Public Testifies at Public Hearing on Expansion of Sunoco’s Mariner East Pipeline

Over 100 people attended last Thursday night’s Pennsylvania DEP’s permit review hearing regarding the proposed Mariner East II project. The project would span 350-miles across 17 counties, affecting over 2,700 landowners along the way.

Many members of the audience spoke up against the proposal. “Booms are always followed by busts,” Ellen Gerhart said. “The damage caused is not temporary, it’s permanent.” Others challenged the members of the DEP in the room to re-evaluate their mission. “You are not responsible for growing jobs or growing the economy,” Terri Supowitz said. “What kind of legacy are we leaving our children?”

Although the hearing was specifically designed for comments on the Chapter 105 and 102 permits, none of the proponents of the project even mentioned the permit review process. Instead, proponents of the pipeline claimed that Sunoco is both safe for the environment, as well as for the workers commissioned on their projects, providing “family-sustaining jobs.”

We know both of these claims to be patently false. On August 12th, 2016, seven workers were injured at a Sunoco Logistics terminal in Nederland, Texas. In 2015, a construction incident took the life of one worker at the Marcus Hook refinery in Delaware, the endpoint of the proposed ME2 pipeline.

Lou Pochet of Greensburg, a former engineer, blasted the current technology used in the pipeline welding process comparing it to 19th century technology. “Inspections are too far apart and only provide a feel good result. I can promise you what happened in Salem Township was not a feel good result,” Pochet said.

The public comment period for DEP’s technical review of the Mariner East permit process ends August 24th. DEP will accept written comments up to that date. Check out MWA’s talking points document as well as Sunoco’s permit applications to aid in the comment writing process. You can also view an interactive map of the proposed pipeline route created by FracTracker and MWA.