Pipeline report released

Washington & Jefferson College has released a shale report intended to clarify a 335-page document issued by the Pipeline Instfrastructure Task Force in November.
The report by PITF, a committee appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf to ensure pipeline infrastructure is developed in an environmentally protective way, examines standards for developing Sunoco’s Mariner East natural gas pipeline, set to be constructed across Pennsylvania over the next several years.
There are about 12,000 miles of gas pipelines in the state. That number is expected to grow to 48,000 miles by 2030. The PITF is charged with collaborating with all stakeholders to develop recommendations for policies to govern the pipeline construction.
The W&J report, available on the college’s Shale Gas Knowledge website, www.shalehub.org, breaks down and identifies key concepts of the PITF report.
The PITF is accepting comments on its report until Dec. 29. The original report and link to submit comments can be found at www.dep.pa.gov.
A final report with recommendations on how state government should oversee the pipeline build will be issued to Wolf in February.
The Shale Gas Knowledge Hub, a project of W&J’s Center for Energy Policy and Management (CEPM), is a resource center with a goal to help the public understand the shale gas industry and its impact on Southwestern Pennsylvania.
“It is very important that the citizens of Pennsylvania understand the issues associated with the midstream sector of the shale gas industry and take advantage of this opportunity to have a say in how the pipeline development will occur,” said Diana Stares, director of the CEPM.
“Because of the length and complexity of the draft report, we at W&J concluded that the public needed a synthesized summary, like ours, to help to identify and comment on the issues of particular concern to them.”