Energy Transfer Seeks Waivers to Move Ahead on Mariner East in Quarantined Residents’ Yards

(PHILADELPHIA, PA – March 25, 2020) On Wednesday morning, Clean Air Council obtained the requests that Energy Transfer made on Friday to the office of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, seeking waivers from the order shutting down “non-life-sustaining” business in the state to try to contain the coronavirus pandemic.  While characterizing the requests as made to protect “safety and/or the environment,” Energy Transfer seeks broad permission to continue with pipeline construction as usual across the state.

While the first of six waiver requests seeks leave to “address[] any safety concerns at work spaces as necessary,” the other five list a series of worksites where Energy Transfer asks to continue with construction.  Energy Transfer refers to safety throughout the 23-page series of waiver requests, but not a single request describes a safety concern that could not be addressed by securing the site and removing personnel. It is unclear from the requests what Mariner East worksites in Pennsylvania, if any, would be shut down due to the pandemic.  All told, Energy Transfer seeks Mariner East waivers for nine horizontal directional drilling (HDD) sites; four trench-digging sites; and two road-crossing sites. It also seeks a waiver to build a new gathering pipeline, without citing safety concerns.

“It is frankly outrageous that in this time of crisis, Energy Transfer is trying to get around the critical protections Governor Wolf has put in place to minimize deaths of Pennsylvanians,” said Joseph Otis Minott, Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council.  “Energy Transfer’s waiver requests are broad and vague and lack technical verification. Determining which construction sites and activities, if any, must resume to protect the public is a question that requires both technical expertise and highly detailed factual information that Energy Transfer has failed to provide.  No such requests should be granted without first being scrutinized by technically qualified agency experts. The current requests cannot stand up to that kind of review.”  

The waiver requests can be accessed here. Energy Transfer’s letter to the PUC can be found here.