Sunoco says inactive pipe poses no threat

UWCHLAN » Although it was a case of mistaken identity, nonetheless, those impacted by Sunoco pipeline construction and operation were startled.

At first Sunoco identified an exposed pipeline near Crump Road as active but then almost three weeks later reversed course and said the pipeline was inactive.

Christina “P.K.” Digiulio discovered the exposed and rusted pipeline in water. Digiulio is a regular contributor to social media sites and has documented dozens of pipeline rallies and ongoing work by Sunoco.

She said pipeline owner Sunoco was under the impression that the exposed pipeline was Mariner 1,

a 1931, 8-inch line which ships highly volatile liquids at high pressure.

The Public Utilities Commission then notified State Sen. Andy Dinniman’s office on July 18, a day after Digiulio’s

discovery, that the pipeline was indeed active, that the pipeline builder had known about the exposed pipe for weeks and that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration had been notified.

A day later, on July 19, Paul Metro, manager of PUC’s safety division, distributed

an email, which stated the line had been abandoned. A Sunoco spokesperson said the pipeline in question had been capped and filled with grout in 2015.

“If that sounds confusing, keep in mind that it’s only the latest series of twists and turns in the ongoing saga of the Mariner

East project,” Dinniman said. “On something as serious as a hazardous materials pipeline running through a high-consequence community, the process has been riddled with mix-ups, misunderstandings, and an astonishing lack of information, transparency, oversight, and accountability.”

Township Supervisor Bill Miller said he was shocked that Sunoco hadn’t acted quicker.

“It’s surprising to me that Sunoco identified the exposed pipe during the end of June and it took 19 days until a resident discovered it and they still hadn’t answered if it was an active

pipeline,” Miller said. “To take that long to figure it out is shocking.”

Miller’s fellow supervisors Mayme Baumann and Kim Doan did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Digiulio, a regular recorder for the public record, said she doesn’t trust Sunoco.

“Every time I go out to document, I either discover something (and it’s never good) or I witness intimidation tactics towards me for documenting – which makes it appear they are hiding something,” she said. “Most good relationships are built on mutual trust and respect.

“Sunoco’s behavior and disregard for this community is disrespectful. To make it worse they have been caught in several lies, and any logical person will begin to ask themselves: How many other lies are there? Why are they always hiding under the guise of national security? What are they hiding? How safe is this really?

Sunoco has lost the trust of this community strictly due to their own behavior.”

Rebecca Britton is a township resident and member of the Uwchlan Safety Coalition. She released the following statement on Monday: “There is no reason for Sunoco to have informed the Public Utility Commission of an exposed pipe in Uwchlan Township and not investigate it properly for 19 days. Sunoco’s brazen entitlements are what continue to fuel opposition to this operator in our community. If we chalk up last week’s exposed abandoned pipe to poor record-keeping, a pattern is emerging of negligence. Even more confusing, residents are supposed to be able to trust the PA Public Utilities Commission’s ability to adequately protect us. How could the PUC leave this line exposed in a high-consequence area without coming to inspect for so long? There really are no assurances for our safety and that is abundantly clear in this latest folly. This is degrading our quality of life and faith in the regulatory process.”

Laura Ryan and her family live one house away from the exposed pipeline.

“We were aware that work was done to the 8-inch pipe several years ago, prior to changing its product to natural gas liquids, but Sunoco did not inform us that an abandoned pipe would be left in the stream bed,” Ryan said. “It is concerning that Sunoco found and reported the exposed pipe to the PUC and it took them almost 3 weeks to confirm that the pipe is inactive.

“They should know the exact location of their pipes and whether or not they are active without delay. The corroded and rusted condition of the exposed pipe also raises many questions and concerns about the general condition of the rest of the over 80-year-old pipe.

“Sunoco certainly hasn’t given us any reason to trust anything they say or to believe that they can safely operate a natural gas liquids pipeline past our neighborhoods and schools.”

Mother Melissa DiBernardino has considered pulling her kids from a school located near the ME1 right-of-way, which also contains the underconstruction ME2 and ME2X pipelines. She noted that an Aqua contractor recently struck the ME2 line after the water company said they were misinformed by Sunoco about the pipeline’s depth.

“If it took almost a month to figure this out, it seems safe to say that Sunoco has been drilling while not knowing where their own pipelines are,” DiBernardino said. “Sounds similar to when Aqua hit ME2 due to Sunoco giving 811 incorrect information.

“How is it even possible that Sunoco self-reported its own abandoned section of ME1 last month, thinking it was operational? The PUC says that because this section is abandoned ‘it’s not an issue’ when once again, Sunoco doesn’t have timely, correct information regarding their own highly volatile liquids pipeline. It’s concerning that there are many sections of ME1 that have not been replaced. Is that what they look like after 80-plus years? None of this is reassuring from a safety perspective.”

Plans call for the ME2 and ME2X pipelines to carry volatile fuels butane, propane and ethane 350 miles from Marcellus shale sites in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania to the former Marcus Hook Refinery in Delaware County. The ME1 pipeline is operational.