Mariner East 2 pipeline goes into service

Following several years of permitting, legal battles and construction, the Mariner East 2 natural gas liquids pipeline went into service Dec. 29.

The 350-mile pipeline transports domestically produced ethane, propane and butane east from processing plants in Ohio across West Virginia and Pennsylvania to Energy Transfer’s Marcus Hook Industrial Complex in Delaware County, where the natural gas liquids are stored for distribution to local, domestic and waterborne markets.

In Westmoreland County, the pipelines traverse Sewickley, Hempfield, Penn, Salem, Loyalhanna and Derry townships.

Earlier in the year, the Melcroft-based Mountain Watershed Association, the Clean Air Council and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network challenged 20 of the project’s permits, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. Those groups dropped the challenge in July , following a settlement in which the DEP agreed to make available, online, all non-privileged, non-confidential permit application materials and supporting documents for pipeline projects such as the Mariner East 2.

DEP fined Sunoco Pipeline $355,000 for violating the Clean Streams Law between May 2017 and February while it was building Mariner East 2, and in April established a water quality grant program funded through a $12.6 million civil penalty related to construction of the pipeline.

In Westmoreland, Rostraver, Hempfield and Penn Township all received grants through the program totaling more than $660,000. The Allegheny County Conservation District also received $40,000 for a runoff pollution project in Elizabeth Township.

When fully complete, the pipeline project will have resulted in the creation of 9,500 jobs over a six-year period, according to Sunoco’s parent company, Texas-based Energy Transfer.

Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick at 724-850-2862, pvarine@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MurrysvilleStar.