Blog

On Monday the Supreme Court decided to uphold a May 2017 ruling by a three-judge panel of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and declined to review the challenge to Sunoco Inc.’s ability to use eminent domain. This decision, which reinforces a ruling in favor of the company, is merely one more in a long line finding…
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The Delaware County Council is not proceeding with a risk assessment study on the Mariner East pipeline after finding themselves deadlocked late last week. With two votes on either side of the issue, the risk assessment, which was initially meant to be a look at all pipeline routes in Delaware County, but ultimately shifted to…
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Administrative Law Judge Barnes’ decision to grant Senator Andy Dinniman’s petition late last week is unfortunate and ultimately not in the best interest of the Pennsylvanians that the Senator was elected to serve. Moreover, because the Senator does not live within the jurisdiction of the pipeline, his standing is legally flimsy at best. Permitting Senator…
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Today begins the annual bipartisan “Infrastructure Week,” kicking off nationwide efforts to raise awareness about the state of America’s infrastructure. For years, Infrastructure Week has highlighted the dismal state of bridges and roadways across the nation. While this year is expected to raise similar concerns, it also provides an opportunity to acknowledge and fix serious…
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Late last week Senator Andrew Dinniman issued a press release questioning the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) decision to restart operations on the Mariner East 1 pipeline. The release was riddled with inaccuracies and trumped up claims of destabilized geography, which have been definitely rejected by experts. This move is merely the most recent in…
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After a nearly two-month long shutdown of Sunoco’s Mariner East 1 pipeline, inspectors at Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission (PUC) are recommending that the pipeline resume operations. The PUC’s Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement found that there was no threat to the integrity of the Mariner East 1 pipeline and that geological conditions are suitable for…
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Allowing Senator Dinniman’s complaint to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) in regard to Sunoco Pipeline to be considered creates a dangerous precedent. Regardless of the opinions expressed in Senator Dinniman’s complaint, many of which we categorically disagree with, the issue at hand is that he doesn’t have the standing to be filing. The Senator does…
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A recent Wall Street Journal article outlined what is becoming an increasingly large problem in the oil and gas industry: pipeline capacity. Unprecedented access to natural resources has led to all-time highs in American production and a decreasing dependence on foreign energy. This boom has been heralded by many as an American energy renaissance, and…
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News broke this week that deliberate damage to two pieces of heavy equipment being used to build the Mariner East 2 pipeline was inflicted by anti-pipeline group Philly Anti-Capitalist. The group, a known affiliate of Camp White Pine, claimed responsibility for the damage in a brazen Earth First Journal post which bragged about “cutting their…
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Much has been written about horizontal directional drilling (HDD), including a piece this week in Philly.com. However, frequently missing from the conversation is the fact that HDD is widely acknowledged as an industry best practice and the safest means of construction. HDD is environmentally sensitive and causes minimal impact on the surrounding area. The three…
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