There is no bye week for the most important story in Delaware County.
Middletown Council's meeting Monday night was packed by residents who wanted to air their increasing concerns about Sunoco Logistics' plans for Mariner East 2, a 350-mile-long series of pipeline the company wants to use to ferry ethane, butane and propane to the former refinery in Marcus Hook.
To get there they have to traverse a little more than 11 miles in Delaware County, including a chunk of Middletown, in addition to Thornbury, Edgmont, Middletown, Aston and Upper Chichester.
Council eventually signed off on the easements needed by the company including a parcel that will take the new pipelines within 800 feet of Glenwood Elementary School on Pennell Road, something that drew a lot of attention from concerned residents and parents.
A couple of things are certain after Middletown's vote.
One, the residents who are opposed are not going away.
Members of the grassroots organization Middletown Coalition for Community Safety that has sprung up in efforts to halt the pipeline said they will continue the fight.
“We will pursue each and every legal and constitutional option available to us to stop the pipeline,” said coalition member Eve Miari.
It was good to see that several of those who have been vocal in their opposition have been invited to work with council in keeping tabs on the project. Council joined neighboring Thornbury in firing off a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf outlining their concerns over the project.
The other important element is something that was made pretty clear during the presentation by a Sunoco Logistics spokesman at the meeting Monday night.
I can't say I'm terribly surprised.
This pipeline project is going to happen.
If the company had not gotten the OK for the easements they were seeking to cross township-owned property, they simply would have rerouted around it.
“If you vote no, we will still put the pipeline in,” Sunoco Logistics Land Project Manager Bart Mitchell said. “This project will be completed."
There is a lot at stake in Mariner East 2.
The economic upside is huge, both for Marcus Hook and the rest of the county.
The concerns about safety along the pipeline are equally important.
Don't expect this issue to go away anytime soon.
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