County seeks injunction to halt pipeline
WEST CHESTER >> As part of a last-minute Hail Mary pass to stop the controversial Mariner East pipeline project, the Chester County Commissioners Friday filed a court injunction to stop construction on the project in two countyowned locations, including around the Chester County Library in Exton.
The petition for injunctive relief, filed in Common Pleas Court, is a bid to curtail open trench construction on county property, at both the library and in the vicinity of the Chester Valley Trail through West Whiteland, slated to start on Jan. 24.
The county announced the move in a press release issued at 4:50 p.m. Friday.
“Energy Transfer’s notice is extremely premature because it completely ignores the pending legal action initiated by Chester County against Sunoco Pipeline, LP, regarding construction of the Mariner East pipeline on County property,” said county Commissioners’ Chairwoman Marian Moskowitz. “That legal action — the lawsuit against Sunoco, LP — is currently in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas, and that is why we have filed today’s Petition for Injunctive Relief.”
In April, the county filed a civil lawsuit against Sunoco Pipeline regarding the Mariner East pipeline project. The county’s lawsuit sought to halt Sunoco from construction of the pipeline on its properties, citing changes in the nature of the proposed construction and the failure of the pipeline company to provide the county with emergency plans.
In the release Friday, commissioner’s Vice Chairman Josh Maxwell said, “In essence, through the civil lawsuit, the county is asking the court to issue a permanent injunction that prohibits Sunoco from building the ME2 pipeline on the named county land.
“This legal action is still unresolved by the court and the construction of a pipeline should not even be considered until a final ruling on the lawsuit is made.”
At issue are Sunoco’s easements on countyowned land at the Chester County Library in Exton, and on a portion of the Chester Valley Trail. More than 80 years ago, Sunoco LP’s predecessors-in-interest acquired a pipeline right-of-way over privately owned lands in West Whiteland. The county subsequently purchased portions of the land, and in February 2017, Sunoco sought supplemental easements for the properties.
Those supplemental easements required Sunoco to install its pipelines using “road bore method or horizontal directional drilling method which shall not disturb the surface of the Property,” or use the “traditional open trench method should conditions beyond Grantee’s reasonable control necessitate it.”
The easements stated that the open trench method of construction may not proceed unless Sunoco provided substantial evidence to the County that conditions beyond Sunoco’s reasonable control necessitate the use of the open trench method, or that Sunoco received written permission from the County.
“Sunoco is intending to proceed with the open trench method of installation without prior written justification or county permission, and this clearly violates the terms of the supplemental permanent easement,” said Commissioner Michelle Kichline, one of the commissioner who filed the suit originally. “The company tried to start construction this way in April of last year, which prompted the county lawsuit. How can Sunoco think that the county would acquiesce now, when nothing has changed and the lawsuit is still pending?”
The controversial Mariner East project involves several pipelines - including the still-under-construction Mariner East 2 — to transport hundreds of thousands of barrels of volatile liquid gases such as ethane, butane and propane, every day from the state’s Marcellus Shale region to a facility at the former Sunoco refinery in Marcus Hook.
The pipeline will traverse the full 350-mile width of Pennsylvania, including 23 miles through the heart of central Chester County, and another 11 miles through western Delaware County as it snakes its way toward Marcus Hook.
The project has sparked intense opposition in the community from residents opposed to the routing of the pipeline through densely populated neighborhoods and in close proximity to schools and senior centers.
The project has been plagued by spills and runoffs, while work has been halted several times by the state. Pennsylvania also has slapped millions in fines against the company, but has been unable to stop the multi-billion dollar project, which has the support of labor groups, the chamber of commerce and some public officials.
Mariner East 2, while not finished, has been put in service by using an older, existing pipeline to fill in the gaps where work has not been completed.
Jerry McMullen lives adjacent to the library and his large, colorful backyard wildlife habitat would likely be destroyed with trench digging.
“Our Commissioners are standing up for the health, safety, and welfare of Chester County. McMullen said. “Sunoco/ Energy Transfer Partners’ errors in judgement and planning have created havoc. In West Whiteland Township alone this project has contaminated wells, created major sinkholes, and forced residents to move out of their homes.
“Sunoco’s original plan to install Mariner East 2 and 2X via horizontal directional drilling in the Swedesford Road area was abandoned when our water company, Aqua, found that Sunoco’s proposal would ruin our aquifer.
“The open trench installation that has already been completed under the Exton Little League fields ignored ‘best practice’ guidelines recommended by the federal pipeline regulatory agency by placing the volatile pipelines within inches of each other and only feet below the playing fields.
“At a personal level,
Mariner East is scheduled to pass through our backyard and within 35 feet of our home. Open trenching would destroy a wildlife habitat that my wife and I have cultivated for the past 45 years. Although open trenching with its destruction of our property was scheduled to begin on Jan. 24, we were not notified. We learned of the proposed start date by reading our Commissioners’ statement. Although our backyard is impacted, our concern is shared by townships, school districts, and county and state officials. Minimizing the level of concern is another Mariner East error in judgement.”
Ginny Kerslake is a candidate for state representative in the 167th House District and is a member of West Whiteland Residents for Pipeline Safety.
“During the Democratic Primary for County Commissioner last year, I successfully made Mariner East the key issue,” Kerslake said. “So after years of claiming to be powerless, those county commissioners filed a lawsuit against Sunoco, halting construction at the library. Today’s filing of a Petition for Injunctive Relief continues this halt and is good news, especially for residents who would have seen property destruction and trees cut down next week. I thank our current country commissioners for putting the people of Chester County first with this action.”
Annette Murray is a West Whiteland resident and opposes the pipeline.
“Mariner East pipeline, a public hazard, does not belong anywhere near the Chester County Library in the heart of busy Exton,” Murray said. “I support the actions of the prior and current Chester County Commissioners in filing an injunction against Sunoco’s suggested HDD re-evaluation to open cut through the library’s property.
“This is a clearly a High Consequence Area (as defined by PHMSA) that should preclude an odorless, dangerous NGL pipeline being placed mere feet underground. The public needs to understand that the Mariner East pipeline (and the product it carries) is not like other pipelines.
“Energy Transfer and Sunoco’s public relations and legal teams work very hard at shielding this damaging information from the general public.”