Sunoco and Energy Transfer Partners decided to ring in the new year with a little announcement.
On a Saturday of a holiday weekend, they announced that their controversial - and much-delayed - Mariner East 2 pipeline was now online and ready to move liquid gases from the state's Marcellus Shale regions to Marcus Hook.
Don't expect the fierce critics of this project to be popping any champagne corks at this news.
In fact, they are not buying the fact that this is really Mariner East 2, at least the original version Sunoco planned.
And they have a point.
Back in November 2014, Sunoco announced it would build a new, 20-inch pipeline to ferry hundreds of thousands of barrels of liquid natural gases such as ethane, butane and propane the full width of Pennsylvania. The 350-mile trek would emanate from eastern Ohio, traverse the entire width of Pennsylvania, and deliver the goods to a facility at the former Sunoco refinery in Marcus Hook, where it would be stored and then shipped out, mostly to foreign destinations.
The line basically followed the path of Mariner East 1, which is the old, original Sunoco petroleum pipeline that was refitted and already moving these highly volatile gases to Marcus Hook.
When fully up and operational, Sunoco/Energy Transfer Partners said Mariner East 2 would move hundreds of thousands of barrels of product a day.
But Mariner East 2 was billed as a new, state-of-the-art 20-inch pipeline. What went online Saturday was not either of those things.
Construction of Mariner East 2 was plagued from the outset by a series of spills and runoffs. It also was met with fierce community opposition, fueled by the fear of moving these kinds of materials through densely populated neighborhoods, in close proximity to elementary schools and senior centers.
Construction was halted several times by the state, including a major shutdown after sinkholes believed linked to drilling for Mariner East 2 popped up in a neighborhood in West Whiteland, Chester County, at one point actually exposing the old Mariner East 1 pipe.
Despite the delays, Sunoco and ETP remained consistent in their stance that they would have Mariner East 2 online by the end of the year.
But in order to do that, they had to alter their plan. The full, 20-inch Mariner East 2 pipeline now is not expected to be completed until 2020. In order to put what the company is referring to as "Mariner East 2" online, the company is filling in gaps where the 20-inch line has yet to be installed with something of a hybrid mish-mash of different pipelines.
Sunoco vows all the pipes, including one that was first installed eight decades ago, have been tested and deemed safe.
It mimics what the company has been saying about construction in general, that they will build and operate Mariner East 2 to the highest standards in the industry.
Its legions of critics aren't nearly that sure.
They are referring to the hybrid line put into service over the weekend as "Frankenpipe."
Pipeline foes have for months now urged anyone who would listen to shut the project down.
A state Public Utility Commission administrative law judge continues to mull a request from residents in Delaware and Chester counties to shut the project down completely. This comes after rejecting an initial plea to halt work.
Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced last week that he was opening a criminal investigation into construction of Mariner East 2, in part stemming from the company's announcement that it would be using several older pipelines in this hybrid mix to get product moving through the line. Hogan also made it clear he was taking the action in part to reassure residents that someone is looking into their concerns and safety, something he suggested state regulatory officials and Gov. Tom Wolf have failed to do.
Tom Casey is a grassroots organizer who has been fighting Sunoco's plans now for years. He believes the company made the announcement Saturday in order to reassure investors.
"With the announcement of the 12-inch line coming online, Sunoco can now tell their investors that they have fulfilled their promise to have it online by the end of 2018," Casey said. "But is the service safe and reliable?"
It was a concern shared by many.
Fierce critic Mike Walsh did not try to hide his feelings.
"With the latest announcement by ETP, the majority of what Sunoco is calling ME2 in Chester and Delaware Counties is not ME2," Walsh stated. "It's a cobbled together Frankenpipe composed of a 12-inch, 16-inch and 20-inch lines of which the 12-inch line was installed in the 1930s and has a long history of leaks."
Two public officials also weighed in on the latest news from Sunoco.
State Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19 of West Whiteland, perhaps the most vehement critic of Mariner East 2, vowed the fight to ensure citizen safety is not over. In fact, he believes it is just beginning.
"Our concerns regarding the safety of Sunoco/ETP's Mariner East project and the lack of adequate emergency planning and response information are now more real than ever."
State Rep. Chris Quinn, R-168 of Middletown, who won re-election in November despite fierce opposition of those who cited his stance on the pipeline while still a member of the township commissioners, questioned the timing of the announcement.
"Using old technology without proper vetting for a project that directly impacts public safety is dangerous and irresponsible," Quinn said. "And to do it all under the cloak of darkness on a Saturday night once raises the question: What is Sunoco hiding?"
Sunoco and Energy Transfer Partners have been successful in getting Mariner East 2 - or at least some version of it - online by their projected date, the start of the new year.
But they still have a long way to go to reassure critics that the project is being done safely, and will be operated in the same way.
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