On March 11, 3 Senate and 11 House members representing Chester and Delaware counties signed a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf asking him to impose a moratorium on the transmission of natural gas liquids products through the Mariner East pipeline system until the mandated safety protocols are in place for local responders to properly manage a pipeline emergency.
The letter was signed by Representatives Steve Barrar (R-Delaware), Carolyn Comitta (D-Chester), Danielle Friel Otten (D-Chester), Kristine Howard (D-Chester), Tim Hennessey (R-Chester), John Lawrence (R-Chester), Chris Quinn (R-Delaware), Christina Sappey (D-Chester), Melissa Shusterman (D-Chester), Dan Williams (D_Chester) and Leanne Krueger (D-Delaware), and Senators Andy Dinniman (D-Chester), Katie Muth (D-Chester) and Tim Kearney (D-Delaware).
Chester County Emergency Services and local school districts along the pipeline, including Downingtown Area School District, Rose Tree Media School District and West Chester Area School District have requested Energy Transfer Partners' subsidiary SPLP to provide its Emergency Response Plan for the Mariner East Pipeline project.
Responders and school districts need to complete their comprehensive All Hazards Emergency Response Plans and fulfill their statutory requirements under Title 35 of state law.
The letter urges Gov. Wolf to preserve the health, welfare and safety of constituents who live, work and raise their families in the high-consequence areas of Chester and Delaware counties within the impact radius of Mariner East.
“We have pipelines currently transporting highly volatile products through our communities, and our local first responders are not able to adequately plan their emergency response or mitigate our risk because the operator has failed to cooperate with repeated requests for their Emergency Response Plan,” said Rep. Friel Otten. “Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco are risking a catastrophe, which is a criminal offense.
“I am grateful to my colleagues for their collaboration on this request. The bipartisan support for this moratorium underscores how important it is to take every possible step to ensure the safety of our communities and our first responders.”
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