Two new spills reported from Mariner East 2 pipeline
Two new spills, one each in Chester and Delaware counties, have occurred in the last 10 days in connection with horizontal directional drilling for the Sunoco Pipeline L.P. Mariner East 2 project.
Releases of bentonite, a non-toxic lubricant, follow similar incidents in Dauphin County, which the Pennsylvania Department of Environment Protection indicates violated the Aug. 9 court-ordered agreement outlining the parameters of the project. The settlement, which followed a temporary halt to the drilling, modified the restrictions for its use.
“The inadvertent returns in Dauphin County constituted violations of the permits issued to Sunoco by DEP,” said DEP Press Secretary Neil Shater.
The first local spill occurred Aug. 29 in Upper Uwchlan Township, where 50 gallons of drilling mud entered and impacted the wetlands near Green Valley Road, eventually reaching a tributary of Marsh Creek Reservoir. Four days later, the same quantity seeped into an unnamed tributary of Chester Creek near Martins Lane in Middletown. The inadvertent returns were stopped in each location and DEP has issued notices of violation in both cases.
The bentonite leaks are not the first in either county. A DEP report detailing inadvertent returns into Commonwealth waters lists 13 incidents in the southeast region since May 3, releasing 1,550 gallons in Middletown, 880 gallons in Brookhaven, 155 gallons in Upper Uwchlan and 100 gallons in East Goshen.
Sunoco is operating under the settlement reached between the company and DEP and the Clean Air Council, Mountain Watershed Association and Delaware Riverkeeper Network. The agreement, approved by the state Environmental Hearing Board, provides protection to the public regarding the drilling operation.
The settlement required Sunoco to reassess select locations before work could continue at those sites and have experts evaluate and improve drilling plans at more than 60 spots. It also mandates offers to test private water wells before, during and after drilling; give landowners 10-days’ notice prior to drilling and seek DEP approval to restart drilling at sites where spills occurred.
The first spill in Dauphin County, where 495 gallons seeped into the Susquehanna River in Lower Swatara Township, occurred Aug. 17. The DEP inspection report indicated operators resumed drilling Aug. 23, despite the fact “the original inadvertent return was never contained nor successfully recovered,” then stopped the next day, when an additional 50 gallons leaked into the waterway.
“As part of the Aug. 9 agreement, when an inadvertent return is discovered, it is supposed to be contained and remediated and the department is supposed to approve Sunoco’s actions before horizontal directional drilling operations resume,” Shader said in a statement. “Sunoco did not remediate the drilling fluids discovered on Aug. 17 before resuming operations on Aug. 23, but did cease drilling operations on Aug. 24 when the new inadvertent return was discovered.”
Sunoco Pipeline Communications Manager Jeff Shields, however, indicated the company was fulfilling the terms of the settlement.
“We are in compliance with the consent agreement,” he said.
Environmental groups, however, remain apprehensive about the operation.
“Clean Air Council is very concerned about recent reports of further spills and water contamination,” said attorney Alex Bomstein. “DEP must hold Sunoco accountable for its violations of the permits and the settlement agreement we brokered in good faith.”
The Middletown Coalition for Community Safety voiced similar issues.
“DEP has proven itself woefully incapable of managing the permits it recklessly issued to Sunoco despite egregious unresolved deficiencies in the application,” said spokesman Eric Friedman. “Given the record of Energy Transfer Partners, the coalition is unsurprised that leaks of drilling fluid continue to occur and predicts more.”
“Clean Air Council is very concerned about recent reports of further spills and water contamination. DEP must hold Sunoco accountable for its violations of the permits and the settlement agreement we brokered in good faith.”
— Attorney Alex Bomstein