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Supporters call it a crucial new piece of America's energy infrastructure and a boon for consumers.

Critics say it's a juggernaut pushed through federal regulators by friends of President Bush over the objections of state and local officials, environmentalists and property owners.

The $5.6 billion, 1,679-mile Rockies Express Pipeline, or REX, soon will be under construction in Butler, Warren, Greene and Clinton counties as it makes its way from Colorado across Ohio. It's one of the largest pipeline projects in U.S. history.

"The Rocky Mountain region has not had a straight-shot connection to the eastern part of the country," said Brian Jeffries, executive director of the Wyoming Pipeline Authority, which supports the project. He said REX will be "taking a clean, domestic resource — natural gas — and connecting it to a demand."

REX, due for completion as far as Lebanon by year's end, will carry 1.8 billion cubic feet of gas per day — about 3 percent of the nation's daily usage. But despite the added capacity, local consumer bills could continue to rise as more utilities use natural gas to produce electricity.

REX officials are still clashing with homeowners, businesses and state and local officials as they begin laying 42-inch steel pipe along the Missouri-to-Ohio route. The conflicts involve some hot-button issues: eminent domain, concerns about possible contamination of aquifers and scenic rivers, and worries about the safety of the highly pressurized gas lines.

Some REX opponents say they believe the federal government was only going through the motions of listening to local input.

"It appears that this project was a 'given' from the get-go," Nancy Mowrey, who owns land along the REX East path in Warren County, wrote to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. "For me, the greatest loss through this ordeal is that I no longer believe in the American way."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2264 or

tbeyerlein@DaytonDailyNews.com.