The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Pipeline debate rages on
The Mariner East 2 pipeline project can produce a visceral reaction from people in the community — often those concerned about safety and quality of life as evidenced in vocal displays of opposition at municipal meetings and elsewhere.
There’s also a contingent who feel strongly about the positive impact from the project being in Pennsylvania, as outlined in a Sunoco Pipeline-funded economic analysis released recently.
And while the two sides advocate for their causes, elected officials tread delicately between the two.
Last week, Philadelphia-based Econsult Solutions Inc. released a report claiming a $9 billion economic impact related to the pipe-
line construction, almost double what it had estimated three years ago. Of that, $5 billion was slated for construction expenditures in Pennsylvania. The report was funded by Sunoco Pipeline LP and its parent company, Energy Transfer Partners.
The Mariner East project consists of different phases of installing pipeline connecting parts of western Pennsylvania and Ohio, where the Marcellus and Utica shales are located, with Marcus Hook to move natural gas liquids to the area for storage, processing and distributing to local, regional and global markets.
The first phase, Mariner East 1, has been completed and is operating. The majority of it repurposed a former petroleum line for the movement of natural gas liquids.
The second phase, Mariner East 2, involves the construction of a 350-mile pipeline that was initially planned for 16 inches in diameter but was expanded to 20 inches after demand for the products emerged during a Sunoco open season.
Since then, the company has planned to build an additional pipeline alongside this one and this is called Mariner East 2X.
Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection suspended all work on the Mariner East 2 pipeline indefinitely after the agency cited the company for drilling without proper permitting in an area near Harrisburg. For work to continue, Sunoco must submit a detailed plan that outlines how it will control and minimize inadvertent returns.
The pipeline company has discharged drilling fluid more than 100 times, including four times this fall over a four-day period at the same location in East Goshen, Chester County.
Earlier last summer, the company hooked about 30 West Whiteland Township homeowners to public water and awarded them each $60,000 after it fouled up the homeowners’ drinking water wells.
Company officials said they plan to expeditiously submit these reports and were confident they will be reauthorized to commence work on the project.
“We also reiterate our commitment to the highest levels of construction expertise and our dedication to preserving and protecting the environment in which we conduct our work,” Jeff Shields, communications manager for Sunoco Pipeline, said.
Those working on the project certainly hope that’s the case.
Among those are the Steamfitters Union Local 420.
“It means a lot,” Anthony Gallagher, business manager of the local, said. “It’s a big boost, we need to keep it going. We just need to get the gas and the liquids to the marketplace and the safest way to do it is through a pipeline.”
He explained that there were 1,000 steamfitters at the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex at one point, working solely on Mariner East projects. He said their work linked to the pipeline project has equated to 2 million man hours and more than $170 million in wages and benefits.
“It was a tremendous, tremendous boost to wages and benefits,” Gallagher said. “It was well-needed, especially coming out of the recession. It was unbelievable the economic boost we had to the funds ... and hopefully, we can keep it going.”
He gave a comparison to the work his union does.
“Comcast, it’s a big deal for the city of Philadelphia, for our local union,” Gallagher said. “This is a huge win for us. It’s a great economic win for the city with technology. The Mariner project morphs that.”
On the Comcast project, there are 120 steamfitters, he said, adding that there were 1,000 on Mariner East.
“Down at Marcus Hook, for the Mariner East project, at our height, we had about 95 people employed for that job,” said Richard Jenks, president of civil contractor H.T. Sweeney & Son Inc. in Delaware County.
Founded in 1947 by Herb Sweeney, the company has grown by 55 employees in the last six years, and about 30 people can be down there at any given time for routine maintenance at the facility, Jenks said.
He spoke to the energy market, even as a company that also has projects in solar and wind technologies.
“It’s very good for the economy in this area,” he said specifically of the Mariner East projects. “Since 2008, when there was a recession in the area, the one thing that was still strong was the energy market. People need to heat their homes and fuel their cars.”
He recalled the days during the 1970s of sitting in gas lines, waiting to fill up a car.
“Back then, they said that our energy supply was running out,” he said. “That doesn’t appear to be now.”
Mariner East, however, has been met with opposition from property owners to elected officials.
On Friday, Eric Friedman of Del-Chesco United for Pipeline Safety was quoted in a post on the group’s Facebook page that read, “The most virulent opponents, like the Middletown coalition, want a longer stop that would allow for a comprehensive #risk analysis of the pipeline — a study that critics are convinced would show the project is unsafe at any configuration. ‘How many elementary schools are you willing to lose in a 30-year period?’ asked Friedman, whose group has questioned Sunoco’s #safety record and called attention to recent pipeline disasters. ‘I’m not willing to lose any.’”
State Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19, of Whiteland, a member of the state Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, also voiced his concerns.
“As we enter a new year, serious concerns about the safety of the Sunoco’s Mariner East pipelines are not going away,” he said. “In fact, they’re only growing and so are voices. Important questions about these pipelines – pipelines carrying highly volatile natural gas liquids such as butane and propane – will be front– and–center in 2018.”
In a recent op-ed piece, Dinniman wrote, “The thousands of area residents questioning the safety and construction of the Mariner pipelines do not oppose the economic benefits and jobs coming from the Marcellus Shale industry. Instead, they are mothers and fathers, of all political stripes, who care deeply about the safety of their children and family members who attend schools or live in retirement communities near the pipeline’s path.”
Last week, state Rep. Chris Quinn, R-168 of Middletown, wrote a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf requesting a full risk assessment of the Mariner East 2 pipeline project to determine the potential harm that could occur from a leak or malfunction. He also asked that any findings from such an assessment be released to the public.
At the time, Quinn wrote, “This pipeline will run directly through densely populated neighborhoods and right past schools, leaving our children vulnerable. Everyone should understand the risks. I am asking that this assessment be conducted and shared with the public before the project is permitted to resume.”
Those working on the pipelines say they live here too – and they want it to be done safely as well.
“This is very, very important to us and it’s very important that we do it right,” Gallagher said. “It’s my mom, it’s my sisters, it’s my brothers, my wife, my children. I live in Aston. This thing’s got to be right.”
He said he’s not the only one who feels that way.
“We’ve got quite a few fitters that that pipeline goes through their yard,” Gallagher said. “We understand your fear. The safest way to transport any oil, gas or liquids is a pipeline.”
He recalled another time for his thousands of members – 2011 when the three Philadelphia-area refineries faced the potential of closing.
“When they shut down those plants, I saw the despair in their faces,” Gallagher said of his members. “This place opens up, they’re talking about the pipeline coming into the Hook, the spin-off into the petrochemical market, it gave our guys hope.’
Doing a job improperly is not something H.T. Sweeney & Sons Inc. wants, its president stated.
“As a construction company, we have quite a bit of rules that we have to follow,” Jenks said. “The last thing you want is for a job to be shut down. It’s important to the guys and ladies here because it’s their livelihood.”
Gallagher agreed about what the significance of these projects is for his members.
“The economic impact and the safety is critical to us,” he said. “We should never undervalue what jobs do for society. I think sometimes we forget the importance of when someone has a job to go to. Our politicians spend a lot of time preaching about jobs and safety – and there’s a balance between it all. There’s a balance between taking care of our planet and jobs.”