Environmental advocacy groups are trying to thwart the construction of a $2.5 billion natural gas liquids pipeline across the southern Pennsylvania state. While they are appealing to the newly issued permits, that would unleash massive and irreparable damage to the state's environment and residents.
In filings on Monday night, three groups said that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had approved an incomplete and legally flawed permit applications for Sunoco Logistics Mariner East two pipeline hours earlier, in a response to heavy political pressure.
Supporters believe the gas line project as crucial in helping to capitalize on the prolific Marcellus Shale natural gas reservoir, where as producers complain that a lack of pipeline infrastructure in suppressing the price and demand.
According to the reports, the permits approved water crossing and earth moving to a 306 mile section of 20 inch pipeline that can move about 275,000 barrels per day.
The project is designed in such a way that it can propane, butane and possibly ethane east from Marcellus Shale producers in the southwestern of Pennsylvania state, West Virginia and eastern Ohio to Sunoco Logistics it is a Marcus Hook processing and distribution facility near Philadelphia.
The project has the support of the Democratic Governor Tom Wolf the leader of the Republican controlled Legislature, business groups and labor unions.
The construction of the project would deforest more than 1,500 acres across hundreds of streams and wetlands and damage farmland and aquifers that provide drinking water, according to the environmental groups.
The Clean Air Council, Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Mountain Watershed Association did not emphasize on the political pressure in the filings to a state board that hears appeals of the department's actions. A hearing was scheduled on 16th February.
Governor Wolf on Tuesday said that he had not put any pressure to approve the project. He said that he only asked the department to stick to the timeline that the department said it needed to review the permit applications.
Governor said"That's not political pressure, that's actually trying to manage an organization." Governor Wolf had had the support of environmental advocacy groups in his 2014 gubernatorial campaign.
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