RTM residents skeptical of Sunoco’s pipeline safety plans
MIDDLETOWN >> Ten members of Middletown Coalition for Community Safety waited patiently through nearly three hours of Rose Tree Media School Board committee reports to address the main issue on their minds.
The district held a safety summit March 31 related to concerns regarding the proposed Sunoco Logistics Mariner East 2 pipeline, a portion of which with valve station is slated for installation under a road 650 feet from the playground of Glenwood Elementary School. The purpose of the closed-door summit was to analyze the situation and formulate an emergency plan should circumstances require immediate action by the staff and approximately 450 students.
To prepare for the summit, the district contacted local townships, state police, fire and medical first responders, the Delaware County Emergency Management Department, state Department of Environmental Protection, petroleum safety engineers and Sunoco Logistics experts. Representatives were joined by school board members for the four-hour session to share their expertise and contribute to developing emergency response plans.
“We had two questions – how can we be ultra-safe and what is the plan if there is an incident?” said Schools Superintendent Jim Wigo. “We found our questions led to other questions and possibly additional meetings to discuss other issues.”
Following the summit, Sunoco provided the district with a two-page recap of project information, which noted “school districts throughout the Greater Delaware Valley region co-exist on or are adjacent to pipelines and/ or valve sites.” It also outlined items regarding safety and engineering and ongoing operations and maintenance.
The review, made available to residents, jumpstarted their comments. Coalition members hired an outside firm to complete an independent hazards study focusing on the potential consequences and probability of a pipeline breach near the school and disagreed with some of Sunoco’s findings.
“We look at this and see Sunoco’s spin,” said Seth Kovnat. “They cannot defend what they are doing.”
While the district approved a resolution of concern last year regarding the pipeline and sponsored the summit, coalition members were reminded the proposed line is not on district property. Operations Committee Chairman Harry Postles suggested the specifics are “a PUC debate, not a school district debate,” and Wigo noted project approval is solely in the hands of municipal governments and regulatory agencies.
“We recognize that families are calling on the district to help slow or stop this project, but we have little or no say,” he added. “It will proceed with or without Rose Tree Media’s support and/or opposition.”
Parents have also requested information about the evacuation plan, but divulging the details would compromise student safety, noted Wigo. As superintendent, he must balance their security with the public’s right to know.
Father and coalition member Tom Smith, however, said families like his entrust the district with their youngsters every day.
“Sunoco Logistics has no contractual obligation to me,” he added. “I put the safety of my daughter in your hands and you are responsible for our children.”
Coalition members posed scenarios which the directors had not considered, such as the need for specific pediatric equipment. The board made note of their suggestions for future discussions.
“We have no authority because it is not on our property, but we want to be informed and prepared,” said Tracy Barusevicius. “We all have a role to play.”