DEP Signs $660,000 Penalty Agreement With Sunoco To Resolve More Violations During The Construction Of Mariner East Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline In 9 Counties; Penalties Now Total Nearly $31 Million Just From DEP

On July 26, the Department of Environmental Protection and Sunoco Pipeline L.P. announced they had entered into two consent assessments of civil penalties . Sunoco agreed to pay $660,000.00 to resolve numerous violations of the Clean Streams Law, and the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act, that arose during Sunoco's construction of the Pennsylvania Pipeline Project – Mariner East II.  

The violations occurred between 2018 and 2021 in Chester, Berks, Blair, Cambria, Chester, Cumberland, Delaware, Perry, and York Counties.

[With this penalty, Sunoco and its parent company Energy Transfer Partners have been issued penalties of over $30,999,000 assessed by DEP for just the Mariner East Pipeline in Pennsylvania. (see list below)

[The Public Utility Commission and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission have imposed millions more in penalties of their own laws and regulations for this project.  (see list below)

[Energy Transfer Partners also paid a $30.6 million penalty to DEP for the 2018 Revolution Natural Gas Pipeline explosion in Beaver County.  Read more here.  The PUC assessed additional penalties for this catastrophic event.

[DEP also imposed a nearly a year-long permit bar on Energy Transfer Partners from receiving any new DEP permits between February 2019 and January 2020 because of its poor compliance record.  Read more here.

[In addition to civil penalties, then Attorney General Shapiro successfully prosecuted Energy Transfer Partners for criminal charges related to the construction of the Mariner East Pipeline and for the Revolution Pipeline explosion.  Read more here.]

[The Mariner East Pipeline, Sunoco and Energy Transfer Partners are easily the most penalized companies in Pennsylvania for environmental violations.]

Sunoco operates numerous petroleum, natural gas, and hazardous liquids pipelines in Pennsylvania, including the Mariner East 2 Pipeline. (ME2).  

These CACPs resolve Sunoco's civil penalty liability for violations identified in the CACPs for which Sunoco has not previously paid a civil penalty through a prior consent order and agreement or CACP. 

"Under Governor Shapiro's leadership, we will continue to hold companies accountable for their actions and protect Pennsylvanians' constitutional right to clean air and water. This money will help the Department of Environmental Protection keep Pennsylvania's water clean," said Richard Negrin, Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection. "This is a critical step forward in the Shapiro Administration's continued commitment to delivering a clean water supply to every resident and business who calls Pennsylvania home."

The first CACP resolves civil penalty liability for numerous infractions at the Exton Library Site in West Whiteland Township, Chester County. 

These violations included: unpermitted discharges  of sediment  into wetlands and into Valley Creek and Ship Road Run, accelerated erosion and sedimentation, failure to obtain permits prior to excavating, and placing concrete into wetlands and other Commonwealth waters on several occasions. 

Sunoco also failed to conduct sampling as required by the terms of its authorization, and failed to take appropriate measures to prevent the release of a polluting substance.

The second CACP is an omnibus CACP that resolves civil penalty liability for various violations in Cumru Township, Berks County; Blair Township, Blair County; Jackson Township, Cambria County; Upper Uwchlan and West Whiteland Townships, Chester County; Middlesex and Silver Spring Townships, Cumberland County; Middletown and Thornbury Townships, Delaware County; Toboyne Township, Perry County; Fairview Township, York County.  

Sunoco's Horizontal Directional Drilling ("HDD") construction activities led to complaints of impacts to private well water supplies with cloudy, turbid, and discolored water, and impacts to wetlands and other Commonwealth waters through the unpermitted discharge of grout, flowable fill material, and drilling fluids. 

Sunoco also constructed an impoundment and swales without a permit. 

The $660,000 in penalties paid to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from the two CACPs will be allocated as follows:  From the $390,000 Omnibus CACP, $240,000 went to the Clean Water Fund, $149,400 went to the Dams and Encroachments Fund, and $600 to the Chester County Conservation District. 

From the $270,000 Exton Library CACP, $153,850 went to the Clean Water Fund, $115,000 went to the Dams and Encroachments Fund, and $1,150 went to the Chester County Conservation District.  [PaEN]

Visit DEP’s Mariner East Pipeline webpage for more information.

NewsClips:

-- WHYY: DEP Orders Sunoco Pipeline To Pay $660,000 Penalty For Environmental Violations Related To Mariner East Natural Gas Liquids Pipelines 

-- StateImpactPA - Susan Phillips: New Sinkhole Opens Up Along Mariner East Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline In Chester County

Related Articles - Unresolved Impacts Of Mariner East Pipeline:

-- Navy Veterans Patrick & Helen Robinson Relate Their 7-Year Struggle Dealing With Impacts Of Mariner East Pipeline Construction In Indiana County, And They Continue [PaEN]

-- Cambria County Family Sues Sunoco After 3 Years Of Dealing With Damage To Home, Well, Septic System, Property From Mariner East Pipeline Construction [PaEN]

-- Senate Budget Hearings: PA’s Experience With New Pipeline Construction Shows State Laws Not Strong Enough To Prevent Environmental Damage, Protect Public Safety [PaEN]

-- Natural Gas, Hazardous Liquids Pipelines Are NOT Required To Carry Insurance Or Show They Can Pay For Damages If They Explode, Leak Or Kill Someone [PaEN]

Related Articles - Other Mariner East Pipeline Penalties:

-- AG Shapiro: Energy Transfer/Sunoco Convicted Of Criminal Charges Related To Construction Of Mariner East 2 & Revolution Natural Gas/Liquids Pipelines In PA [PaEN]

-- AG Shapiro Charges Mariner East Pipeline With 48 Counts Of Environmental Crimes In 11 Counties [PaEN]

-- Sunoco Fails To Meet July 1 Cleanup Deadline For Mariner East Pipeline Spill In The Lake At Marsh Creek State Park, Chester County [PaEN]

-- Sunoco/Mariner East Pipeline To Pay $4 Million In Damages And Restore Lake At Marsh Creek State Park Polluted By A Spill In Chester County [PaEN]

-- DEP Collects $85,000 Penalty For Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction Violations In Blair, Cumberland, Juniata, Lebanon Counties [PaEN]

-- DEP Collects $497,000, Fish & Boat Commission Collects $25,855 In Penalties For Latest Violations Involving Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction In Lebanon County [PaEN]

-- DEP Assesses $355,000 Penalty On Sunoco For 2018, 2019 Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction Violations [PaEN]

-- PUC Requires Remaining Life Study, Public Reporting On Integrity Of Sunoco's Mariner East I Pipeline; Issues $200,000 Penalty [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues $1.95 Million Penalty To Sunoco For Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction Violations At Raystown Lake, Huntingdon County [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Sunoco $319,461 In Penalties For Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction Violations In 2017, 2018; Fines Now Total $13 Million+ [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Enters Into $18,500 Settlement With Sunoco Mariner East II Pipeline [PaEN]

-- PUC Enforcement Bureau Proposes $225,000 Penalty For 2017 Ethane/Propane Leak From Mariner East 1 Pipeline In Berks County [PaEN]

-- DEP: 61 Watershed Restoration, Stormwater Projects Totaling $12.6 Million Funded By Mariner East 2 Pipeline Penalty [PaEN]

-- DEP Assesses $148,000 Penalty Against Mariner East 2 Pipeline For Violations in Berks, Chester, Lebanon Counties [PaEN]

-- PUC Judge Issues Order To Shut Down Mariner East 1, 2, 2x Pipelines, Sunoco To Appeal [PaEN]

-- DEP Fines Mariner East 2 Pipeline Additional $355,000 For Violations [PaEN]

-- DEP Establishes New Water Quality Project Grant Program With $12.6 Million Mariner East 2 Pipeline Penalty [PaEN]

-- Sunoco Mariner East II Pipeline Fined $12.6 Million, DEP Allows Construction To Resume

DEP Suspends Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction Permits [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - July 15 to 22;  8 More New Conventional Well Abandonments  [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - July 22 to 28  [PaEN]  

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - July 29  [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 47 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In July 29 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]  

NewsClips This Week:

-- LancasterOnline: Study Finds Radioactive Materials In PA Waterways Near Treatment Plants Linked With Oil & Gas Industry Waste

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: Environmental Quality Board Dismisses Petition To Raise Well Plugging Bond Amounts For Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Proposed Oil & Gas Waste Injection Well Riles Community In Fayette County

-- Warren Times: Proposed Oil & Gas Waste Injection Well In Fayette County Riles Community

-- TribLive: Olympus Energy Proposes Another Shale Gas Drilling Well Pad, Pipeline In West Deer Township, Allegheny County

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Allegheny County Health Dept.  Begins Appeal Hearing On Invenergy Natural Gas Power Plant Proposed In Elizabeth Twp.

-- NRDC: PJM Electric Grid Operator Report Confirms Blackout Danger From Poor Maintenance At Natural Gas Power Plants

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak/Jonathan Salant: White House Pushing To Reduce Methane Emissions From Oil & Gas Wells; Methane Accounts For 12% Of All Greenhouse Gas Emissions In PA

-- Beaver County Times Guest Essay: Here’s What’s Happening As A Result Of Shell Petrochemical Plant’s [$5 Million] Fine - By Daniel Rossi-Keen

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Pittsburgh’s Problem With Shell Petrochemical Plant’s Plastic Nurdles - By Jack Doyle

Related Articles This Week:

-- Comments Submitted On Proposed Roulette Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Potter County By Save Our Streams PA Show Principals Have Been Involved In Abandoning 8 Previous Injection Wells  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Signs $660,000 Penalty Agreement With Sunoco To Resolve More Violations During The Construction Of Mariner East Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline In 9 Counties; Penalties Now Total Nearly $31 Million Just From DEP  [PaEN]

-- University Of Pittsburgh School Of Public Health Will Release Results Of Shale Gas Development Health Impact Study On Aug. 15 In Washington County  [PaEN]

-- DCED Gives UGI Utilities A $501,136 Grant For A New Natural Gas Pipeline To Serve Little Leaf Greenhouse In Carbon County  [PaEN]

[Posted: July 26, 2023]  PA Environment Digest