Sunoco's Mariner East 1 pipeline given OK to reopen as Mariner East 2 slapped with another fine
The state Public Utility Commission this week ended a two-month shutdown of the Mariner East 1 pipeline, only for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to fine Sunoco another $355,000 for violations while installing a new 350-mile pipeline.
PUC members voted unanimously Tuesday to restart Mariner East 1, which they shut down in March after sinkholes opened in Chester County during construction of another nearby line.
The DEP then fined Sunoco Pipeline LP for violating the Clean Streams Law between May and February while building Mariner East 2.
Construction work “resulted in an unpermitted discharge of drilling fluids to wetlands, wild trout streams and high-quality waters at a number of locations in Allegheny, Blair, Cambria, Cumberland, Dauphin, Huntingdon, Indiana, Lancaster and Washington counties,” DEP reported.
In each instance, Sunoco was required to stop operations, fix the damage and submit proposed modifications to its construction methods to DEP for approval. DEP allowed Sunoco to resume operations only after reviewing and approving the company's proposed modifications.
“No violations are acceptable,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “Cleaning up a spill does not excuse Sunoco, or any other company, from complying with the law or paying an appropriate penalty.”
Most of the penalty — $337,724 — will go to the Clean Water Fund, with the rest used to reimburse county conservation districts in the impacted areas for costs incurred inspecting the various impacted sites.
DEP fined Sunoco $12.6 million in February for separate violations.
Sunoco officials did not respond to a request for comment.
The Mariner pipelines run parallel to one another, transporting natural gas liquids from Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and eastern Ohio to the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex near Philadelphia.
In Westmoreland County, the pipelines cut through Sewickley, Hempfield, Penn, Salem, Loyalhanna and Derry townships.
The PUC's Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement noted in its report that the sinkholes did not compromise “the integrity of the (Mariner East 1) pipeline” and said it does not object to it resuming service.
Kurt Knaus, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance, welcomed the news regarding Mariner East 1.
“The biggest obstacle we face with respect to energy in Pennsylvania is a deficiency of adequate infrastructure. So when an operational line like Mariner East 1 shuts down, it has ripple effects not just here but throughout the entire region,” Knaus said. “Restarting the Mariner East pipeline is an important step in getting our energy economy back on track and encouraging further development.”
Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2862, pvarine@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MurrysvilleStar.
