Senator Andy Dinniman has made his hay using crutches of hyperbole and fearmongering to justify shutting down important energy infrastructure projects that many of his own constituent rely on to put food on their table, heat their homes, and enjoy the modern conveniences Pennsylvania’s natural gas resources have afforded so many.
In an open letter to Senator Dinniman Nicholas Romano, a Chester County resident and landowner, pushes back on Dinniman’s strawman arguments by presenting facts and personal testimony that the Senator has been persistent in deflecting.
Romano asked Dinniman to acknowledge the state’s long history of energy transport, writing “Consider the millions of barrels of products that have been transported through the local Buckeye, Enterprise and Sunoco pipelines….many over 100 years old. These pipelines were built on rural farm land and existed long before you and me were even born. They represent parts of our vast American energy infrastructure.”
Age has frequently been a key argument in Senator Dinniman’s opposition but a pointed reminder from Romano serves to educate the Senator, “The energy industry as a whole operates very complex systems, refineries, pipelines and technology which are standards-based and adopted with the strictest safety considerations of any industry in the world. The systems and materials meet uncompromising standards. The people doing the work are trained to uncompromising standards. The tools of the trade are most advanced in the world. But, Senator Dinniman doesn’t approve of the work they do. Amazing.”
Romano, who’s two acre property has right of ways for four pipelines, praised Energy Transfer for “professional and responsible interactions” during construction and operation.
Testimony like Nicholas Romano’s are lost on Senator Dinniman and other pipeline activists who insulate themselves in Twitter sounding chambers for misinformation. Like Romano, the Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance hopes “…that Energy Transfer prevails in its construction of the approved pipeline systems permitted by the federal and respective state governments. Their multi-billion-dollar project was lawfully permitted and should absolutely be able to safely come on line.”