Dive Brief:
- Energy Transfer Partners can resume work on two pipelines after permit violations were corrected in West Virginia and a settlement was reached with environmentalist groups in Pennsylvania.
- Last month, ETP subsidiary Sunoco Pipeline LP was ordered by Pennsylvania regulators to halt work on its Mariner East 2 natural gas pipeline project as part of a dispute over the location of a valve and other infrastructure.
- And the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection told ETP it needed to halt work on a portion of the 700-mile Rover Pipeline, until it was in compliance with its water quality permit.
Dive Insight:
Construction will continue on two pipelines backed by Energy Transfer after officials in West Virginia determined violations had been corrected, and an environmental settlement was reached in Pennsylvania.
As part of the settlement, signed by staff of the Department of Environmental Protection, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and others, Sunoco Pipeline will reevaluate some areas of the pipeline route across Westmoreland County, Pa., that opponents believe pose substantial risk.
In West Virginia, the issues resulted from sediment and erosion control measures that did not comply with West Virginia water regulations. The violations were found during construction of the Sherwood Lateral and compressor station.
The Rover pipeline will transport up to 3.25 billion cubic feet /day of natural gas to markets in the Midwest, Northeast, East Coast, Gulf Coast and Canada. The pipeline is expected to be operational in November.
In Pennsylvania, a township had alleged that the company began work in violation of a 2015 settlement. Mariner East 2 will carry 345,000 barrels per day of propane, ethane and butane to markets in Pennsylvania. The company expects to begin operations in the second half of 2017.
