Editorial voice from elsewhere
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Violations of state environmental rules. Underground drilling that caused a number of sinkholes. Poor construction and oversight practices. A pipeline explosion that destroyed a house and threatened a neighborhood.
Energy Transfer Corp. has not exactly been the best of business partners as it constructs major natural gas pipelines across Pennsylvania.
The state Department of Environmental Protection put a hold on the company’s requests for environmental permits after the September 2018 explosion, effectively shutting down several pipeline projects. It wasn’t until earlier this month that DEP reached an agreement with the Texas-based company to resume permitting, but only after fining Energy Transfer $30.6 million – one of the largest fines ever issued over an oil and gas project – for the pipeline explosion.
The agency needs to remain vigilant in its oversight of a company that has thus far shown a less-than-stellar work history in the commonwealth.
The explosion in Beaver County was caused by a landslide that ruptured the Revolution pipeline, which connects natural gas wells in Beaver and Butler counties to a processing plant in Washington County. The pipeline had been activated just days before the incident.
An investigation by environmental regulators of Energy Transfer and its contractors found that poor construction practices led to the disaster. More than two years before the incident, the company knew the site had “high susceptibility to slope failure,” but that information was not provided to the engineers who submitted the permit requests.
After a landslide several months before the explosion, the company did not consult with engineers or geotechnical experts on how to stabilize the ground. Instead, crews moved the soil from the landslide back uphill. When the soil slid down it again, it ruptured the pipeline and caused the explosion.
DEP previously fined Energy Transfer for environmental rules violations in connection with the Mariner East natural gas liquid pipelines stretching across the southern part of the state and heading to terminals near Philadelphia. Underground drilling led to a number of sinkholes in Eastern Pennsylvania and resulted in more than $12 million in civil penalties.
When DEP first placed a halt on permits for Energy Transfer, Gov. Tom Wolf assured Pennsylvanians that the company would be held accountable.
“There has been a failure by Energy Transfer and its subsidiaries to respect our laws and our communities,” Wolf said. “This is not how we strive to do business in Pennsylvania, and it will not be tolerated.”
That commitment to oversight and accountability needs to be a top priority for environmental regulators as pipeline projects continue throughout the state. Anything less is unacceptable.