Mariner East 2 pipeline is safe — and essential
Opponents of U.S. energy development are trying to scare the general public into believing that new energy pipelines are dangerous. In Pennsylvania, they are focusing on the Mariner East 2 pipeline.
Communities along the pipeline’s route need to understand that pipeline design has improved. Mariner East is designed to be superior to the tens of thousands of miles of pipelines that already run through Pennsylvania.
Officials estimate that Pennsylvania is home to about 60,000 miles of pipelines. Various types of lines stretch through rural, suburban and urban areas, and although the lines have met their designed purpose, they do not equal the same high standards as the Mariner East project.
Today’s pipeline construction technology is remarkable. The materials have never been stronger, and high-tech safety features are built into each line.
The Mariner East pipeline is being laid through horizontal directional drilling (HDD). Directional drills bore deep beneath the surface and tunnel under the ground, leaving the surface along most of the route undisturbed. Incredibly strong, high-tech pipes are then inserted into these tunnels.
Federal Department of Transportation regulations require pipes to be 30 inches below the surface in rural areas and 36 inches in urban areas that are not within 50 feet of a residence, industrial building or place of assembly. The Mariner East pipeline is 48 inches deep in those areas.
Mariner East even exceeds standards for HDD projects. Federal DOT regulations require HDD-drilled lines to be 48 inches below the natural bottom of water bodies that are wider than 100 feet. The Mariner East line starts at 48 inches below and goes down to at least 60 inches.
The extra depth keeps the new pipeline well out of the way of potential future surface disturbances such as construction work that might occur in years ahead. It provides an extra layer of protection, and Sunoco is doing it voluntarily.
The pipeline itself is superior to those built in the last century. A consultant’s report commissioned by West Goshen Township last year concluded that, “Sunoco’s plans exceed federal minimum safety requirements. It said the proposed 20-inch pipe would be tested to a standard beyond U.S. pipeline safety regulations, and that the type of coating to be used on the line essentially eliminates the likelihood of seam corrosion.”
The consultant’s report also found that the pipeline would have an automatic detection system that would sense ruptures and shut down the entire line if any were detected. Furthermore, operators who discover safety hazards are authorized to shut down sections of the line without waiting for a supervisor’s approval.
As an additional safety measure, Sunoco is training, at its own expense, first responders along the pipeline’s route.
Just last year, Sunoco’s Mariner Emergency Responder Outreach (MERO) program trained more than 750 first responders. The first responders are trained on natural gas and pipeline properties as well as first response protocols.
Since 2013, more than 2,350 first responders along the Mariner East 2 route have received MERO training.
After a construction halt that followed the inadvertent release of Bentonite clay, a natural and non-toxic clay used as lubricant in the drilling process, Sunoco agreed to “an extensive revised Operations Plan setting forth additional measures and controls Sunoco will put in place to ensure that all permit conditions will be followed at all times moving forward, as well as additional measures and controls that Sunoco will implement to minimize inadvertent returns and water supply incidents.”
The safety measures in place for this pipeline exceed government requirements and make it by far the safest of Pennsylvania’s thousands of miles of pipelines. At 350 miles long, the Mariner East 2 project represents a tiny fraction of Pennsylvania’s existing pipeline mileage. Its superior safety features make it a project worthy of support.
More than half of Pennsylvania households use natural gas as their home heating fuel. A safe, high-tech pipeline to increase Pennsylvania’s supply of this vital energy source is essential for the state. This project is it.