Chester County Commissioners upset with redacted Sunoco pipeline statement.
WEST CHESTER >> The Chester County Commissioners confirmed the county received Sunoco’s Emergency Management Plan on March 13, but officials were not pleased.
County officials complained that large portions of long-awaited pipeline emergency management plan were blacked out for “security reasons.”
According to Mike Murphy, director of Chester County’s Department of Emergency Services, only about 5 percent of the plan is usable.
“Anger, frustration, exasperation, disgust — these words don’t even begin to cover how we feel about this latest action by Sunoco,” Chester County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Michelle Kichline said. “To call this a plan is ridiculous, and to say that they are cooperating is an insult.”
“Over the past two years, Chester County has reached out to Sunoco on many occasions to gather crucial pipeline emergency safety information that would allow the Department of Emergency Services to work with all first responders to better prepare for mass notification and neighborhood emergency practices in the event of a pipeline disaster,” reads a March 14 release by the county. “DES leaders and the County Commissioners have formally contacted Sunoco directly as well as through the Public Utility Commission and PEMA.”
“This plan is worthless,” Chester County Commissioner Kathi Cozzone said. “For Sunoco to claim that they have sent us their emergency plan is beyond wrong and this document does not let them ‘check that box’ to say they have cooperated, because yet again, they haven’t.”
“We reached out to all pipeline operators with a presence in Chester County and the only one that refused to provide an emergency plan was Sunoco,” Cozzone said. “None of the other pipeline operator plans include large chunks of blacked-out information, and the reason for this is that none of the other operators insisted on sending the plan through the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.”
According to a Del-Chesco United for Pipeline safety representative, Delaware County officials had not received a similar document. Chester County EMS is not allowed to share any information.
A Sunoco blog reads that Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration officials, and not the pipeline builder, released the plan.
“We have been working through this request with PHMSA to help the Chester County Department of Emergency Services obtain a copy of our Facility Response Plan,” reads the unsigned blog.
Del-Chesco United for Pipeline Safety released the following March 14 statement: “The most recent in a long string of ETP-operated pipeline explosions occurred this past March 3. Now, years after starting to transport hazardous, highly volatile liquids next to area schools and neighborhoods, Sunoco has finally given its so-called emergency response plan to Chester County while continuing to hide it from the public.
“This heavily redacted document certainly contains Sunoco’s estimate of what it calls the ‘blast radius,’ but there’s no secret to keep. Delaware County’s risk assessment established this distance as over one mile wide. It appears the real secret Sunoco wants to hide is that there is no credible plan to protect the public from its continued leaks of these dangerous materials.”
State Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19th Dist., has led the charge for pipeline safety.
“I cease to be amazed by the depths to which Sunoco/ ETP will sink or the stunts they will try to pull when it comes to an utter lack of concern for public safety and boldfaced disrespect for the residents, families, and children impacted by this project,” Dinniman said. “This latest development highlights our need for a stronger regulatory mechanism to protect our communities and help ensure pipeline safety in Pennsylvania.
“It’s also why I’ve introduced Senate Bill 258, which requires pipeline companies to meet with county emergency coordinators to identify and share vital information regarding a potential pipeline emergency.
“This bill was passed out of committee last session and the governor recently called for its enactment. The legislature needs to pass it this session to help ensure that emergency first responders across the Commonwealth have the information they need to prepare for safely and effectively responding to potential pipeline emergencies.”