DEP: Sunoco Moves Turtles From 2020 Oil Spill Area At Marsh Creek

CHESTER COUNTY —Turtles from the Ranger Cove section of Marsh Creek Lake in Uwchlan Township are being trapped this week as part of Sunoco’s cleanup of a 2020 oil spill during the Mariner East pipeline 2 expansion project.

The Northern Red-belly Cooter turtles are a threatened species in Pennsylvania due to loss of habitats.

Turtle traps have been installed and are being monitored daily.

At the end of the month, the turtles will be released to another location in the lake before the cleanup commences.

A turbidity curtain is being installed to prevent turtles from entering the project area.

The 535-acre, man-made lake is part of a 1,784-acre park that provides fishing, boating and a swimming for about a million visitors each year.

In the meantime, the state Department of Environmental Protection has approved Sunoco Pipeline LP’s request for a permit amendment for the restoration project. Sunoco is a subsidiary of Energy Transfer, based in Newtown Square.

The new permit provides Sunoco with a 4.06-acre increase in the lake area for workers to dredge sediment and relocate the turtles to a safe area.

“While steps were taken to protect natural resources immediately after the spill occurred, DEP, in coordination with a number of federal and state agencies, pursued a binding agreement to ensure a thorough and complete cleanup of the lake,” Pat Paterson, DEP southeast regional director, said.

The pipeline project expanded existing pipes to transport natural gas from Ohio to Markus Hook in Delaware County.

In August 2020, Suncoco spilled approximately 8,000 gallons of drilling fluid that impacted a wetland, two tributaries, and Marsh Creek Lake. The pipeline expansion in Chester County is complete.

On Dec. 6, 2020, restoration was ordered under the terms of a Consent Order and Agreement between DEP, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and Sunoco.

The agreement requires Sunoco to dredge portions of the lake to remove drilling mud and sediment present as a result of the spill.