On June 14th the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted 3-2 to put Mariner East 1 pipeline back into operation. While we commend the move, we are disappointed that the halt on construction of Mariner East 2 and Mariner East 2X pipelines in West Whiteland Township was not reversed.
Mariner East 1 was shut down on May 24th following a ruling by a PUC administrative law judge based on unsubstantiated claims instead of solid legal foundation.
The PUC ruled to defer a decision on Mariner East 2 and Mariner East 2X, construction on the pipelines has been shut down for over 3 weeks. Sunoco now has 20 days to submit additional information for review.
The initial emergency order by the ALJ to stop operations on ME1 and halt construction on part of ME2 and ME2X disregards the rigorous process the projects underwent on the state, federal, and local level to be legally permitted. Continuous delay of this project is cutting the Commonwealth out of a safe, efficient, and reliable form of energy delivery.
Though this is a win for energy infrastructure development in Pennsylvania, the battle is not over yet.