County makes legal moves before PUC hearings

WEST CHESTER » The Chester County commissioners on Thursday approved the appointment of a new law firm to handle its case before the state Public Utilities Commission in which it is seeking to halt construction and operations of the two Mariner East gas transmission pipelines through the heart of the county.

At the same time, the commissioners also formally approved the hiring of a new county solicitor who will work alongside the new outside counsel in preparation for an upcoming two-week long hearings before the PUC later this year.

The commissioners had previously confirmed that they intended to hire Deputy Attorney General Nicole McCauley Forzato to replace retired Solicitor Thomas Whiteman to run

the county’s legal office, but Thursday’s unanimous vote during a virtual commissioners’ meeting made her appointment official. She begins her role as the first female county Solicitor on Tuesday.

In appointing the Bucks County firm of Curtin & Heefner to handle its case before the PUC, the county will now draw on the resources of attorney Mark Freed, who has been a part of the litigation surrounding Sunoco’s pipeline operations in the region for years, and one who also happens to be a resident of the county and an elected supervisor in Tredyffrin.

Freed is the attorney who represents Uwchlan before the PUC in the action seeking to force Sunoco to develop and implement safety and community notification policies for emergencies along the Mariner East pipelines, and had previously represented state Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19th, of West Whiteland, in his battles against the company over the pipeline.

A former staff attorney for the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and member of the state Attorney General’s environmental crimes division in the 1990s who specializes in environmental law litigation, Freed will take over representation of the county before the PUC from attorney Margaret Morris of the Philadelphia law firm of Reger, Rizzo & Darnall.

The county ended its relationship with that firm early this month after it was uncovered by a pipeline safety activist and the county Controller’s Office that Morris had over-billed the county by more than $15,000 in her work on the PUC case in 2019. The law firm subsequently acknowledged the over-billing and credited the county $15,785 in return.

“We are very happy to be working with the county,” Freed said in a brief interview. He said he would begin working with Forzato soon to prepare for the county’s appearance at the next PUC hearing on the pipeline, which begins Sept. 28.

Laura Obenski, the Uwchlan activist whose Rightto-Know request on legal bills from Reger Rizzo brought the over-billing to light, said she was pleased by the commissioners’ decision to turn to Freed for work on the PUC case.

“I am encouraged that the county has elected to go with a firm that is familiar with the case,” she said. “I think that is a positive step.”

Mariner East 2 is a 350mile expansion of Sunoco’s current Mariner East pipeline system, designed to carry natural gas liquids from the Marcellus and Utica shale gas fields to the port Marcus Hook. Energy Transfer Partners is building and operating the controversial Mariner East project, something residents in Chester and Delaware counties have opposed for years, saying the pipeline never should have been routed through densely populated neighborhoods, in close proximity to schools and senior centers.

The county in early 2019 decided to join a lawsuit filed by residents of Chester and Delaware counties who had complained that the project lacked proper safety plans and procedures, as well as fell short of ways to notify the community about emergencies along the pipelines’ length. Others involved in the litigation include the West Chester and Downingtown school districts, and the municipal governments of Uwchlan and East Goshen

Forzato, 44, of Easttown assumes the role of county Solicitor following an almost 20-year career in law, including roles in county and state government. In addition. To her work in the criminal division of the state Attprney General’s Office, she worked as an assistant county solicitor in Montgomery County and as an assistant district attorney in that county’s D.A.’s Office.

“After a thorough search for a new county Solicitor, we are pleased to welcome Nicole to Chester County,” said commissioners’ Chairwoman Marian Moskowitz in a press release. “Tom Whiteman’s decades of service in our Solicitor’s Office, and the counsel he provided to many boards of commissioners prior to his retirement, are greatly valued. We knew that his would be a tough act to follow and are confident that Nicole’s immense experience in, and understanding of government law will serve the County of Chester and our citizens very well.”

Both Vice Chairman Josh Maxwell and Commissioner Michelle Kichline said they were excited about working with Forzato.

“Her independent legal expertise will be a benefit to the county and its employees,” said Maxwell.

“As an attorney, it has been a priority of mine to modernize our legal department and its systems.,” said Kichline. “I am very excited about working with her to upgrade our legal services.”

In addition, the commissioners approved the hiring of Tiffany Sowers, an executive with Theraplay, Inc. of West Goshen, as Human Resources Director, and the promotion of Brianne Zanin, director of the county’s Office of Open Space, to Deputy County Administrator, an assistant to County Administrator Bobby Kagel.