Energy
As PA gubernatorial candidates push more gas production, report collects studies that show fracking harms
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Industry condemns the report, while advocates cite growing climate fears.
Energy
PA GOP measures to boost natural gas output unlikely to succeed, analysts say
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The measures seek to halt Gov. Tom Wolf’s moratorium on new drilling under state forests.
App NEWS
PA Finds PFAS In A Third Of Public Water Systems; None Exceeded EPA Limit
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Critics push PA to set enforceable drinking water levels to protect public health
Economy
Gas Industry Hasn’t Delivered On Its Economic Promises, Report Says
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Industry rejects report, calls gas development a ‘game-changer for local economies’
Energy
After Two Nuclear Workers Test Positive, Energy Companies Require Social Distancing And Test For Symptoms
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Coronavirus cases at Limerick nuclear station raised concerns. Pa. plants say they’re working to prevent outbreaks during refueling outages.
Environment
Given Trump Administration Policies, Ex-FERC Commissioner Says Panel Losing Focus On Climate
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Cheryl LaFleur fears regulator’s credibility is hurt by more party-line voting
App NEWS
Neighbors Of Mariner East Pipelines Will Urge A Regulator To Stop The Project. It Might Be Their Last Chance
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Almost a year after lines opened, residents will say the project remains a risk to public safety
Energy
Court Ruling Clears Way For Mariner East Construction To Restart
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The Commonwealth Court said last week that the Democratic senator, an outspoken critic of Sunoco, did not have personal or legislative standing to bring a complaint
Energy
PA Ordered Sunoco To Release Its Calculations On Pipeline’s Potential Blast Zones
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Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission demanded information from Sunoco Pipeline last year about what would happen if its Mariner East natural gas liquids pipelines failed, according to a newly discovered letter.
Energy
Experts: Vapor Buildup Likely Led To Explosion At PA Pump Station
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For now, independent pipeline experts say the blast appears to have been caused by the relighting of a pilot in a flare used by Sunoco for burning off excess gases, at a time when vapor had accumulated there.
Energy
Sunoco Says Mariner East 2 System ‘Backfired’ During Maintenance
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The company did not explain what caused the backfire but apologized for the noise, which alarmed neighbors and fueled longstanding concerns about the safety of the new pipelines, which carry highly volatile natural gas liquids.
App NEWS
Trespass Charges Dropped Against Pennsylvania Pipeline Protesters
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HARRISBURG (WITF) – A Lancaster County judge on Monday dismissed trespassing charges against seven protesters who blocked construction of the Atlantic Sunrise natural gas pipeline almost two years ago. Judge Howard Knisely of the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas released the defendants without charge after the district attorney dropped the misdemeanors in exchange for community service. The judge welcomed the agreement and said peaceful, nonviolent protest is protected, albeit with limitations, by state and federal law. Legislatures, not the courts, are the proper place to protect the natural environment and public safety, he said. But he urged citizens to elect lawmakers who truly represent public interests rather than their own.
App NEWS
Pennsylvania Natural Gas Impact Fee Revenue Rises To 7-Year High, Boosted By Stripper Wells
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Pennsylvania’s impact fee on natural gas producers raised more money in 2018 to offset the effects of shale development than at any time in the fee’s seven-year history
App NEWS
PA Accused Of ‘Foot-Dragging’ On 2-Year-Old Request To Regulate PFAS Chemical
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Environmental group asks appeals court to order Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection to set health standard
Environment
PA, NJ, Delaware Governors Pledge To Cooperate On Delaware River Basin Environment
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is also represented on the Delaware River Basin Commission, was invited to the event but was unable to attend
Environment
PFAS Chemicals Contaminate 17 PA Sites, Data Show
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“When a water system is contaminated with PFAS, treatment will lower the concentration but not completely remove it. So the contamination is still there.”
App NEWS
What State Governments Are Doing About Plastic Bags — And What Might Happen With PA’s Proposed Ban
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A renewed legislative effort to curb the use of disposable plastic shopping bags in Pennsylvania is milder than measures enacted in some other states.
Environment
PA To Begin Statewide Sampling For Six PFAS Chemicals
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The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said it will sample more than 300 water systems starting in May in a program that is due to last a year.
App NEWS
Sunoco Agrees To Settlement After Mariner East 1 Leak
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If approved, company will pay $200,000 fine and step up safety inspections of aging pipeline
Energy
PA Plaintiffs Settle Class-Action Suit With Sunoco Over Mariner East
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The suit accused Sunoco of negligence and several other counts in its construction practices.
Energy
Energy Transfer CEO: ‘We’ve Made Mistakes’ In Building Mariner East
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Sunoco’s parent company admitted it made mistakes in building the Mariner East pipelines through Pennsylvania, and told investors that it will do better in future, but its assurances failed to persuade critics that the project will become any safer for the public or more protective of the environment.
Environment
PA To Begin Its Own Process Of Setting Limit For 2 PFAS Chemicals
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Pennsylvania will begin the process of setting its own health limits for two toxic PFAS chemicals because it’s unclear when the federal government will set national standards, the Department of Environmental Protection said late Thursday.
Environment
EPA Says It Will Begin To Regulate PFOA And PFOS This Year
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The U.S. EPA said Thursday it will this year begin the process of setting maximum contaminant limits for PFOA and PFOS, two toxic chemicals that are linked to cancer and other illnesses and are widespread in drinking water and soil.
Featured in Category
Governor’s Support For PA’s Pipeline-Safety Bills Boosts Bipartisan Advocates
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A raft of bills on pipeline safety may have a better chance of becoming law in Pennsylvania after Gov. Tom Wolf formally backed some of them in a statement that strongly criticized Sunoco’s construction of the Mariner East pipelines.
Education
PA Seeks School Evacuation Drills On Pipeline Route
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Chester County community meeting airs continuing public concerns on safety of Mariner East pipelines
environment
Report Says EPA Refuses To Regulate Two PFAS Chemicals
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Pennsylvania lawmakers on Tuesday slammed the reported decision of the federal government not to regulate two chemicals that have been linked to cancer and other illnesses when present in drinking water.
Environment
PA Might Set Maximum Limits On A Toxic Chemical In Drinking Water
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Joanne Stanton is watching Pennsylvania’s fledgling efforts to curb toxic PFAS chemicals in drinking water, and wondering why PFAS-contaminated water is still being found below several communities in Bucks and Montgomery counties, several miles from the water’s origin on a nearby military base.
Energy
DA Blasts Mariner East Contractor’s Crass Threats Directed At Pipeline Opponent
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A worker on Sunoco’s Mariner East project has threatened a Chester County opponent of the pipeline on social media in two posts that included an obscenity.
Energy
Judges Say PA Unlawfully Issued Air-Quality Permits To Sunoco At Marcus Hook
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A Pennsylvania court said the Department of Environmental Protection unlawfully issued air-quality permits to Sunoco for its natural gas liquids plant at Marcus Hook in Delaware County, and it ordered the department to re-do its analysis over whether the plant should be subject to two sets of emissions rules.
Energy
NJ Attorney General: Federal Judge Erred In PennEast Pipeline Ruling
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New Jersey’s attorney general says PennEast Pipeline Co. can’t legally sue the state for access to more than 40 parcels of protected land, and argues that a federal judge was wrong to rule that the company could do so.
Energy
Mariner East Startup Renews Safety Fears For Some PA Residents
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Homeowners focus on integrity of repurposed 12-inch pipeline first built in 1930s
Economy
Spills, Shutdowns And Legal Challenges: A Tumultuous Year For Mariner East 2
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Sunoco said in November that it would start operations of the frequently delayed Mariner East 2 pipeline by the end of 2018.
Energy
PA Investigators: We Didn’t Say The Mariner East 2 Pipeline Was Safe
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Investigators at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission said on Tuesday they didn’t confirm that the 12-inch pipeline component of Mariner East 2 was safe, despite a statement by Sunoco that they had done so.
Crime and Justice
District Attorney Opens Criminal Investigation Into Mariner East Pipeline Project
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The Chester County District Attorney said Wednesday he is opening a criminal investigation into Sunoco’s Mariner East pipeline project because it has caused sinkholes, contaminated water and has resulted in “not so subtle bullying” of residents.
Energy
PA Panel Sees ‘Statewide Concern’ With Pipeline Corrosion After ME1 Leak
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Investigators at the Public Utility Commission blamed corrosion for a leak of natural gas liquids from Sunoco’s Mariner East 1 pipeline in April 2017, and said they are concerned about the company’s corrosion-control program throughout the ageing statewide line.
Energy
PennEast Pipeline Can Take New Jersey Lands Using Eminent Domain
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The PennEast Pipeline Co. can take private land through eminent domain to build a natural gas pipeline, a New Jersey federal judge ruled on Friday.
Energy
Judge Denies Emergency Petition For Mariner East Shutdown
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Suit brought by seven residents fails on all four requirements
Crime and Justice
Judge Grants First Eminent Domain Case To PennEast in Pennsylvania
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A federal judge granted PennEast Pipeline Co. the right of eminent domain to build its pipeline on a property in Carbon County, in the first ruling of its kind over the controversial project in a Pennsylvania court.
Energy
PA Study: Pipeline Blast Could Be Devastating, But Risk Is Low
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A worst-case explosion of the Mariner East 2 pipeline in PA’s Delaware County would kill anyone within about a mile of the rupture, a new report says, but it concludes the chances of someone dying from a pipeline incident are less than that of dying in a car crash or from falling down stairs.
Education
Mariner East 2 12-Inch Pipe Passed Safety Inspections, PA Tells School Superintendents
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A 12-inch pipeline that Sunoco plans to use as a temporary part of the Mariner East project has passed state and federal safety inspections, according to a letter from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s head of pipeline safety.
Energy
Sunoco Expects Hybrid Mariner East 2 To Start Operating By Year’s End
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Sunoco’s Mariner East 2 pipeline across Pennsylvania will begin operating in the current quarter, the company’s parent, Energy Transfer, said on Thursday.
Energy
Sunoco: Mariner East 2 Delayed To 2020 And Offers Substitute
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA — Sunoco said late Wednesday it will begin to pump natural gas liquids across the state by joining three new and existing pipes because its long-delayed Mariner East pipeline project won’t be ready for another two years.
environment
Wolf Sets Up Government Panel To Study PFAS Chemicals
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Advocates: Move is a positive step but won’t protect public unless health limits are set
Energy
FERC Urged To Block Tree-Cutting Before Final Decisions On PennEast Pipeline
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The Delaware River Basin Commission asked a federal regulator to prevent PennEast cutting trees in the basin before it issues any approval for its controversial natural gas pipeline project in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to documents released on Wednesday.
Energy
Over Half Of PA Gas Wells Used ‘Secret’ Chemicals For Fracking Or Drilling, Report Says
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Drillers withheld information on at least one chemical in some 2,500 wells, citing trade secrets
Environment
As Public Concern On PFAS Rises, EPA Urged To Set Enforceable Health Standard
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At Congressional hearing, advocates say federal government needs to address contamination concerns
Energy
Sunoco’s 12-Inch Pipeline Leaked 33,000 Gallons Of Gasoline Into Creek
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Aging pipeline, which has leaked before, will be used to temporarily carry natural gas liquids
Energy
Risk Assessment Quantifies Mariner East Pipeline Hazards For PA Residents
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Campaigners raised $46,000 for independent evaluation after governor and PUC denied requests
Environment
Advocates Say New Drinking Water Legislation Would Tighten Federal Control Over Chemical Contaminants
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Legislation aims to improve detection, spur cooperation between federal and state governments
binghamton
Water War Along Upper Delaware Pits New York Against Downstream Environmentalists
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Environmentalists call for new agreement to manage flows; NYC says accord was agreed between itself and four states
Energy
Flaws In Pipeline Coating Prompt Sunoco To Replace A Section Of Mariner East 2
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Delaware County township confirms excavation of new line. It’s scheduled to be operational in about a month.
Energy
Fracking Industry Water Use Rises As Drills Extend, Study Says
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Marcellus region shows smallest increase in water use but quadruples frack waste from 2011-16
Energy
Federal Regulators Sued After Denying Rehearing Requests For PennEast Approval
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Environmental groups are suing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission over its approval of the proposed PennEast natural gas pipeline, saying the regulator ignored legal requirements to consider the project’s climate-change impacts, and failed to establish that the pipeline is needed.
Energy
New Mariner East Troubles: Spill In Western PA, Exposed Pipeline Outside Philadelphia
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Sunoco is facing more challenges to its troubled Mariner East pipelines with a major spill of drilling fluids into a Cambria County wetland and the exposure of a section of the existing Mariner East 1 line in Chester County near Philadelphia.
Energy
Independent Study Examines Public Safety Risks Of Mariner East Pipelines
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Community group commissions ‘quantitative risk analysis’ after county council deadlocks on proposal
binghamton
Trees Were Cut For A New York Pipeline That Hasn’t Been Approved: Landowners Want Compensation
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A Pennsylvania family that lost more than 500 trees to make way for the stalled Constitution Pipeline project asked a court on Thursday to dissolve an injunction that gave the company access to their property, and to determine compensation that remains unpaid.
environment
Republican Congressman: EPA Head Should Quit
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick called on Monday for the resignation of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, saying Pruitt had tried to block the release of a federal health study on chemicals that have contaminated public water supplies in some places.
Environment
Toxic Chemical Study EPA Is Accused Of Blocking Just Came Out. It Calls For Stricter Drinking-Water Limits
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A federal agency released recommendations on Wednesday on how to protect the public from a class of chemicals that are linked to a range of illnesses including some cancers, immune system problems, decreased fertility, and thyroid disease.
Energy
Delaware River Basin Commission Urged To Pull the Mariner East Pipeline Permit
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Delaware Riverkeeper Network says Sunoco has violated conditions on drilling and water pollution
Energy
Suit Accuses Sunoco Of Violating Federal Clean Water Act
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Delaware Riverkeeper says Mariner East 2 construction has broken state and federal water standards
Environment
Public-Interest Groups Raise Pressure On Feds To Release Toxic Chemical Study
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Fifty-three public-interest organizations are pressing the federal government to release a study on the health effects of a class of chemicals that have been linked to cancer, immune-system problems and developmental issues in young children.
Energy
As Public Utility Commission Decision Nears, Foes Push PA To Shutdown Mariner East Pipeline
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Opponents of the Mariner East pipelines urged Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and the Public Utility Commission on Saturday to permanently shut down the troubled project, extending a current halt in one Chester County township to the entire 350-mile line.
Energy
Officials: Water Main Contractor Struck Mariner East 2 Pipeline In PA
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Damage was minor, but critics say incident highlights public safety risks
Energy
PA Supreme Court Warns Municipalities On Natural Gas Permits
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that municipalities may not issue permits for oil and gas development in areas that are zoned for non-industrial use — unless they first amend their zoning codes.
Environment
PA Congressman: ‘Unacceptable’ For EPA Head To Say He Can’t Release Chemical Study
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A Pennsylvania Republican Congressman accused EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt of continuing to block publication of a federal government study that reportedly shows public health is at greater risk from a class of chemicals in the environment than the EPA says it is.
Energy
Mariner East Construction, Operation Halted Again In Chester County
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A Pennsylvania judge on Thursday halted construction of Sunoco’s two new Mariner East pipelines, as well as the operation of the existing Mariner East 1 pipeline in Chester County’s West Whiteland Township, granting an emergency petition by state Sen. Andy Dinniman.
Environment
EPA Will Weigh Regulation Of Two Toxic Chemicals. Advocates Skeptical
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At national summit, administrator says concern about PFAS chemicals has become a national issue
Environment
White House Feared PR ‘Nightmare’ Over Agency’s Stricter Chemical Limits, Emails Show
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A federal agency plans new limits on a class of toxic chemicals that are stricter than those issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, and which would cause a “public relations nightmare” if they were published without coordination with other agencies, EPA officials have warned.
Energy
After Inspection, PA Safety Officials Recommend Restart Of Mariner East 1
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Safety inspectors at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission are recommending that Sunoco’s Mariner East 1 pipeline be restarted after a nearly two-month shutdown prompted by sinkholes that appeared at a pipeline-construction site in Chester County’s West Whiteland Township.
Energy
Residents Urge PA To Deny Mariner East Pipeline Construction Changes; Unions Argue For Approval
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ATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Denise McCarthy held up a large photograph of her grand nephew, Jack, at a public hearing in West Whiteland Township on Monday night, and urged state officials to stop Sunoco building its two Mariner East pipelines past the boy’s house.
Energy
Sunoco To Residents Near Sinkholes: We’ll Pay To Relocate You During Investigation
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Sunoco is offering to relocate residents at a Chester County site where drilling for the Mariner East pipelines has caused sinkholes to open up in recent weeks.
Energy
FERC’s Critics, And Two Commissioners, Say New Comment Policy Will Hurt Landowners
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STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – FERC says it will limit public interventions in its pipeline review process if they are submitted outside the prescribed time, in a new policy that’s being attacked by the agency’s critics as an attempt to stifle comment.
Energy
Sunoco Spills Drilling Fluid Into Lebanon County Creek For Third Time
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Sunoco spilled more drilling fluid into a Lebanon County creek on Thursday as it resumed construction for its controversial Mariner East pipelines at that location.
Energy
On Pipeline Route, Some Well Owners OK With Sunoco’s Water; Others Are Wary
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A field outside Bob and Deborah Hoffman’s Delaware County home is filled with orange construction fencing, a 20-foot industrial curtain blocking their view of some surrounding houses, and hundreds of yards of steel pipeline waiting to be laid as part of the controversial Mariner East project.
Energy
‘It’s Crazy, Man’: Sinkholes, Sunoco’s Pipeline Inspection Stir Safety Fears
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Sunoco scrambled to inspect an ageing pipeline on Friday in the backyards of Chester County homes where drilling for two new pipelines has caused several sinkholes to open up.
Energy
Mariner East 1 Pipeline Shutdown, Sinkholes May Threaten Concern Public Safety
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(State Impact PA) – Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission on Wednesday ordered a temporary shutdown of the Mariner East 1 natural gas liquids pipeline, saying it could have a “catastrophic” effect on public safety if it leaks.
Energy
FERC Order Effectively Denies Appeals Of PennEast Approval, Critics Say
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Federal regulators have effectively denied a request to reconsider their approval of the planned PennEast Pipeline, the agency’s critics say.
Energy
Sunoco: Mariner East 2, Despite Shutdown, Expected In Service By End Of June
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Sunoco said Thursday it aims to begin operating its Mariner East 2 pipeline across southern Pennsylvania by the end of the second quarter of this year, the same target it announced three months ago.
Economy
Mariner East 2: Sunoco’s Public Utility Status Trumps Local Regulation, Court Says
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Sunoco won a court battle over the siting of its Mariner East 2 pipeline on Tuesday when a panel of judges ruled against an effort to assert local control over where the pipeline can be built.
Energy
Landowners Brace For Eminent Domain Loss In PennEast Pipeline Cases
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Albertine Anthony has been living in the same picturesque Carbon County farmhouse since she was born 93 years ago, and she’s not going anywhere even if PennEast builds a natural gas pipeline across her land.
Energy
Sunoco Can Resume Mariner East 2 Drilling At Chester County Site, PA Says
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Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection said Thursday that Sunoco can restart drilling for the Mariner East 2 pipeline at a Chester County site where some private well owners experienced cloudy water last summer.
Energy
What Will Sunoco’s $12.6 Million Mariner East 2 Penalty Be Spent On?
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The $12.6 million penalty being paid by Sunoco for multiple violations during construction of the Mariner East 2 pipelines will be used to improve water quality and the safety of dams across Pennsylvania, and will be in addition to the company’s work to correct environmental damage caused during the project, current and former state officials said.
Energy
PennEast Pipeline Seeks Eminent Domain, Plus US Marshals To Protect Workers
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The PennEast Pipeline Co. filed eminent domain notices in federal court to obtain access to land owned by dozens of people in New Jersey and Pennsylvania who have refused its offers of compensation for building the proposed natural gas pipeline on their property.
Energy
Mariner East 2 Critics Don’t Trust PA’s Regulators, Sunoco Agrees To Improve Company’s Record
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Pennsylvania’s decision on Thursday to allow Sunoco to resume construction on the Mariner East 2 pipeline after a month-long shutdown failed to convince critics that the company will do so with any more respect for environmental regulations than they say it has had since starting the project a year ago.