Judge halts pipeline work in eastern Pennsylvania
Associated Press
WEST CHESTER, Pa.
An administrative law judge has temporarily halted work on part of a natural-gas pipeline in eastern Pennsylvania.
The judge wants the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to hear and rule on whether Sunoco violated a 2015 settlement agreement with West Goshen Township. The township in Chester County contends Sunoco jumped the gun on some construction earlier this month and also disputes Sunoco’s decision to move a valve-control station.
Sunoco says it moved the station for safety reasons and says it looks forward to convincing the utility commission that it has otherwise complied with the agreement.
The company’s $2.5 billion, 350-mile Mariner East 2 pipeline across southern Pennsylvania will carry propane, butane and ethane from the Marcellus Shale natural-gas formation to an export terminal near Philadelphia.
The pipeline project has been protested by Pennsylvanians who blame it for fouling their well water or spilling a clay lubricant at various sites.