Energy Transfer Charged With Environmental Crimes In Southeast PA

DOWNINGTOWN, PA — Energy Transfer Sunoco faces criminal charges after spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of drilling fluid into ecologically crucial wetlands and other parts of southeastern Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania's Attorney General announced Tuesday.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro said the investigation found evidence the company illegally released industrial waste at 11 different sites across Pennsylvania. The company has been charged with 48 crimes, including a felony, following an 18-month-long Grand Jury investigation prompted by referrals from District Attorneys in Chester, Delaware, and Berks counties.

The AG also said the investigation found that hundreds of thousands of gallons of spilled fluid have gone unreported and have found their way into Pennsylvania’s waterways. There is evidence that Energy Transfer knew this and failed to report it until spilled substances made their way to surfaces, Shapiro said.

Shapiro announced the charges Tuesday in a news conference held at Marsh Creek State Park, where Sunoco spilled between 21,000 and 28,000 gallons of drilling fluid into the high-value wetlands on Aug. 10, 2020, not the reported 8,100 gallons. In total, more than 80,000 gallons of this fluid were released in and around the lake during the construction of this one segment of the pipeline between 2017 and 2020, the investigation found.

“Pennsylvanians from impacted communities testified about thousands of gallons of drilling fluid being lost underground — groundwater and lakes, rivers, and streams contaminated. What they said was consistent: Energy Transfer started drilling, the fluid started leaking, their drinking water was impacted, DEP wasn’t notified, and nobody was held criminally accountable. These charges are changing that, starting today,” said Shapiro.

Energy Transfer has also been using unapproved chemicals and additives, Shapiro reported the investigation found. He said that while some such use was by contractors of Energy Transfer, the failure by Energy Transfer to oversee its contractor practices “is not an error, it’s a crime in Pennsylvania.”

A news conference was planned for Monday but was temporarily postponed due to new information received by the Office of Attorney General that morning, the AG’s Office reported.

"We must do our due diligence and review. We will have more to say on this shortly," the Attorney General's Office said in a cancellation notice.

The delay resulted in the addition of two criminal charges added to 46 already in place, after the federal Environmental Protection Agency gave the AG’s Office additional evidence.

Shapiro said three charges are related to the use of unapproved additives and chemicals in their drilling operations, as well as failure to report accidents during operations; the felony charge comes from Energy Transfer willfully and consistently failing to report inadvertent releases.

“There is a duty to protect our air and water, and when companies harm these vital resources through negligence — it is a crime,” said AG Shapiro. “By charging them, we can both seek to hold them criminally accountable and send a clear message to others about how seriously we take protecting the environment and public health.”

The Mariner East 2 Pipeline project crosses 17 counties in the southern tier of Pennsylvania. The Grand Jury learned that at many of the locations, Energy Transfer received permits that allowed horizontal directional drilling as the construction method. While constructing the pipeline, Energy Transfer repeatedly allowed thousands of gallons of drilling fluid to escape underground, which sometimes surfaced in fields, backyards, streams, lakes, and wetlands, Shapiro's Office alleges.

Energy Transfer failed to report the losses of fluid to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) numerous times, in spite of the legal requirement to do so. The Grand Jury found that there were multiple drill locations where the drilling fluid contained unapproved additives that entered the waters of the Commonwealth — impacting the drinking water of Pennsylvanians who rely on water wells.

He acknowledged that the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) operation that Energy Transfer is licensed to use in Pennsylvania is complicated, requiring high-pressure fluid and bentonite clay to move rock and soil in order to install pipelines.

But Shapiro added, “Every time errors happen, a driller is required to report it.”

“I’m here today because Pennsylvanians have a right to clean air and clean water. We are one of the few states that have those guarantees,” Shapiro said.

The Grand Jury recommended that Energy Transfer be charged with 22 counts of Prohibition of Discharge of Industrial Waste under the Clean Streams Law; 22 counts of Prohibition Against Other Pollutions under the Clean Streams Law; two misdemeanor counts of Unlawful Conduct under the Clean Streams Law; and one felony count of Unlawful Conduct under the Clean Streams Law.

AG Shapiro also announced today that his office additionally received a criminal referral from DEP regarding an incident in West Whiteland Township concerning Energy Transfer’s utilization of a guided auger bore that led to the impact of a wetland and a nearby creek without permission from DEP.

Shapiro made clear that his duty as the top law enforcement official in Pennsylvania is to enforce the law. He said that if Energy Transfer is found guilty in the trial he promises is “absolutely” happening, the penalty under the law is a fine.

“Under our state laws, if convicted, this company will be sentenced to fines and restitution. There is no jail time for these environmental crimes, and fines are not enough. That’s why we are, once again, calling for stronger laws to hold these companies accountable and protect Pennsylvanians’ health, and demanding DEP toughen up the independent oversight we need them to provide for the industries they regulate,” Shapiro said.

Grand Jurors heard from homeowners who complained of dangerous impacts to their drinking water, and residents who reported incidents of gray and coffee-colored water after construction began near their homes.

Shapiro cited the case of a resident of Media, Rosemary Fuller, who signed an agreement to allow Energy Transfer to drill on her property. The woman testified that she was told all drilling would be underground, with minimal impact. Fuller noticed sediment in her water that destroyed several appliances in her home. She reported it to Energy Transfer, and representatives told her the sediment that was in her water would not impact the safety of the water supply, the AG reported.

Instead, she said strange fluid leaked into her home’s water, her daughter had to be hospitalized after drinking the water, and sinkholes appeared.

"As of early this year, Ms. Fuller's water contamination has not been resolved and she and her family are still facing issues with their drinking water which they use to bathe and do laundry," Shapiro said.

Shapiro acknowledged the work of Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan, Delaware District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, as well as officials in Berks County and other special agents, in the investigation.

The Delaware County District Attorney’s office was the first to refer this case to the Office of Attorney General and assigned a prosecutor from their Environmental Crimes Unit to work with our office on this case.

"Pennsylvania’s criminal prosecutors have made it clear that the environment and our communities will be protected, using the tools that the criminal justice system offers. I have established a unit dedicated to Environmental Crimes prosecutions that have supported this investigation and we will continue the fight for environmental justice,” said Stollsteimer.

"Specifically, my Environmental Crimes prosecutors brought the evidence to the Grand Jury that led to the charges related to the Glen Riddle and Tunbridge Apartments. I am immensely proud of the contribution this office has made to this prosecution," Stollsteimer added.

He said in a news release after the conference, "Regulators must continue to work to address the safety concerns associated with the pipeline industry that transports hazardous gas through our neighborhoods. There is more work to be done and questions remain to be answered, but my office is committed to this endeavor and the fight for the environment.”

Here are backstories on Energy Transfer and Sunoco's activity in Chester County as the AG's investigation was ongoing:

Read a Patch report on the spill that happened in August 2020 here.

Read about DEP’s order to Sunoco to reroute the Mariner East 2 pipelines around Marsh Creek State Park, here

Read about Sunoco’s attempt to overturn DEP’s reroute order, claiming harm, here.

Read about calls from lawmakers to revoke the Mariner East 2 operating license, after the spill of drilling fluid into Marsh Creek Lake, here

Read about sinkholes forming along pipeline construction in Chester County here.

Read here about a complaint filed by Chester County’s District Attorney calling the Mariner East pipeline a public nuisance.

Read here about a plan for emergency preparation and response issued by Chester County’s Commissioners, in a county where Energy Transfer’s pipelines cross 12 municipalities.

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