Berks Gas Truth applauds state halt of pipeline permits

Berks Gas Truth applauds Governor Tom Wolf’s decision to direct DEP to withhold any outstanding permits for Energy Transfer Partners’ Mariner East 2 and Revolution pipelines.

We are also pleased with his call for a remaining life study of Mariner East 1 to be conducted by independent experts. His additional call for legislation addresses many of the safety concerns affected Pennsylvanians have been raising since Mariner East 1 was first proposed.

Although this is by far the strongest action taken by the state against Energy Transfer Partners, we continue to call on Governor Wolf to permanently shut down the projects. The company has demonstrated time and again over the course of years that it can’t or won’t comply with the laws and regulations governing the siting, construction, and operation of its pipelines. Further, we call on the Governor and the Department of Environmental Protection to recognize that, while Energy Transfer Partners has broken records with its carelessness and incompetence, it is hardly the only bad actor.

We continue to urge Governor Wolf to consider the impacts shale gas pipelines have on climate change. With only 12 years left to address climate change, there is no such thing as a safe pipeline. We encourage the Governor to stop all approvals of new pipelines in the Commonwealth.

— Karen Feridun, Founder of Berks Gas Truth