Delco pipeline moratorium hurts Commonwealth
Delaware County Council late last month faced backlash from more than 100 local labor union members for a vote asking Gov. Tom Wolf to impose a moratorium on the operation of Sunoco pipelines. The resolution cited concerns over safety practices and risk management during construction and operation – despite the fact that this pipeline has undergone unprecedented regulatory review and rigorous safety inspections. I was among those union members who showed up at the council meeting to express frustration.
Among some of the union and labor groups at the protest were Boilermakers Local 13, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 654, International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 542, Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA), Steamfitters Local 420, and locals for the Carpenters, Painters, Dry Wallers, Insulators and others. This strong show of support for energy infrastructure in the state is backed by the indisputable fact that pipelines are the safest, most efficient way to transport needed energy resources.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the natural gas delivery system is the safest form of energy delivery of energy resources in the nation. Pipelines and utilities must stick to strict state and federal regulations during construction, testing and replacing of infrastructure.
Before construction even began, the Department of Environmental Protection spent more than 20,000 hours reviewing permits for Mariner East 2. Then, after a series of public hearings across the state, DEP heard and responded to 29,000 comments as part of a review process that lasted for more than three years. Even after all those hours and years of rigorous scrutiny by officials, DEP continues to work with the Public Utility Commission to ensure that regulatory standards are being met.
Sunoco also ensures safety measures are upheld when pipelines go into operation, offering awareness and emergency response training sessions with local responders, officials and excavators who work along the pipeline route. Supplemental training is also offered to the county through the Mariner Emergency Responder Outreach (MERO) program, which helps to provide further guidance on hazardous materials and public safety sources. So far the program has trained
2,350 people since 2013. Unsatisfied with the data at hand, and determined to paint energy infrastructure development in a negative light, Delaware County conducted an independent risk assessment of the Mariner East pipeline. Unsurprisingly, the report found that Mariner East is safer than other activities a majority of residents take part in every day, citing “a person is
20 times more likely to die from a traffic accident or fall from stairs and 35 times more likely to die from a house fire than from an incident involving the Mariner East 2 pipeline 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
If the operation of Mariner East pipeline is stopped, the state will be forced to resort to getting resources to market on trucks and rail, allowing a far more dangerous threat to pass through Delaware County. Case in point, the absence of a pipeline will require product be shipped through communities via the equivalent of 75 railcars or 750 tanker trucks per day, both of which pose a much higher likelihood of threat to community safety. Not to mention the obvious traffic inconvenience. Common sense would point to a pipeline as the obvious alternative. Pipeline projects like Mariner East assist in contributing nearly $44.5 billion to the state’s economy. Mariner East alone has also sparked the revitalization of the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex. Seven years ago Marcus Hook employed just 50 people at the former refinery. However the revitalization of the complex along with this project has helped to bring 5,000 employees during the construction over the last three years.
Pennsylvania’s growing energy sector provides economic and employment opportunities, giving familysustaining wages to thousands of union workers throughout the state. Union members themselves spoke to that effect during the council meeting, citing this energy infrastructure project has brought a wealth of employment opportunities for Southeast Pennsylvania’s high-skilled union workers.
The Commonwealth has the opportunity to reap great benefits via the energy sector. But only if leaders make the right call and push for the continued development of needed infrastructure, which promotes safety. Shortsighted political opportunism, in this case, is on the wrong side of economic benefit and community safety, which benefits us all.
We must stand behind our union workers and continue to advocate for vital energy infrastructure projects in Pennsylvania that we all benefit from.