Sunoco offers affected well owners along pipeline $60K; petition seeks to halt construction
Sunoco Pipeline LP has offered the money to Chester County households whose water well was impaired earlier this month by the company's construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline, according to people involved in the talks. And petition organizers say they have 1,200 signatures.
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Jeffrey Shields, a Sunoco spokesman, said Thursday that the company will not comment on private negotiations.
The offer, made to the homeowners Wednesday night, was the latest in a recent string of developments regarding the pipeline, which is being built to transport natural-gas liquids through 17 counties along the southern part of the state, including Chester and Delaware Counties.
• On Monday, an administrative law judge temporarily blocked construction of a valve-control station in West Goshen Township, Chester County.
• Tuesday, in a separate action, a state Environmental Hearing Board judge ordered that Sunoco temporarily halt horizontal drilling being done in connection with the pipeline's construction, although that order does not block all construction. The order will expire Aug. 7, when the environmental board will hold hearings on the matter.
• And on Thursday, a coalition of local environmental groups from suburban Pennsylvania said it had gathered about 1,200 signatures from residents supporting calls for a halt to the Mariner East 2 pipeline construction because of the water issue.
The petition, addressed to the state legislature, supports a recent call by State Sen. Andrew Dinniman, a Democrat from Chester County, to have the Department of Environmental Protection halt the horizontal-drilling method used to construct the pipeline — at least temporarily.