PA environment staffers warned of pipeline's danger to private water wells

DEP staffers warned superiors of dangers to private water wells from pipeline construction — photo: In the distance, construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline at Raystown Lake Recreation Area in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.

A Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection official waved a red flag to higher ups in January over potential issues with Sunoco’s Mariner East 2 pipeline construction on private water wells. “Though we don’t regulate it, this private well issue has the potential to really blow up…,” wrote Domenic Rocco, waterways and wetlands program manager for the DEP’s Southeast regional office.

Rocco sent the email detailing his conversation with a worried resident of Delaware County who lived near the pipeline route. He also sent a long list of concerns DEP program staff had regarding the agency’s permit reviews of Sunoco’s construction plans. The email recipients included Ann Roda, director of the office of program information, John Hohenstein, DEP chief of dams and waterways, and Donald Knorr, a water pollution biologist with the Southeast regional office. It was released as part of ongoing litigation challenging Sunoco’s permits. Pennsylvania does not regulate private drinking water wells. But DEP had made it a condition of Sunoco’s water-crossing permits to do a detailed inventory of private water wells and notify residents of the construction. In […]

Full article: DEP staffers warned superiors of dangers to private water wells from pipeline construction