On August 20, the Department of Environmental Protection announced it assessed a $355,636 penalty from Sunoco Pipeline LP (Sunoco) for violations related to the construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline in eight Pennsylvania counties: Berks, Blair, Cambria, Cumberland, Delaware, Lebanon, Washington, and Westmoreland.

The violations took place between August 2018 and April 2019. The penalty was part of a Consent Assessment of Civil Penalty (CACP) signed earlier this month.

[Note: These actions do not cover the most recent Mariner East Pipeline construction spills affecting Marsh Creek State Park in Chester County.  As a result of this incident, DEP has indefinitely suspended pipeline construction in this area.  Read more here.

[Sunoco/Energy Transfer Partners has already been fined over $15 million by DEP for other violations related to Mariner East Pipeline construction.  And an additional $30.6 million for construction violations related to the Revolution Pipeline explosion in Beaver County.  See Related Articles.]

“Protecting the waters of the Commonwealth is one of the top priorities of DEP and we will continue to hold polluters of those waters accountable,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell.

Sunoco’s horizontal drilling activities resulted in unauthorized discharges of drilling fluids consisting of bentonite clay and water, also known as inadvertent returns, to Piney Creek in Blair County; tributaries and wetlands connected to Hinckston Run, Stewart Run, and Little Conemaugh Creek in Cambria County; Letort Run and wetlands and tributaries to the Yellow Breeches Creek in Cumberland County; a tributary to Chester Creek in Delaware County; Snitz Creek in Lebanon County; a tributary to Peters Creek in Washington County; and a tributary to the Conemaugh River in Westmoreland County.

As part of the agreement, DEP has assessed a civil penalty of $355,636 for the violations, which Sunoco has agreed to pay to the Commonwealth. 

A portion of the civil penalty, $5,912, will be paid to the county conservation districts to reimburse them for their costs incurred during their investigation of the inadvertent returns. The remaining penalty, $349,724, will be paid to the Clean Water Fund.

Media questions should be directed to Jamar Thrasher, DEP Press Secretary, at 717-787-1323 or send email to: jthrasher@pa.gov.

Additional information, including the CACP and supporting documents, can be found on DEP’s Mariner East 2 Pipeline webpage. 

Related Articles - Sunoco/Energy Transfer Partners:

-- PUC: Pipeline Safety Investigation Underway Involving Sunoco Pipeline Under Construction In West Whiteland Twp., Chester County

-- PUC Approves 2nd Order On Reporting Integrity Of Sunoco's Mariner East 1 Pipeline, Leaves $200,000 Penalty In Place

-- DEP Issues $1.95 Million Penalty To Sunoco For Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction Violations At Raystown Lake, Huntingdon County

-- DEP Issues Sunoco $319,461 In Penalties For Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction Violations In 2017, 2018; Fines Now Total $13 Million+

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Enters Into $18,500 Settlement With Sunoco Mariner East II Pipeline

-- DEP Issues $30.6 Million Penalty Over ETC Revolution Pipeline Explosion Violations; Lifts Permit Bar

Related Articles This Week:

-- DEP: CNX Gas Company Agrees To Pay $175,000 Penalty For Uncontrolled Methane Leaks At The Shaw Well In Westmoreland County

-- Legislators Issue Call For Revocation Of Mariner East Pipeline Permits In Chester County

[Posted: August 20, 2020]

8/24/2020