Penn Township-Sunoco pipeline battle could go to court
Penn Township has initiated a legal battle
to force Sunoco Logistics to remove a small portion of a 300-mile
pipeline that was erroneously installed in the municipality.
The writ was filed Tuesday morning, hours
before township and company officials held a brief negotiating session
seeking to resolve the dispute.
Township Solicitor Les Mlakar said no deal was reached during the hour-long meeting.
“We asked them to provide a certified survey
of the pipeline and their construction costs if they have to move the
line. And we want to independently verify those,” Mlakar said.
Township officials want to review that information by mid-January, Mlakar said.
Tuesday's court filing was a preliminary
move to preserve the township's ability to ask a judge to force Sunoco
to dig up and remove the pipeline that was installed on township
property.
Township officials learned earlier this
month that a 70-foot section of the $600-million pipeline project —
known as Mariner East I — encroached on township property even though it
was supposed to be rerouted around the 12-acre parcel.
Sunoco has acknowledged that a mistake was
made when the pipeline segment was built on township land, according to
company spokesman Jeff Shields.
In a statement, company officials said they want to negotiate a resolution.
Shields said Tuesday the company will make no additional statements at this time.
“We'll defer to the township,” he said.
The dispute involves only a small piece of
the 50-mile Western Pennsylvania segment of the pipeline, which will
carry propane and other liquid natural gas through Washington, Allegheny
and Westmoreland counties.
That 50-mile piece will link with the pipeline that runs through the state and ends just south of Philadelphia.
Attempts last year by Sunoco to acquire
easements to build the pipeline through Penn Township's property failed.
Commissioners rejected a request for an easement in May 2013.
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Sunoco mistakenly puts part of pipeline on Penn Township land
Penn Township officials are threatening
litigation against Sunoco Logistics because the company installed a tiny
section of a major pipeline on township property without their
permission.
Township Solicitor Les Mlakar said he
might go so far as to request a court order for the removal of the
pipeline from the Claridge property after a company representative
revealed the mistake to township manager Alex Graziani earlier this
month.
Commissioners authorized Mlakar last
week to take legal action, but nothing had been filed in Westmoreland
County Common Pleas Court as of Tuesday afternoon.
“At this point, I'm taking the position:
We don't want them there, we didn't allow them to be there, then they
ought to get it out, have it removed,” Mlakar said.
Sunoco spokesman Jeffrey Shields
confirmed that a postconstruction survey found that a 70-foot section of
the 50-mile, $600-million pipeline project — known as Mariner East I —
“inadvertently encroached” on township property.
Sunoco has used eminent domain to acquire some easements along the pipeline.
“This mistake should not have happened,
and Sunoco Logistics hopes to continue the dialogue with the township
to establish a fair resolution to this matter,” Shields said in a
statement.
Sunoco sought the commissioners' approval in May 2013 for a small easement on 12.77 acres but didn't get it.
The company offered $1,550 for a
39-foot-by-50-foot permanent right of way on open land by Gombach Road
and Flour Bag Fort Lane.
After declining Sunoco's offer, township
officials said, they were under the impression that Sunoco routed the
pipeline around the property.
If not for the company's interest in a
$2.5-billion second phase, which would involve another pipeline in the
same right of way, township officials likely wouldn't have known about
the encroachment, Graziani said.
He said his jaw dropped when the Sunoco
representative told him about the error during a Dec. 3 meeting about
the Mariner East projects.
“They made it very clear that they understand this was a big mistake,” Graziani said.
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NGL Projects
Project Mariner East Phase I
Project Mariner East is pipeline project to deliver propane and
ethane from the liquid-rich Marcellus Shale areas in Western
Pennsylvania to the Marcus Hook facility, where it will be processed,
stored, and distributed to various domestic and waterborne markets. The
project is anticipated to have an initial capacity to transport
approximately 70,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids and can be
scaled to support higher volumes as needed. Mariner East is expected to
have the ability to transport propane by the 4th quarter of 2014.
Mariner East is scheduled to be fully operational to deliver propane and
ethane in Mid-2015.
Sunoco Logistics will construct a pipeline from MarkWest Energy
Partners L.P.'s Houston, Pennsylvania processing and fractionation
complex to an interconnection with an existing Sunoco Logistics pipeline
at Delmont, Pennsylvania. The natural gas liquids will then be
transported to the Marcus Hook facility where Sunoco Logistics will
construct new facilities to process, store, chill, and distribute
propane and ethane to local, regional and international markets.
Project Mariner East Phase II
Sunoco Logistics announced a successful Open Season for Mariner
East 2 project in November 2014. For Mariner East 2, Sunoco Logistics
plans to construct a pipeline from processing and fractionation
complexes in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Eastern Ohio for
transport to the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex. Sunoco Logistics plans
to construct new facilities at Marcus Hook Industrial Complex to store,
chill, process and distribute propane, butane and ethane for
distribution to local, domestic and international markets. Sunoco
Logistics plans to offer intrastate and interstate movements to meet the
demands of various markets. Mariner East 2 is anticipated to provide
an initial capacity of 275,000 barrels per day of NGL's. The Mariner
East 2 pipeline is expected to be operational in Q4 2016, subject to
regulatory and permit approvals.
Project Mariner West
Project Mariner West is a pipeline project to deliver ethane from
the liquid-rich Marcellus Shale processing and fractionation areas in
Western Pennsylvania to the Sarnia, Ontario petrochemical market. The
project is anticipated to have an initial capacity to transport up to
50,000 barrels per day of ethane and can be scaled to support higher
volumes as needed. Mariner West commenced operations in Q4 2013.
Project Mariner South
Mariner South Pipeline is a pipeline project to transport export
grade propane and butane from Lone Star’s storage and fractionation
complex in Mont Belvieu, Texas to Sunoco Logistics’ terminal in
Nederland, Texas. In addition to export grade propane and butane, the
pipeline will be available for other natural gas liquids and petroleum
products depending on shipper interest. The pipeline is anticipated to
have an initial capacity to transport approximately 200,000 barrels per
day and can be scaled to support higher volumes as needed. The pipeline
is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2015.
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Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. announced
Thursday that it will build an enormous, $2.5 billion pipeline project
that will quadruple the volume of Marcellus Shale natural gas liquids
moving through the Philadelphia area.
The Mariner East 2 project, the second phase of a plan to move
materials like propane, butane, and ethane from Appalachian shale-gas
fields, would dramatically expand industrial activity at the company's
Marcus Hook Industrial Complex.
Sunoco Logistics said it would build a pipeline at least 16 inches in
diameter to follow the route of its first Mariner East project, an
83-year-old fuel pipeline crossing Pennsylvania that the company is
repurposing to carry liquids to Marcus Hook.
Industry and political leaders have rallied behind the Mariner East
projects as a way to closely tie Philadelphia to the Marcellus Shale
region, which now accounts for nearly a quarter of the nation's natural
gas production.
