Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Harrisburg, PA -- Today, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced a slew of criminal charges against Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the Mariner East II pipeline and other controversial projects including Dakota Access. During the course of construction of Mariner East II, ETP has been involved in dozens of spills and other violations along the pipeline route, leaking thousands of gallons of drilling fluids into Pennsylvania waterways. The Attorney General’s office plans to file 48 criminal charges, including at least one felony charge, over the company’s consistent failure to report these spills.
If allowed to be completed, the pipeline will transport gas liquids from the Marcellus Shale gas field to an export terminal near Philadelphia.
In response, Tom Schuster, Clean Energy Program Director with the Sierra Club Pennsylvania chapter, released the following statement:
“We applaud Attorney General Shapiro for his leadership in holding ETP responsible for their reckless disregard for Pennsylvania’s clean water and communities. This company and its subsidiaries and contractors clearly think the rules don’t apply to them, and have shown time and again they can’t be trusted to follow the law. Just as there’s no reason to trust this company to safely build their fracked gas pipeline, there’s no reason we should trust them to operate it and run volatile gas liquids through our communities. We urge the Wolf administration to act immediately to stop construction on this disastrous project and revoke its permits once and for all.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.