Energy infrastructure giant Kinder Morgan is seeking approval to replace its pipeline under the Detroit River and could start construction next summer.
The Utopia Project, which starts in southeast Ohio and stretches to Windsor, will carry ethane or an ethane-propane mix which is a byproduct of natural gas extraction. Often it is flared off.
Fore said the company has been using the existing pipeline without incident for half a century. While it used to send propane, last January the company started sending ethane to Nova Chemicals in St. Clair Township, near Sarnia. Kinder Morgan owns the pipeline, but Nova Chemicals owns the ethane and will use it to make plastics.
"We're calling it a maintenance project because we're replacing an existing pipe with a new pipe of similar size," said Fore. "The pipeline is 60 years old. We've just built a major pipeline, so it's a good time for us to this maintenance project."
Once it has approvals from the National Energy Board, the City of Windsor and the province of Ontario, construction is expected to start in July 2019. Drilling is expected to take two to three months, and the new pipeline could be in operation in October.
Fore said it will not impact shipping on the Detroit River or recreational activities.
"It'll be done through a horizontal directional drill process, and what that means is, it will never impact the water itself," explained Fore. "We'll have a drill on both sides of the river. Drill under the river. So, if you are fishing or boating, or any ship traffic out there; they'll never see any activity in the water."
The pipeline will be buried 12 m below the bottom of the river, underneath the existing pipe. The work will be carried out near the shoreline on both sides of the river.
Fore called it the least-impactful method on the environment.
The $6.5 million project will use Canadian pipe and employ unionized workers from Canada.