Sunoco Says DEP Is Dragging Its Feet On Marsh Creek Permit

UPPER UWCHLAN TOWNSHIP, PA — In a volley of orders and appeals ongoing since August, Sunoco Pipeline L.P. is seeking an override of the state DEP's order to create restart plan that shows how Sunco can work without harming the wetlands of Marsh Creek State Park.

In a Nov. 23 statement to the Environmental Hearing Board (EHB), the Department of Environmental Protection said Sunoco has not shown it won't cause harm if it continues drilling in the vicinity of Marsh Creek State Park. It halted drilling after an 8,000-gallon fluid spill in August and then required Sunoco to not only reroute the pipeline but also show its plan to clean up the lake and show how it would prevent harming the wetlands going forward.

The spill originated in a wetland area at the state park; the drilling fluid release moved along two streams, traveling 1,900 feet into a cove of Marsh Creek Lake, within Marsh Creek State Park, the EHB filing said.

The Department of Environmental Protection has told Sunoco that it has not yet completed its review of the company's Nov. 20 restart plan.

On Dec. 16, Sunoco shot back suggesting the Department of Environmental Protection is dragging its feet on approval of the plan. Sunoco told the EHB it had submitted the required restart plan so that it can begin drilling again but wrote, "it is unclear whether the Department is conducting a review of that plan in accordance with the Board-approved process."

"There is some indication that, despite the agreed-upon, Board-approved process for reviewing the restart report, the Department (of Environmental Protection) views its issuance of the order under appeal as a substitute for that review," said Sunoco's Dec. 16 petition.

Today DEP's Virginia Cain said, "DEP is aware of EHB's opinion and is currently reviewing the documents as outlined on our webpage."

Pennsylvania's DEP told the Environmental Hearing Board on Nov. 23 that "the Aug. 10, 2020 inadvertent return continues to adversely impact Marsh Creek Lake and Marsh Creek State Park and constitutes injury to the public, ongoing pollution and a threat to public health and safety, to this day."

The Aug. 10 spill of drilling fluid was estimated to be about 8,000 gallons during the installation of a 20-inch diameter pipeline near little Conestoga Road in Upper Uwchlan Township, at the site referred to as HDD290. If there is an inadvertent return (spill) greater than 50 gallons or a spill into a wetland or water body, Sunoco must suspend drilling and submit a restart report.

Sunoco remains unsatisfied with the pace of DEP's review. "At first we were prepared to assume that the Department is reviewing the report and it is preparing to make a decision one way or the other on whether drilling may restart. After careful review, however, we are not satisfied that the record supports that assumption," said Sunoco's petition for supersedes, an action that seeks suspension of an authorized order.

"Unfortunately, the record is very unclear about whether the Department is actually reviewing the restart report," Sunoco said.

Sunoco said it was only told, "The Department has not fully reviewed the Restart Report."

Read earlier reports on this issue:

Sunoco Halts Drilling After Marsh Creek Lake Fluid Spill

Sunoco Claims Harm, Seeks Overturn Of DEP Pipeline Reroute Order

DEP Orders Sunoco: Divert Pipeline From Marsh Creek State Park