US agency won't let company resume drilling for gas pipeline

A federal agency has told a company building a high-pressure natural gas pipeline it cannot resume drilling beneath creeks in southeast Ohio and northern West Virginia.

The Columbus Dispatch reports the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday rejected Texas-based Energy Transfers' request to resume horizontal drilling. The $4.2 billion pipeline project is being built to carry gas from Appalachian shale fields across Ohio and to other states.

A spokeswoman told the newspaper the company hopes to resolve all outstanding issues soon.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the company to pay $714,000 in civil penalties connected to problems with pipeline construction that began this year.

The state agency says at least eight violations are under review, including mud spills from drilling, storm water pollution and open burning.

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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com