HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) – The Pennsylvania Attorney General abruptly canceled a press conference Monday at which he appeared to be ready to announce criminal charges against the developer of a pipeline network that carries liquefied natural gas through southern Pennsylvania.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro had scheduled an event at Marsh Creek State Park in Downingtown where Sunoco Pipeline LP spilled more than 8,000 gallons of drilling fluid last year. The spill during construction of the troubled Mariner East 2 pipeline contaminated wetlands, a creek and part of a 535 acre lake.
Shapiro’s office had billed it as a “serious environmental crime” and a YouTube page set up to post the announcement was headed “AG Shapiro Accuses Mariner East Developer of Environmental Crimes.” But the page was quickly torn down, and the state’s chief prosecutor postponed the press conference a little over 20 minutes before it was scheduled to start.
Shapiro’s office said it received “new information” Monday morning, adding, “We need to do our due diligence and review. We will have more to say about this shortly. “
The statement was not elaborated, and Shapiro’s spokesman had nothing more to add later Monday. Messages soliciting comments have been sent to Sunoco and its owner, Dallas-based pipeline giant Energy Transfer.
The August 2020 Marsh Creek oil spill was one of a series of incidents that have plagued Mariner East since construction began in 2017, making it one of the most severely punished projects in the state’s history.
The company has more than 16.4 million state regulators have periodically suspended construction.
But environmental activists and homeowners who claim their water has been contaminated say fines and regular shutdown orders did not force Sunoco to clean up its act. They are calling for Mariner East’s permits to be revoked.
When the building permits for Mariner East were approved in 2017, environmental groups accused Governor Tom Wolf’s government of violating the law, warning that pipeline construction would cause massive and irreparable damage to the environment and residents of Pennsylvania.
The Mariner East pipeline system transports propane, ethane and butane from the vast Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale gas fields in western Pennsylvania to a refinery processing center and export terminal in Marcus Hook, near Philadelphia.
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Rubinkam reported from northeast Pennsylvania.
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