Court decision maintains Rover Pipeline tax payments to schools along route
COLUMBUS (WJER) (Aug. 15, 2025) – Some area school and government officials are breathing a sigh of relief after a recent State Supreme Court ruling involving Rover Pipeline money.
Rover Pipeline LLC was trying to cut the taxable value of the pipeline in half by appealing to the Supreme Court. That would have significantly reduced the company’s tax payments to the entities the pipeline passes through.
However, the court this week rejected Rover Pipeline’s arguments and affirmed the taxable value at about $3.7 billion.
The Tusky Valley and Conotton Valley school districts were relying on the revenue from the Rover Pipeline to fund tens of millions of dollars in school construction projects.
With the future of that revenue previously uncertain, Conotton Valley Union Local Schools tried and failed to pass a levy in November to make up the difference. Now school officials say Rover will be required to pay its full annual tax obligation and compensate the districts for unpaid taxes during the appeal process.
In a Facebook post, Tusky Valley officials said its facility upgrades – including a newly renovated elementary school and a new middle and high school – would not have been possible without the promise of Rover Pipeline money.
Rover’s pipeline is over 700 miles long and transports natural gas from shale basins in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania to markets across the United States and Canada.