PA Environment Digest Blog: WHYY: Federal Pipeline Regulatory Agency Says Energy Transfer/Sunoco Pipelines Have A ‘System-Wide Risk” Of Leaks Similar To The One Discovered In Upper Makefield Twp., Bucks County

On October 16, WHYY reported the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued a corrective action order to Energy Transfer/Sunoco Pipelines Company saying there is a "system-wide risk" of leaks similar to the one discovered in January 2025 in its Twin Oaks pipeline in Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County, that contaminated drinking water sources with jet fuel.

“PHMSA finds a high likelihood that the same conditions underlying the MTC and Twin Oaks pipeline failures remain present in Energy Transfer’s other hazardous liquid pipeline systems and that those conditions could result in additional failures,” the agency said in the order.

[Note: Energy Transfer/Sunoco’s Mariner East Natural Gas Liquid Pipelines that run the length of Pennsylvania would fall into this category.]

As a result, the agency has ordered the firm to inspect and, if necessary, repair its pipelines related to leaks originating from failed repair pipeline sleeves.

The order requires a pressure restriction and a repair sleeve inventory, in addition to several other measures, to evaluate the integrity of the impacted pipelines and all other hazardous liquid pipelines owned and operated by Energy Transfer and its subsidiaries.

Without those measures, agency officials wrote that Energy Transfer’s pipeline network “is or would be hazardous to life, property, or the environment.”

Click Here to read the entire WHYY article.

Visit DEP’s Upper Makefield Pipeline Leak webpage for more information on the Bucks County incident.

(Map: Bucks County area impacted by the Energy Transfer/Sunoco jet fuel pipeline leak.)

PA Oil & Gas Industry, Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Snapshot - October 10 to 16 [PaEN]

-- DEP: Investigation Of A ‘Frac Hit’ Between 3 Seneca Resources Co Shale Gas Well Pads In Middlebury Twp., Tioga County Leads To Contaminated Water Spill [PaEN]

-- WHYY: Federal Pipeline Regulatory Agency Says Energy Transfer/Sunoco Pipelines Have A ‘System-Wide Risk” Of Leaks Similar To The One Discovered In Upper Makefield Twp., Bucks County [PaEN]

-- DEP - Day 57: More Water Seeps Break Out From INR OPR LLC Cooper Shale Gas Well Pad Possibly Related To Broken Pad Drainage System In Indiana County, Site Of 336,000 Gallon Frack Water Spill [PaEN]

-- DEP: Routine Inspection Finds Overflowing Contaminated Water Tank At Penn View Exploration Conventional Oil & Gas Well In Clearfield County [PaEN]

-- DEP - Day 71: Violations Continue At John D. Branch Conventional Well Site For Failing To Have Adequate Spill Containment Around Tanks Holding 42,000 Gallons On Contaminated Water In Warren County [PaEN]

-- DEP: Ruptured Underground Gathering Line Releases Crude Oil Near Bull Run Resources Conventional Well In Warren County [PaEN]

-- DEP - Day 82: McGuffie Oil Co Inc. Abandoned Conventional Gas Well Still Venting Gas, Creating A Hazard To Health, Safety In Allegheny County [PaEN]