Michigan Forest Industry Supports the Rover Pipeline

The Michigan Forest Products Council (MFPC) stands as the number one advocate for the health and preservation of our state’s thriving forest economy. Our member companies strive daily to support and grow Michigan’s forestry industry – a business that contributes nearly $1.3 billion annually to our economy and employs over 96,000 Michiganders. Together, we produce over 4 million cords of fiber for the nation each year.

In advocating for this important sector, the MFPC focuses on three areas of industry growth: supporting our working forests, promoting business competitiveness, and ensuring the sustainability of our state’s natural forest resources. Responsible forestry must include utilizing a safe and reliable means of energy to power our logging operations, our manufacturing plants, and the livelihoods of Michigan consumers. For this reason, the MFPC is extending our full support for construction of the Rover Pipeline Project.

The Rover Pipeline is a powerhouse project that will benefit the local economy and workforce of every community it travels through. In total, the proposed project will invest over $4.2 billion in America’s economy and create over 10,000 construction jobs, including between 1,000 and 1,500 positions here in Michigan. In addition, during its first full year in service, Rover will pay $147 million in property taxes to affected states, including $6 million to Michigan. Over $124 million will be directly paid for easements to landowners as well, including owners of Michigan’s private forests – the largest proportion of the state’s 20 million acres of forestland.

As currently planned, the Rover project will construct two 42-inch diameter pipelines to deliver natural gas from processing plants in West Virginia, Ohio, and western Pennsylvania to the Midwest Hub near Defiance, Ohio. From there, gas will be delivered to markets in Michigan via an interconnect with the Vector pipeline near Livingston County. The remaining resources will be transported through existing pipelines and dispersed to markets across the country.

This increase in natural gas supplies will benefit Michigan residents and businesses on every level of the economic food chain – and particularly our state’s manufacturers. While homes and small businesses are still significant users of natural gas energy, the largest user is the manufacturing sector. In 2015, about 12% of total natural gas consumption went to commercial buildings, while nearly 17% went for residential uses. In contrast, over 27% was used for industrial purposes, including powering facilities that make paper, cabinets, furniture and other items linked to the forest products industry.

Nationwide, the forest products industry accounts for nearly 4% of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP and employs over 900,000 people at a payroll of roughly $50 billion a year. In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula alone, the forest products industry accounts for over one-third of all manufacturing jobs in the state. The natural gas supplied by the Rover Pipeline will give these Michigan manufacturers the stability and predictability they require to continue this hard work and will inevitably lower the price of forestry products for consumers.

As guardians of Michigan’s thriving natural resources and beautiful scenery, it is also essential to the MFPC that our state strive to utilize the cleanest and most dependable means of energy transportation. Underground pipelines have proven time and again to be the safest means of transporting energy products, with far fewer spillage incidents, injuries, and deaths than their truck and rail alternatives. Upon completion, the Rover will deliver 3.25 billion cubic feet of domestically produced natural gas on a daily basis and will do so safely and in an environmentally friendly manner.

The MFPC remains dedicated to its mission of educating the public about the benefits of sustainable forest management and in service to that mission are lending our support for construction of the Rover Pipeline Project. It’s a worthwhile project that is sure to create jobs, generate new tax revenues, and lower operating costs for thousands of Michigan business owners. For these reasons, the Michigan Forest Products Council encourages the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to grant final approval of this critical energy project.