Kurt Knaus
Spokesman
Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance
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Mariner East opponents have lost and lost miserably. Their latest maneuver before a previously empathetic PUC Administrative Law Judge Barnes just died.
An administrative law judge (ALJ) with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today struck down pipelines opponents’ last-ditch effort to shut down the Mariner East projects, ruling against a petition they filed claiming that the pipeline builder hasn’t done enough to ensure communities and emergency responders have the information they need regarding safety.
PUC Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth H. Barnes
What makes this decision so interesting is that the administrative law judge who ruled against opponents here is the very same administrative law judge who ruled in favor of opponents in May, shutting down operations of the Mariner East 1 pipeline and halting construction of Mariner East 2 pipeline for weeks on end. That judge, Elizabeth Barnes, eventually had her decisions in those earlier cases overturned by the full Public Utility Commission.
This same administrative law judge’s most recent ruling, though, builds upon a string of court decisions at every level over the years to find that Mariner East is legally permitted and that the builder is in compliance with safety requirements.
The facts in this case were clear. Previous court rulings have already established that the pipeline builder has ensured safe construction and met community planning requirements. Beyond that, the Mariner Emergency Responder Outreach (MERO) program has trained 2,350 individuals since 2013 across the pipeline’s entire footprint, giving them guidance on hazardous materials and public safety sources.
This is in addition to annual awareness and emergency response training sessions with local responders, officials and excavators. More than 2,100 attendees received training last year. These are just a few of the many points that make clear the pipeline meets safety requirements.
The administrative law judge’s ruling is the latest in a string of court decisions at every level over the years to find that Mariner East is legally permitted and that the builder is in compliance with safety requirements. The facts are clear, this is settled law, and the case is closed. It’s time to end the ideological challenges and put this project to work for Pennsylvania.
Visit the Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance website for more details and background on this and other critical natural gas infrastructure projects.
Editor’s Note: One wonders what Senator “Absent Andy” Dinniman thinks now about Elizabeth H. Barnes, who he had lauded.
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The post Mariner East Opponents Lose Before Previously Empathetic Judge appeared first on Natural Gas Now.
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