NEXUS pipeline on track to begin transporting gas soon

SANDUSKY — With lots of construction visible in Erie County, NEXUS natural gas pipeline officials said they expect to be in operation by the third quarter of this year.The Register photographed construction taking place near U.S. 4 and the turnpike and asked NEXUS spokesman Adam Parker for an update."Construction of the NEXUS project remains on track for an in-service late in the third quarter of 2018. In Erie County, pipeline construction activities include pipe stringing, welding, weld inspections and coating," Parker wrote in an email to the Register.The NEXUS natural gas pipeline, 255 miles long and 36 inches wide, will run from Kensington in southeast Ohio through to Michigan, including portions of Erie County in the Berlin Heights and Milan areas and portions of Sandusky County. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved construction of the pipeline in August 2017.NEXUS officials have turned down the Register's request for a tour of one of the construction sites."To ensure safe working conditions for our crews, we try to minimize distractions on the right of way whenever possible," Parker wrote.NEXUS officials have said that if the pipeline were in operation in 2018, revenues could begin arriving at local school systems by 2020.The biggest potential windfall would go to Margaretta Schools, which would get an estimated $6,249,000 in the first year of funding, with smaller but still substantial payments in later years.Other potential big winners from pipeline revenue are Edison Schools, $3,671,400 the first year; Perkins Schools, $1,486,900; EHOVE, $735,200, and Erie County, $870,500.Diane Keegan, treasurer for Margaretta Schools, told the Register in early May that state officials have told the school district not to put the pipeline revenue estimates into its five-year forecasts. A cut in state aid is expected to offset some of the pipeline money, she said."It's one of those things you never know until it actually hits," Keegan said.In his remarks to the Register, Parker emphasized that the pipeline will produce a lot of money for Ohio school districts."In its first five years of operation, NEXUS is estimated to generate a cumulative tax revenue of $390 million dollars, of which approximately $116 million is estimated to support local school districts in Ohio. According to an economic study performed by Economic & Policy Resources, the construction phase of the project will generate 5,325 jobs and $565 million in wages in Ohio," Parker wrote.Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.Crews work on the NEXUS natural gas pipeline near U.S. 4 and the turnpike in Sandusky on Wednesday, July 25, 2018.NEXUS natural gas pipeline construction near U.S. 4 and the turnpike on Wednesday, July 25, 2018, in Sandusky.Crews construct the NEXUS natural gas pipeline near U.S. 4 and the turnpike on Wednesday, July 25, 2018.