LIMA, Pa. – Members of the Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance (PEIA) today turned out in large numbers to support the safe, responsible development the Sunoco Logistics Mariner East 2 pipeline in Middletown Township, Delaware County.
Middletown Township Council on Sept. 12 voted unanimously to introduce an ordinance that would allow Sunoco to build and operate two natural gas liquids lines near an existing line in the township. The plan was set for adoption at the next council meeting on Sept. 26.
Bill Adams, President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 654, which is based in Upper Chichester, said Mariner East 2 will provide local workers with a living wage that will help to support families and the local economy. The taxes it generates will help communities like Middletown support countless community needs, including schools, parks and roadways. And it will be safe.
“Using local trades on pipeline infrastructure ensures that the most qualified, best trained professionals are hired to safely build the pipeline. It also ensures that the pipeline will meet and exceed federal regulation safety requirements,” Adams said.
Aston Township resident Rick Welk, a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 542, which covers Delaware County, emphasized that Mariner East 2 will be built with state-of-the-art technology to make it the safest pipeline among those running through our community. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, pipelines are the safest mode to transport energy resources — safer than trucks or rail.
“Mariner East 2 will be built using local union labor,” Welk said. “Sunoco Logistics, a company with deep roots in Delaware County, made that commitment. That means this project will be built by the most dependable, highly trained, highly skilled craftsman that exist. We have spent decades training, building and maintaining infrastructure.”
Trish McFarland, President of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, contacted town council to urge her support of the project, which would bring tremendous benefits not just to the county, but to all of Pennsylvania.
“For more than a century, pipeline systems have safely and reliably delivered energy resources to every corner of Pennsylvania and our country,” McFarland said. “As a result of this investment by Sunoco Logistics, and because of its commitment to use skilled union labor, we will have one of the safest, most advanced systems for natural gas liquids transport in the region.
PEIA is a broad-based coalition of labor, agriculture, manufacturing and other business interests that support private investment in pipeline and other energy infrastructure developments. The alliance has more than 30 members statewide.
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The Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance was launched June 8, 2015 by the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, along with the Laborers International Union of North America and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 66. Visit www.paallianceforenergy.com for more information, or go to Twitter @PAllies4Energy.
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