Upper Uwchlan Twp Asks Wolf To Rescind Energy Transfer's Permits

UPPER UWCHLAN TOWNSHIP — The board of supervisors of Upper Uwchlan Township has asked Gov. Tom Wolf to intervene after a "pollution event" early this week at Marsh Creek State Park left drilling fluid spilling into wetlands and a lake that provides drinking water for Downingtown and West Chester.

A formal letter sent Aug. 13 pleaded with the governor, saying "municipalities hold no regulatory authority over pipeline siting and construction," leaving the township supervisors "unable to adequately address the concerns of our residents."

Energy Transfer also on Thursday released a statement denying that any public drinking has been affected by the drilling fluid spill. "As a clarification to some public statements that have been made, no public drinking water has been impacted," Energy Transfer Partners said.

The township's statement did not state that drinking water had been compromised, but rather expressed concern that the ongoing drilling operations of Energy Transfer to install the Mariner East pipelines "beneath public and private lands and near the homes and businesses of hundreds of our residents," placing that land and those residents at risk.

The letter to Wolf said the Aug. 10 incident of 10,000 gallons of drilling fluid "inadvertently" released at the March Creek Lake site, shows that "the drilling operations cannot safely be conducted in our Township."

Energy Transfer, L.P. is one of the largest companies working to install pipelines that transport oil and gas. The company describes itself, saying, "We are proud to have one of America’s largest energy portfolios with assets reaching coast-to-coast, covering 38 states and an international office in Beijing. Our core operations include transportation, storage and terminalling for natural gas, crude oil, (natural gas liquids), refined products and liquid natural gas." A list of Energy Transfer subsidiaries can be found here.

The company said it recognizes "the importance of this waterbody and are committed to allocating all necessary resources to fully remediate and restore the area." The company said critical resources have been mobilized, including environmental specialists, professional geologists, and operations and construction specialists, along with cleanup machinery such as pumps, vac trucks, tanker trucks, boats, sandbags and turbidity curtains. "This effort will be ongoing as we conduct assessments and clean and restore the impacted area," the company said.

The Upper Uwchlan Township Board of Supervisors is not content waiting for Energy Transfer's restoration response. It asked the governor to "require Energy Transfer Partners to expeditiously clean up and restore our communities' water resources." The Township further asked "that the Commonwealth rescind all permits that have been issued to Energy Transfer Partners for the drilling operations in our region."

The letter insisted that "the geology of our area and the proximity of the drilling work to irreplaceable natural resources make it impossible for Energy Transfer Partners to drill in a safe manner with no harm to the environment and sources of drinking water."

The letter was signed by Sandy D'Amico, Chairperson of the Upper Uwchlan Township Board of Supervisors.

The fluid spilled is a mix of water and bentonite clay, a naturally occurring nontoxic clay, and additives may be used in the mixture but must adhere to standards for safe drinking water, the Township explained. Fact sheets about bentonite and additives on the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) website at this link.

The spill that happened on Monday happened as the Sunoco Mariner East pipeline project used Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) as the construction method at this drill site. Specifically, what the industry calls an "Inadvertent Returns" happens when "drilling mud, used to lubricate the drill underground, follows a fissure in the geology and finds its way to the surface."

An analysis of the incident's impact on aquatic life will be conducted, because silt, soils or clay in the water can cause harm to the aquatic wildlife and their habitat. The DEP has stated that there is no anticipation of a threat to the public water suppliers downstream from the IR. Nonetheless, both the Downingtown Water Authority and Aqua’s West Chester facility have been notified.

The DEP is still investigating the spill and its consequences.

On Friday morning a group of legislators and other public officials representing affected residents gathered at the White Creek State Park. Their stated purpose was to "paddle out and observe the cleanup at Marsh Creek Lake from Energy Tansfer's spill of industrial drilling mud this week."

State Rep. Danielle Friel-Otten, D-Chester, and Sen. Katie Muth, D-Chester/Montgomery/Berks, planned the informal gathering to happen from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, Aug. 14.

Upper Uwchlan Township told its 11,500 residents that if they have a private well, any turbidity, discoloration, or smell in your water should be immediately reported to the DEP and Chester County Department of Health.

The Township said it is "in communication with those regulators, as well as PA elected officials, and will continue to advocate vigorously for a complete and proper cleanup of this discharge, full restoration of our waterways, and a thorough investigation by the Department of Environmental Protection." The full letter may be viewed here.

Early Friday Gov. had not issued a response to the Township's letter.