Council gets update on pipeline risk assessment study

MEDIA » Council Delaware County got an update on the process for the pipeline risk assessment study Tuesday just as state Rep. Chris Quinn, R-168, of Middletown, announced a legislative hearing on Thursday.

From 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, in rooms 114117 of the Student Union Building at Penn State Brandywine, 25 Yearsley Mill Road in Middletown, House Majority Policy Committee Chairman Kerry Benninghoff, R-171, of Bellefonte, Pa., Quinn and other legislators will receive testimony about the safety concerns surrounding Mariner East 2, pipeline construction standards and state regulations in place.

Last week, the Public Utility Commission Chair Gladys Brown issued a temporary emergency order shutting down Mariner East 1 after sinkholes appeared in Chester County. Mariner East 1 is an existing former petroleum line that was refitted to run about 70,000 barrels of ethane, butane and propane daily from the Marcellus Shale region to Marcus Hook.

Mariner East 2 is a 350mile pipeline being built from the western portion of the state to Delaware County to carry more than three times as much materials. It has faced opposition from impacted and nearby landowners, due in part to various leakages and releases. Sunoco has maintained issues have been addressed as they arise and that their industry must meet a litany of regulations to proceed.

Among those expected to testify at Thursday’s meeting include: Brown herself; Eve Miari, Clean Air Council; Domenic Rocco, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; Tim Boyce, Delaware County Emergency Services; and Sam Marshall, Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania.

Boyce was at Tuesday’s Delaware County Council’s agenda meeting and gave an update on the risk assessment study the council approved to do.

He said requests for proposals were sent out on March 16 and advertised and are due back April 16, at which time firms who have met the standards will be considered to perform the evaluation that will determine the risks associated with pipelines and emergency procedures necessary to address them.

County officials said the request for proposal will also be made available on the county website.