve my neighbors. This is not for energy independence, and this is not for national security. This is so a private half-owned foreign corporation can make millions of dollars a month, and those within a half mile, take all the risk. They have the money, and they write the rules, and they put their people in the regulatory agencies. And they can, and will, take your land for private profit. And no agency can help you," Wheeler said.Local school officials have estimated 2020 is the earliest they might start receiving revenue from the pipeline.NEXUS has provided estimates for Erie County for the first year of property tax revenues generated by the pipeline.Here are some estimates: Margaretta Schools, $6,249,000; Edison Schools, $3,671,400; Perkins Schools, $1,486,900; EHOVE, $735,200, Erie County, $870,500.The estimates for what the pipeline would produce in the first year for local governments and school districts in Erie County range from the $6.2 million for Margaretta to about $45,000 for Berlin Heights.Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.Jamie Treisch protests alongside Megan Groove in November 2016 against the Dakota Access and Nexus Pipelines in Perkins Township outside of the Ohio Veterans Home.