Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced yesterday that his office has opened an investigation into Mariner East II.
AG Shapiro says that the case was referred to his office by Delaware County DA Kat Copeland. The two offices will conduct the criminal investigation jointly.
In a release, Copeland said, “There is no question that the pipeline poses certain concerns and risks to our residents, and as District Attorney, I am working to do everything possible within my power to ensure the safety of residents.”
An Energy Transfer spokesperson told StateImpact PA that the company has not broken any laws and it is “committed to aggressively defending ourselves.”
Recently, a DelCo newspaper editor made public the existence of a grand jury investigating Sunoco.
Mariner East 1 and Mariner East 2 cross the southern portion of Lebanon County.
Mariner East 1 has been shut down since late January following a sinkhole that exposed portions of the pipeline in Chester County. In February, Governor Tom Wolf suspended the state’s review process for clean water permit applications by Energy Transfer LP.
In general, pipeline construction has disturbed fragile karst formations that undergird much of Pennsylvania’s terra firma, making the terra less firma. Residents living near the pipeline have said they are terrified, and some residents in West Cornwall have already reported well water contamination.