Contact: Courtney Naquin, courtney.naquin@sierraclub.org, 512-661-1285
Texas and Pennsylvania - This week, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro filed 46 counts of environmental crimes against Energy Transfer for violations during their construction of the Mariner East 2 Pipeline. A grand jury added two more counts based on a criminal referral from the Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection. The charges stem from the company’s releasing industrial waste at 22 sites across the state that contaminated a number of streams and rivers.
In Texas, Energy Transfer is trying to build the Blue Marlin VLCC Offshore Crude Export Terminal, which would include miles of 42” pipeline from Nederland, through Bessie Heights Marsh, Sabine Lake, and then 100 miles out into the Gulf. Energy Transfer has a long history of dumping and spilling toxic waste and oil throughout the country.
Pennsylvania State Representative Danielle Friel Otten released a statement recognizing the important role that community organizing played in documenting and reporting the violations, and calling on the Legislature to enact even stronger protections. Rep. Friel Otten also called on the Governor and other state agencies to revoke Energy Transfer’s permits to operate in Pennsylvania.
Residents of the Golden Triangle region of Texas and Cameron Parish, Louisiana that would be impacted by the Blue Marlin project are raising concerns about Energy Transfer’s track record and the threat they pose to the region’s wetlands and other natural resources.
In response, John Beard, founder of the Port Arthur Community Action Network, issued the following statement:
“Pennsylvania’s charges against Energy Transfer is just another reason why the proposed Blue Marlin pipeline should not be built in Port Arthur. Texas’ environmental agencies have a pitiful track record in holding oil and gas companies accountable for polluting our environment and harming public health. Energy Transfer Partners’ negligence paired with the State of Texas’ and local governments’ pro-fossil fuel policies is a dangerous combination for Southeast Texas. Port Arthur and the greater Golden Triangle Area would not be safe with Blue Marlin and we could not count on the State of Texas to protect us. Energy Transfer’s criminal charges are a warning that we in southeast Texas must not ignore.”
Naomi Yoder, Staff Scientist with Healthy Gulf, issued the following statement:
“The fact that Energy Transfer Partners is charged with crimes in polluting the environment in Pennsylvania shows that they can’t be trusted to be a good “neighbor” in Texas, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. Our local communities who rely on the fish, crabs, shrimp, oysters, and marshes for their livelihoods would suffer severe negative impacts from the Blue Marlin Deepwater Offshore Port and pipeline. We support our local communities and fisheries, and will fight to keep the serial polluter Energy Transfer Partners out of Cameron Parish, Port Arthur and the Gulf of Mexico.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.