“19 projects are currently being held up,” says Jay Cleveland, President and CEO of Cleveland Brothers a third generation, Pennsylvania-based Caterpillar dealership. It’s not enough that infrastructure investments are on the drawing board, the problem is that too many reputable, vetted projects are getting backlogged in Pennsylvania’s regulatory process.
Included in this list is the Mariner East 2 pipeline project. This proposed pipeline, which will transport energy resources from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus and Utica Shale formations in western Pennsylvania to the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex in Delaware county, has been discussed in public forums and working its way through the various approvals processes for over two years.
It is time that we get to work!
Check out Jay Cleveland’s public testimony last year where highlights the delays faced by these important projects.
As a local employer, Cleveland Brothers employs 1,250 people and have added 350 positions in the last 5 years with the increased development of the Marcellus and Utica Shales. As a company, they currently have $200 million earmarked for pipeline projects.
Mariner East 2 has been found to meet and exceed all federal regulations. Further delay hurts workers who are ready to get to work, hurts energy consumers who depend on energy resources daily, and hurts Pennsylvania businesses like Cleveland Brothers who have invested $200 million in the work.
Even Governor Wolf recently indicated his support for approval of the required state permits to build Mariner East 2. DEP needs to stop dithering around and issue the permits.
It’s time to get to work!!!