By Jason N. Peters, Grid
Along the long, winding roads of Glen Riddle, a small unincorporated community nestled in Delaware County near Media, sits Glen Riddle Station Apartments, a 124-unit complex that has found itself at the center of yet another Mariner East pipeline controversy.
On May 26 more than two hundred residents of Glen Riddle found themselves without water and Pennsylvania State Police launched an investigation into the actions of a Sunoco representative. For residents, this is the latest episode in what they see as chronic carelessness and the malevolent indifference by Sunoco to people living near their work.
Energy Transfer LP, Sunoco’s parent company, began construction on the Mariner East 2 pipeline in December 2018. The pipeline is meant to cross the entirety of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from east to west, moving natural gas liquids across the state. Similar to other large scale pipeline operations, Mariner East has been plagued with controversy from issues surrounding permits to being deemed negligent by a Public Utility Commission judge in Delaware and Chester counties.
Despite the controversy, Energy Transfer has carried on construction.
In November 2020, with the backing of state courts, Sunoco exercised eminent domain to claim the privately-owned land at Glen Riddle Station. A long, grassy hill separates two of the five apartment buildings from the other three, but for the last six months these buildings have been divided by a wall that’s somewhere between 40 and 50 feet high, meant to dampen the loud sounds and bright lights of drilling and construction work.
“This has been a battle since November,” says Steve Iacobucci, one of the owners of Glen Riddle Station. “It’s been a battle to get safety concerns and questions addressed [about] the operation,” he explains. Iacobucci is not alone in his concerns about safety. In a virtual council meeting for residents of Middletown Township on April 12, residents raised concerns about safety and evacuation plans that went unanswered by a Sunoco representative.
Energy Transfer Vice President of Corporate Communications Vicki Anderson Granado did not answer the questions Grid asked, but provided a statement denying any wrongdoing on Energy Transfer’s behalf.
If you liked this post you’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
