PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A judge has made a ruling in the 2018 "Safety 7" case against Sunoco's Mariner East Pipeline over state and federal safety violations. Now safety advocates await final approval from the Public Utility Commission.
Nancy Harkin, one of the seven residents of Chester and Delaware counties living near the pipeline who filed the lawsuit, says Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth Barnes ruled that Sunoco must communicate its safety plans directly to schools, hospitals and residents along the pipeline.
"She agreed with several significant safety issues that were raised by the plaintiff, which were that were actually violations of state and federal law," Harkin said.
"The average person would have expected this to already be happening. One of the things that they're talking about is in her order, that they are to meet with the counties and with municipalities to talk about developing templates for emergency response and public outreach."
The ruling says currently Sunoco does not mention that an explosion from a leak could result in property damage, personal injury and even death. Specifically, the ruling says, “SPLP (Sunoco Pipeline Limited Partnership) is not compliant with their public awareness plan as submitted to the Commission because there is no mention of the terms “personal injury,” “property damage,” “asphyxiation” or “fatality” in their written safety pamphlet materials that they mail every two years to the general public.
Some homes sit 5 feet from the pipeline. The pipeline runs past schools, townhomes, hospitals and nursing homes, all within the blast zone. Four school districts, two counties and many other communities also signed on to the lawsuit.
Harkins says Barnes has ruled that Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline’s parent company, must issue detailed safety information to the community about the potential for a deadly explosion. The current safety pamphlets do not include that information.
"Why was it up to community members, individual community members to raise this up? And why has it taken us till now? And we still don't have the answer. And they're being ordered: Yes, you must do this. But it's not in place, and they're allowed to continue operating," Harkins said.
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The judge also ruled that the pipeline is only buried 12 inches deep in some spots.
The ruling says "there ... are multiple locations along ME 1 and the 12-inch pipelines in Chester and Delaware counties with lack of appropriate depth of cover as well as improper distance between these pipelines and other pipelines, underground utilities/structures."
Sunoco was fined $2,000 for the violations, which Harkins says is almost laughable.
"Fines mean nothing," Harkin said. "Sunoco has already accrued a record number of fines. ... It's to them, I think, the cost of doing business."
Energy Transfer Partners says it is pleased the judge allowed Mariner East to remain in operation and allowed construction to continue.
The Safety 7 says the case has highlighted Sunoco’s lack of attention to safety -- and the failure of Pennsylvania’s laws to protect citizens from a well-funded pipeline builder.
The judge’s decision now goes to the full board of the Public Utility Commission.