On Tuesday, July 17th the Pennsylvania House Republican Policy Committee will host a hearing to “educate state legislators on safety concerns surrounding the Mariner East 2 Pipeline, pipeline construction standards and the state rules and regulations in place to ensure the public and environment are protected during all stages of development.” While a noble cause, state legislators should ensure that they rely on safety experts for this type of information, not ideologically-motivated anti-infrastructure activists.
Sunoco Logistics has 75 years of experience moving products nationwide and internationally with an unwavering commitment to protecting the people and environments along pipeline routes. Radical opposition groups want the public to believe that Mariner East 2 Pipeline is a departure from said commitments but that could not be further from reality.
The Mariner East 2 project has been vetted by the nation’s toughest standards, and often received praise for exceeding requirements. In 2015 a Pennsylvania township commissioned their own study only to find that project exceeded both state and federal rules. Mariner East 2 and residents in the area will benefit from heavier pipe walls (now .456 inches) and automatic release detection safety systems. Above ground Sunoco has ensured that inspections will occur weekly instead of the federally mandated 10 day timeframe. And let’s not forget the Mariner Emergency Responder Outreach program, which has trained 750 first responders to protect the public should an unexpected incident occur.
Officials can avoid the headache of anti-pipeline groups’ biased and baseless appeal by acknowledging Sunoco’s commitment to going above and beyond at every step of this project.