A week ago, Gov. Tom Wolf confirmed with residents of East Goshen Township that the Mariner East pipelines will stay online.
Anti-pipeline activists organized an event at the pipeline construction site to express their concerns to the governor about pipeline safety. Participants anti-pipeline activists, including frequent critic, Eric Friedman. This is not the first time Friedman has spoken out about Mariner East and spurred anxiety throughout Southeast Pennsylvania in recent years.
Friedman mentioned that there is no realistic plan for keeping the public safe in the event of a pipeline leak or explosion, but this is not true. There are many safety protocols in place to prevent and address any disaster immediately. Making such statements incites fear and rallies citizens against pipeline construction when in reality the economic opportunity pipelines bring to Friedman’s home county are bountiful.
Gov. Tom Wolf defers to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) because as long as Mariner East follows the necessary safety protocols put in place by the PUC, there is no reason why the pipeline should be taken offline. He notes the extent the towns have pushed the PUC to enforce those standards and his trust in them to continue addressing pipeline safety.