Chester County Pumping Station Explosion Cause for Further Mariner East Concerns

PHILADELPHIA, PA (August 6, 2019) On Monday, August 5, 2019, around 8 pm, residents of West Goshen Township, Chester County, and surrounding areas were startled by a loud explosion.  The force was strong enough to rattle windows and shake frames off the walls up to a half a mile from where it emanated at the Boot Road Pump Station, which is part of the troubled Mariner East pipeline system.   The explosion was due to an overpressurization and subsequent pressure release of combustible gases in a flare stack at the station.  

Joseph Otis Minott, Esq., Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council, issued the following statement:

“Clean Air Council has been sounding the alarm on the Boot Road Pump Station and air quality concerns for years.  This incident illustrates once again the regulatory holes and lack of oversight that have allowed Sunoco to endanger the public and put our air quality at risk.  We stand firm in our call to Governor Wolf and his PUC to shut down Mariner East once and for all. ”