Creeks and wetlands in Chester County are not the only valuable things at risk from Mariner East pipeline construction; County Commissioners and residents insist the liquid gas moving through the pipes is a danger to residents. (Marlene Lang)
By Marlene Lang, Patch Staff
CHESTER COUNTY, PA — Sinkholes — one after another along Mariner East 2 construction sites in Chester County — prompted a letter from the Chester County Commissioners today calling for the work to stop.
In a letter to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), the Chester County Commissioners on Monday requested that two Mariner East pipelines be ordered to cease operations while further investigations examine the impact on public safety from a recent outbreak of construction-induced sinkholes near the lines.
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With at least seven sinkhole formations documented this year, the Commissioners urged PUC to take swift action to protect residents’ safety.
The lines in question are Energy Transfer’s Mariner East 1 (ME1) 8-inch and 12-inch natural gas liquid (NGL) pipelines. Both pipelines have been in the ground for about 80 years but only began carrying NGLs under high pressure much more recently. A PUC document explained ME1 is used to transport liquid propane, butane, and ethane.
According to the letter from Commissioners’ Chair Marian Moskowitz, and Commissioners Josh Maxwell and Michelle Kichline, at least seven sinkholes have been caused by construction near the lines in 2021 in the fragile, hollow karst geology in West Whiteland Township. The Commissioners asked that work be halted and the cause of the sinkholes be determined.
The Commissioners’ letter reported that one recent sinkhole near the lines swallowed a tree, a phenomenon caught on video and provided with the letter to the PUC.
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