My name is Bernie Greenberg and I am a member of the Southeastern Group’s Pipelines Committee. The letter below from a resident in West Whiteland Township, Chester County well summarizes the frustrations they are facing as Sunoco attempts to construct Mariner East 2 with horizontal directional drilling in spite of the warnings that the geological structure with dissolved limestone is not conducive to this approach. So far several sinkholes have been created, the largest 15 feet wide and 20 feet deep, resulting in the exposure of the 85 year old Mariner East 1 which was transporting hazardous natural gas liquids. The PUC shut down this pipeline because of the concern that the integrity may have been compromised which would represent an unacceptable safety hazard.
Jerry McMullen getting ready to attend a rally against the pipeline that was held in front of Chester County Library
From community member Jerry McMullen:
Sunoco has not begun work on our property. Mariner East was halted in our area, largely due to concerns expressed by our water company and the fact that Sunoco’s horizontal directional drilling (HDD) contaminated wells and created a sinkhole not far from us.
When Sunoco first approached us, they said (a) the pipelines would be installed via HDD, (b) the lines would be at least 40 feet below ground surface, and (c) there would be no disturbance to our property. This is a prime example of Sunoco’s ineptitude and/or inattention to detail.
As the Mariner East project neared us, Sunoco was told they could not use HDD in our area because this section of Chester County is on karst geological formations that contain many pockets and fissures. This is a fundamental fact they should have known. Additionally, Aqua Water Company has a pumping station at the end of our street. Aqua would not allow Sunoco to use HDD near Swedesford Road because such drilling would contaminate our aquifer; another crucial feature they missed. Sunoco changed plans and proposed a combination of open cut and boring techniques through our neighborhood.
Open cut would take out the entire back of our extensively landscaped property and intrude on Chester County Library property. Boring would pass through a wetland and interrupt Valley Creek.
This article was written by Ernest Boyd and is part of our Summer 2018 Sylvanian Newsletter. To read other articles from this issue, please click here.