Hearing on Sunoco pipeline set before state PUC
The heard.
Ten residents of Chester and Delaware counties will address public safety risks associated with the Sunoco Mariner East Pipeline project.
Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth Barnes of the state Public Utilities Commission will hear testimony during a satellite hearing on Oct. 23 and 24 at the historic Chester County courthouse in West Chester.
The consolidated case will include the “Safety 7,” who will be represented by a single lawyer and three unrepresented women general public will be acting as consolidated complainants.
“Is it safe, adequate and reasonable?” Rebecca Britton, a complainant of Uwchlan Township, and Downingtown School Board member, asked. “Does it belong here?”
Laura Obenski is a complainant from Uwchlan.
“We’re trying to see if our schools, townships and counties can properly prepare for the hazard that this pipeline brings into this community — whether or not this infrastructure belongs in close proximity to our schools,” Obenski said. “It’s the right thing to do for our families.”
In addition to the two counties, four school districts and five municipalities will serve as intervenors. When interacting with Sunoco/ Energy Transfer reps, Britton said she feels like she is arguing with her fourth-grader.
“They have an answer for everything,” she said.
Obenski recognizes that case of David vs. Goliath.
“I try not to think about the size of their company and their wallet,” she said.
Obenski and Britton have spent hundreds of hours working on the upcoming PUC hearing. Obenski said that filing a complaint with the PUC is a process open to anybody.
“Ultimately, at the end of the day it’s our responsibility to advocate of our families and our community,” Obenski said. it’s a
“Sunoco has failed to meet its regulatory obligations to produce a credible plan to protect the public at risk of harm from its current and proposed pipelines,” said George Alexander, a spokesperson for Del-Chesco United for Pipeline Safety. “Management of public safety risks through enforcement of federally mandated pipeline safety regulations is a specific part of the PUC’s mission. These hearings will provide testimony regarding the lack of plausible plans or notification systems to protect the public from continued accidents on Sunoco pipelines.”
Melissa DiBernardino is speaking up.
“After spending a year researching and trying to convince our government officials and schools to file a formal complaint against Sunoco with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission with only the honorable and courageous Senator Dinniman doing so, I felt that I had no other option but to file one myself, said complainant DiBernardino. “So one year ago, unable to afford an attorney to represent me, I filed a pro se formal complaint and have been trying the best that I can since then.
“It’s been difficult for the three of us to keep up with the filings, language, rules and really just the all over knowledge of law but we are honored and privileged to have the responsibility to protect our children. We do know enough to present our com
plaints, along with the Safety 7
and show how wrong the Mariner East Pipeline project is for our communities. I will continue to do whatever I can to protect them while our government is failing to do so.”
Mariner East will ferry hundreds of thousands of barrels daily of liquid gases such as ethane, butane, and propane from the Marcellus Shale regions across the full 350-mile
width of the state to the former Sunoco refinery in Marcus Hook. It crosses 11 miles of western Delaware County and 22 miles through the heart of Chester County.
The public is invited to attend the hearing at the historic courthouse in West Chester on Oct. 23 and 24, starting at 9 a.m. both days.