Middletown pressed on pipeline issues
MIDDLETOWN » Monday night marked one year since council voted unanimously to grant the necessary easements for the Sunoco Pipeline L.P. Mariner East 2 project – and residents chose not to let the anniversary go unnoticed.
Homeowners renewed the objections they have been voicing for the last 365 days, calling on the members to schedule a town hall meeting, complete an independent quantitative risk assessment and add their names to a petition for Gov. Tom Wolf to issue an immediate safety-based halt to construction.
“We moved within the township and our house no longer vibrates,” said Allison Chabot. “I am happy to say that I no longer live on South Pennell Road and my second grader no longer has to attend Glenwood Elementary, both immediately adjacent to the pipeline construction.”
Spanning Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, Mariner East 2 is a 350-mile pipeline system slated to bring natural gas liquids such as propane, ethane and butane to the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex. Approximately 11.4 miles would be installed in Delaware County across private and public property in the township, Edgmont, Middletown, Aston and Upper Chichester, ending at the site of the company’s former refinery.
The township was paid $1.8 million for easements and rights-of-way on municipally-owned property. The land includes open space at Sleighton Park and a road 650 feet from the Glenwood Elementary School playground.
The main issue has and continues to be concern about the release of possible hazardous materials. The township recently hired Washingtonstate based Accufacts to determine specific emergencies that could occur as a result of a leak, such as potential impact areas, and establish evacuation zones and event timing. The information will be used to develop a credible emergency plan to prepare first responders and the general public for evacuation and fund the necessary infrastructure and equipment.
The firm is the third hired by the township to complete the review and resident Jim Coyne noted “your continued inaction sets a very bad precedent.”
“Council committed to doing a quantitative risk analysis verbally and in writing on multiple occasions – so be true to your word and just do it,” he added. “Common sense dictates that you can’t mitigate risks if you don’t fully understand their nature and severity.”
The petition notes Texas-based Sunoco Pipeline/Energy Transfer Partners “has taken advantage of so-called certificates of public convenience, issued in the 1930s, to claim public utility status.” It notes neither a federal nor state agency has exercised authority over the route that Sunoco selected, adding the state health and safety statute identifies the governor and all state agencies as responsible for disaster prevention.
The petition currently has more than 2,900 signatures and members of advocacy groups in Delaware and Chester counties, including the Middletown Coalition for Community Safety, hope to present it to Wolf in mid-October in conjunction with letters and postcards.
“We are asking council and the township staff, if you feel comfortable, to sign it,” said resident Bibianna Dusking. “People from Aston to Downingtown have added their names because the health, safety and welfare of Pennsylvanians is a right.”
Additional comments centered on the lack of appropriate signage at work sites, gridlock that the pipeline and other development has caused, the date when horizontal directional drilling will resume and apparent lack of benefit to the local economy. Residents noted seeing license plates near the construction zones from New York, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin and the fact the product is slated to be shipped abroad.
Tom Smith, a member of the coalition and township pipeline advisory committee, summarized the frustration.
“We are not going to accept ‘trust us, we’ve got this,’” he said. “I think it is important for the public to understand the real dangers.”
Last week residents of the Andover development filed suit in state Commonwealth Court seeking an injunction to halt construction in their neighborhood. This week work crews could be seen installing barriers between the pipeline construction and residents’ nearby homes.