A pipeline project that will mean jobs, wages and tax revenue for Columbiana County has been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

The NEXUS pipeline is a two billion dollar, two hundred and fifty-mile project that will carry natural gas from Columbiana County to Michigan and Canada.

It will pass through four townships in Columbiana County. Franklin, Hanover, Knox and West Township. There's been no local opposition to the project because it's mostly flat farmland. "That's the end townships out there and that's mostly rural areas," said Columbiana County Commissioner Jim Hoppel.

For Ohio, the project is expected to generate more than 5,000 jobs, $565 million in wages and $390 million in local tax revenue.  The economic impact in Columbiana county shows some impressive numbers for just the first five years.

Countywide it brings in about $33 million. United Local Schools share will be more than $18 million, and the Career and Technical School will gain $1.7 million. 
Building the pipeline will mean work for welders, laborers, operating engineers, and Teamsters.

"There'll be hundreds, literally hundreds, of union people covering those four trades," Building Trades President, Rocco DiGennaro said.  Other trades will be needed to construct five compression plants along the pipeline in Ohio.  And it won't be seasonal work that stops in the winter.

"These projects,  typically once they start they go continuously until they're completed. That means we work twelve months instead of nine," DiGennaro said.

 
When completed the pipeline will be capable of carrying 1.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.