Labor Backs Plans for Marcus Hook at DEP Hearing

Several Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance (PEIA) members, along with local officials, businesses and residents, testified tonight at a hearing before the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to support proposed upgrades at the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex that could result in nearly 1 million man hours of labor over the next three years.

Representatives of Boilermakers Local 14, Laborers International (LiUNA), International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 542, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 654 and Steamfitters Local 420, among others, urged DEP to approve the permits to construct two new ethane storage tanks and related assets. The project, from demolition and site preparation through construction, is expected to take about three years to build out.

The project validates all the work being done locally. Revitalization of the complex already has created as many as 5,000 construction jobs over the last three years. A facility that was practically shuddered at its low point in 2011 now employs more than 200 people on site, with more investments planned to spur additional growth and employment.

Projects like these also demonstrate the vital importance of a strong pipeline infrastructure network like the Mariner East system. The Mariner East pipeline projects will generate a one-time economic impact of nearly $9.1 billion in Pennsylvania and support 57,070 jobs during the entire construction period with earnings of $2.7 billion.

In response to the hearing, please find copied below a statement from the Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance. Feel free to quote me, Kurt Knaus, as PEIA spokesman:

Statement:

“The same groups that want to block the improvements at Marcus Hook are the same groups that want to block the pipeline that feeds the plant. It’s misguided. The projects being proposed by Sunoco would mean nearly a million man hours of work over the next few years, and those jobs are going to skilled laborers who live in the region. And the work is being done on a natural gas liquids facility that is inherently better for the environment than the old refinery it replaced. This is exactly the kind of project that proves that economic development and environmental protection go hand in hand.”