IEEFA: Ohio cancels permits for controversial Mountaineer storage facility
September 26, 2020 (IEEFA U.S.) ‒ The Ohio Department of Natural Resources announced it had cancelled permits for the Mountaineer storage project. The permits would have allowed Powhatan Salt Company to build solution mining wells for natural gas liquids (NGL) storage in Monroe County. The storage was intended to support a burgeoning petrochemicals industry in the region.
In a statement, Tom Sanzillo, director of finance at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said:
“In the face of having to invest more to develop the Mountaineer Storage Project the sponsor pulled the plug. This is a solid market signal that plans for a petrochemical buildout in Ohio and western Pennsylvania are on shaky ground. Local and state economic development officials would serve the public better by looking for jobs and taxes in other areas of the economy that are actually profitable and growing and can be good neighbors to the communities that host them.”
The proposed NGL facility was opposed by local community groups concerned over the project’s potential harm to the local water supply, public health and the environment.
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