Chesco Commissioners Step Up Pressure On Gov. Wolf To Stop Sunoco

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — The pipeline accident at Marsh Creek Lake Aug. 10 involved a sinkhole 15 feet wide and 8 feet deep, "a mere 5-feet from the active Mariner East 1 (ME1) pipeline, which presently carries hazardous liquids," Chester County commissioners said late Tuesday.

The board called on Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to stop construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline and revoke Sunoco's authorization for construction, saying civil penalties and temporary suspensions were "no longer sufficient."

Chester County's Board of Commissioners said they learned of the sinkhole incident during a telephone conference with Commonwealth officials on Friday, Aug. 14, regarding Sunoco Pipeline, L.P.'s (Sunoco) Mainer East 2 project (ME2) in Chester County.

The board drafted a letter that was sent late Tuesday to Wolf, expressing grave concern about another in "a series of sinkholes showing up across Chester County."

"This sinkhole is in addition to the numerous other recent sinkholes that began appearing in West
Whiteland Township, Chester County in mid-June 2020. As you may be aware, a sinkhole in West
Whiteland Township in 2018 exposed the ME1 pipeline and prompted the Chairwoman of the
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to order that the ME1 pipeline temporarily cease
operations because 'permitting the continued flow of hazardous liquids through the ME1 pipeline without proper steps to ensure the integrity of the pipeline could have catastrophic results impacting the public,'" the letter stated.

"Yet another sinkhole within feet of the active ME1 pipeline is alarming and deeply troubling," the commissioners told Wolf. "While we wrote to you last week asking that Sunoco’s permits be suspended, after learning about this new development, it seems that civil penalties and temporary suspensions are no longer sufficient. The construction of ME2 must be stopped and the permits authorizing its construction must be revoked."

"Doing anything less risks 'catastrophic results impacting the public.'"

As of Tuesday evening, the governor's office had not responded to Chester County's board.