Response to Delco Chamber Support for Sunoco Pipeline Project

Dear Trish McFarland, President of Delaware County Chamber of Commerce:

I take issue with the many false statements made in your March 7th LTE in the Delco Times.

http://www.delcotimes.com/article/DC/20170307/NEWS/170309743

FALSE STATEMENT #1: "All parties had ample opportunity to share their perspective." No, they did not. The DEP never held a public hearing in Delaware County. DELAWARE COUNTY, the site of Marcus Hook, NEVER , had a public hearing. So our voices were not heard. We were completely disenfranchised.

FALSE STATEMENT #2: "30,000 direct and indirect jobs related to this one pipeline project alone." This is false. Where does the 30,000 figure come from? An independent study? No, it comes from Sunoco. And it is WAY OVERBLOWN. There will be approximately 6000 temporary construction jobs over the first 2 years. There will be a few hundred at best permanent jobs. All jobs are important, but can not be held in greater importance than the safety and the lives of our children and families. FALSE STATEMENT #3: "boost the region’s propane reserves giving us a surplus of propane when it’s most needed" We are already at a surplus. There is no need for additional propane in PA. This is just smoke and mirrors for an export line. FALSE STATEMENT #4: "It will do so safely and with the utmost respect for our land and communities." Ok, first of all, this entire paragraph was written by Sunoco, it comes right out of their PR. But plagiarism aside, 2 leaks a year, every year for the past 10 years. Worst safety record in the industry. 55,000 gallons of gasoline leaked into the Susquehana last year. Multiple leaks in Edgmont Township, poisoned wells, we've got residents getting their water shipped in on trucks. There is nothing safe about this pipeline. It's a 300 mile pipe bomb. FALSE STATEMENT #5: "Sunoco uses the latest technology in coating the pipe before it is buried to prevent corrosion." Again, calling out the Chamber on plagiarizing the entire paragraph from Sunoco PR. But beside the point.... has the Cnamber looked into research on cathodic protection and it's fail rate? Have you looked into research regarding how the high pressure movement of the materials creates heat in the soil around the pipe that then leaches out arsenic and bio-organisms that speed up the process of corrosion? Have you looked at PHMSA data for the primary causes of pipeline leaks and breaks? Hint: corrosion is as big one, and it's happening way faster than pipeline companies have predicted. See Westmoreland explosion. FALSE STATEMENT #6: "generate $4.2 billion to the Pennsylvania economy" With all due respect to your supposed projections- I'm sorry, Sunoco's projections, you are after all crafting your opinion piece word for word from Sunoco's own literature- we are facing economic blight here in Delaware County. Our home values are dropping, some homeowners are being denied insurance coverage because the pipeline is just THAT DANGEROUS. Sunoco is reaping all of the benefit, and we the hardworking residents of Pennsylvania, are assuming all of the risk, including the economic risk. FALSE STATEMENT #7: "opportunity to offer employment to tens of thousands of Pennsylvania residents, facilitate our state’s economic growth, as well as give our consumers and businesses growing access to affordable, abundant and clean energy sources." Did you just calling fracking, natural gas liquids, and pipeline expansion "clean energy"? First of all, this is not energy infrastructure- this material is moving to Europe for plastics production. Second, there is nothing "clean" about fracking or fracking by-products. Take a little time to read up on methane emissions. We are in trouble here, and this is not helping. As for jobs and economy, sure who wouldn't argue with economic growth and jobs development, but the Chamber is missing a key component of this trifecta: PUBLIC SAFETY. You cannot build jobs and the economy by putting the public at risk. We will not be your sacrificial lambs.

I give this article 7 Pinocchios for telling tall tales. I think I am being generous.