{"id":15499,"date":"2018-05-25T10:27:17","date_gmt":"2018-05-25T14:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=15499"},"modified":"2018-05-25T10:27:19","modified_gmt":"2018-05-25T14:27:19","slug":"puc-court-shuts-down-mariner-east-1-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=15499","title":{"rendered":"PUC court shuts down Mariner East 1 & 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission judge Thursday approved state Sen. Andy Dinniman\u2019s (D-19) petition to halt operation of the Mariner East 1 (ME1) pipeline and prohibit construction of the Mariner East 2 (ME2) and Mariner East 2X (ME2X) pipelines in West Whiteland Township.<\/p>\n

Reacting to the decision, a local group fighting the pipeline project,\u00a0Del-Chesco United for Pipeline Safety, called for Gov. Tom Wolf to intervene and stop construction indefinitely on the project.<\/p>\n

Dinniman, for his part, lauded the decision in a battle he has led locally \u2014 even bringing him into conflict with Gov. Wolf, who otherwise is a political ally \u2014 against a corporate powerhouse with nearly unlimited resources, Sunoco.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the beginning, we knew this was a \u2018David vs. Goliath\u2019 battle,\u201d Dinniman said. \u201cWell, in this round, David won and the people of West Whiteland and Chester County won. The order is a resounding affirmation of everything we\u2019ve been saying \u2013 the Mariner East pipeline project has potentially endangered our neighborhoods, schools, environment, property rights, water resources, infrastructure, not to mention the health, safety, well-being and very way of life in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

In siding with Dinniman, Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth H. Barnes agreed that the ongoing construction of the problem-riddled pipeline project in a densely populated, high-consequence area constitutes an \u201cemergency situation which presents a clear and present danger to life or property.\u201d<\/p>\n

The order suggests there are too many safety hazards for local residents for the project to continue without further safety tests.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rupture of a hazardous liquid pipeline at the welds of an 8-inch pipe in an HC (high consequence area) such as West Whiteland and the ignition of such a potential vapor cloud could have catastrophic results. It would be injurious to the public to not slow down this project for further safety and pipeline integrity tests and the development of as much of a public integrity management plan as possible . . .\u201d Barnes wrote in her order. \u201cI believe given the release and accident history of Sunoco, there is a grave risk to the rupture of ME1 potentially at a welded seam and that water supplies have already been damaged in West Whiteland Twp. Further contamination of public wells would endanger the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

The order must now go before the full PUC for approval. Its next meeting is June 14.<\/p>\n

Barnes sided with Dinniman and intervenors, West Whiteland resident\u00a0<\/a>Virginia Marcille-Kerslake and the Clean Air Council, on every aspect of the case, even Sunoco\u2019s attempts to argue that Dinniman lacked standing to bring the petition as both a state senator.<\/p>\n

\u201cSunoco has tried to block us, silence residents, and steamroll our communities at every turn,\u201d Dinniman said. \u201cWe saw that last summer when Sunoco contaminated residents\u2019 wells, we saw it this winter when they risked a near catastrophe on Lisa Drive, and we saw it earlier this month when they brought in a large team of high-priced lawyers to try to push myself and others out of this case. Well, the message today is: that\u2019s not going to work \u2013 not here, not in Chester County.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate the judge hearing our petition, thoughtfully considering our arguments, and coming to the right decision. This was a tremendous effort and all of our partners, including so many community organizations and impacted residents, did an excellent job,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Dinniman also thanked his attorney, Mark Freed of Curtin and Heefner LLP, as well as Marcille-Kerslake and Kathryn Urbanowicz, counsel for the Clean Air Council.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are gratified that the judge took action not only to safeguard the residents of Chester County, but also ensure that they are provided with critical information,\u201d Freed said.<\/p>\n

In the 3wake of the ruling,\u00a0Del-Chesco United made it clear they feel Wolf must take immediate action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith these safety risks to vulnerable populations well-documented, it\u2019s time for Gov. Tom Wolf to take executive action to protect the tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians in the Sunoco blast zone. Before\u2014not after\u2014a disaster occurs,\u201d said Eric Friedman, a spokesperson for Del-Chesco United.<\/p>\n

The Clean Air Council also praised the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Public Utility Commission\u2019s Order provides much-needed protection for the public from the dangers Sunoco has inflicted upon communities in Chester County and beyond,\u201d said Joseph Otis Minott, Esq., Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council. \u201cThe Clean Air Council is proud to have joined Senator Dinniman\u2019s efforts on behalf of his constituents in securing this great victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter having our concerns ignored for so long, it felt good to have the opportunity to be heard. I realized quickly at the hearing that we, as residents, know more about this project because we\u2019re doing the research, we\u2019re documenting, we\u2019re living it. I am thrilled with Judge Barnes\u2019 ruling today and thankful for Senator Dinniman\u2019s leadership,\u201d Marcille-Kerslake said.<\/p>\n

Dinniman filed the petition for interim emergency relief and a formal legal complaint\u00a0before the PUC in a rarely used process\u00a0he hoped would bring relief to residents in the pipelines\u2019 path and establish a precedent regarding the commission\u2019s jurisdiction over the placement and safety of hazardous materials pipelines.<\/p>\n

In granting the emergency petition, Barnes also ordered that Sunoco conduct extensive testing on the pipelines, including fully assessing \u201cthe condition, adequacy, efficiency, safety and reasonableness of ME1, ME2 and ME2X including but not limited to the integrity of the ME1 pipe and its welds.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, according to the order, Sunoco must conduct detailed geophysical and geotechnical testing, report its emergency response plan and how it plans to coordinate training with local, regional and state emergency response organizations, and \u201ccreate for the public an integrity management program, risk analysis and other information required to warn and protect the public from danger and to reduce the hazards to which the public may be subjected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunoco may only reinstate utility transportation of hazardous liquids utilizing Mariner East 1 pipeline upon further PUC order.<\/p>\n

Dinniman said he is hopeful that the ruling will help establish legal precedent regarding PUC oversight of pipeline safety in Pennsylvania since the Commonwealth continues to lack any regulation on the placement of intrastate pipelines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a\u00a0long battle and it\u2019s not over. However, today\u2019s ruling represents a huge step forward. While it centers on West Whiteland township, we hope and expect it to have ramifications on the entire pipeline process in the Commonwealth,\u201d Dinniman said. \u201cMeanwhile, I will continue through the legislative process to strengthen pipeline safety standards and protections throughout Pennsylvania, which in their current form are pitifully lax and inadequate as to only benefit corporations like Sunoco.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission judge Thursday approved state Sen. Andy Dinniman\u2019s (D-19) petition to halt operation of the Mariner East 1 (ME1) pipeline and prohibit construction of the Mariner East 2 (ME2) and Mariner East 2X (ME2X) pipelines in West Whiteland Township. Reacting to the decision, a local group fighting the pipeline project,\u00a0Del-Chesco United […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3162,7038,6658,1151,6659],"class_list":["post-15499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured","tag-mariner-east-1","tag-mariner-east-2","tag-sen-andy-dinniman","tag-sunoco"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15499"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15500,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15499\/revisions\/15500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}