Residents of Marcus Hook and surrounding communities got a firsthand look at the next phase of development at the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex in Delaware County earlier this week, when the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Energy Transfer Marketing & Terminals, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer, held an informational meeting on a proposed ethane chilling expansion project.
The meeting, held Wednesday evening at the Marcus Hook Municipal Building, focused on an air plan approval application that Energy Transfer Marketing & Terminals submitted to allow for additional processing capacity for liquefied ethane products received through the Mariner East pipeline network. Energy Transfer announced in February that it had finished construction on the 350-mile-long Mariner East 2 natural gas liquids pipeline that terminates at Marcus Hook.
The project will increase the ethane chilling capacity at Marcus Hook by approximately 10,000 barrels per day, and will comply with all applicable air quality requirements, including the use of best-available technology to control emissions. The revitalization of the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex, fueled by Mariner East, has spurred dramatic growth that has benefitted local communities as well as the entire commonwealth. As this project shows, work continues on site, bringing additional jobs and investments to the region.
About 25 local residents and other stakeholders attended the meeting. Among them were PEIA members, including the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay, IBEW Local 654, Steamfitters Local 420 and Laborers Local 413, as well as other trades. All of them had a chance to hear directly from Energy Transfer Marketing & Terminals and ask questions about the project. The forum is an example of the enhanced community engagement that the developer has put in place with its neighbors to ensure residents are informed about site work.
DEP now will begin its technical review of the permit, which could take more than a year. Additional information is available on DEP’s project-specific website at www.dep.pa.gov/ETMT.