Lorain County residents are coming together in opposition to an estimated $1.5 billion pipeline project slated to run through the county.
At the start of the county commissioners meeting Jan. 21, county officials listened to numerous residents voice their concerns about the proposed pipeline project that would cross into 11 counties in Ohio to deliver 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas to the Dawn Energy Hub in Canada.
The NEXUS pipeline project, backed by Detroit-based DTE Energy, Houston-based Spectra Energy Corp.; and Calgary-based Enbridge Inc., calls for a 42-inch pipeline to run north of Doylestown in Chippewa Township, south of Wadsworth and northwest across Medina County through Wadsworth, Guilford, Montville, Lafayette, York and Litchfield townships before entering Lorain County.
Roughly 22 miles of the pipeline would be in Medina County.
Disgruntled by the fact that the pipeline would cut across his property, Grafton Township resident Tim Zielinski told county officials about the potential dangers of the project and urged them to take some form of action on behalf of county residents.
‘This is not your typical pipeline,’ Zielinski said. ‘If we look back, we see that pipelines smaller than this one have leaked, ruptured and exploded, causing significant damage and even death in other communities. NEXUS is going to be monitoring this pipeline from Houston. So what if something happens here? You can’t count on someone sitting in an office in Houston to protect us and help us here in Lorain County.’
Unable to do much as NEXUS is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, county commissioners said that after discussions with project officials, it seems that they are willing to work with residents to find the best possible location for the pipeline.
Conversely, however, the majority of the residents who spoke out at the meeting claimed that NEXUS hasn’t been forthcoming with information regarding the project, only adding to the frustration and worry of county constituents.
With the little information that has been released, Zielinski said 14 resolutions from municipalities across the county have been approved in opposition of the project and residents have been in discussion about initiating a grassroots consensus to show that residents are not in favor of the pipeline.
Despite hearing out the concerns of residents, Commissioner Ted Kalo said the county has little legal standing to alter the project and said it’s highly unlikely that it won’t eventually come to the county.
‘I see that the pipeline is going to come,’ Kalo said. ‘I don’t think there’s any way to stop it, but I do think we could have more discussion and share the concerns of residents with project officials.’
Open to having discussions with NEXUS officials, Zielinski added that residents in Lorain, Medina, Fulton, Lucas and Summit counties have come together as a group – the Coaltion to Reroute NEXUS, or CORN – to propose that project officials consider an engineered corridor for the pipeline so that the least amount of properties and residential community will be affected.
County officials are set to have another meeting about the pipeline with project officials Feb. 3, according to Lorain County Administrator Jim Cordes.
The meeting is not open to the public, Cordes added.
