HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania is halting construction permits for natural gas pipelines operated by a company whose pipeline exploded last year, as the governor said Friday that Energy Transfer LP has failed to respect the state’s laws and communities.
The Department of Environmental Protection said Energy Transfer hasn’t stabilized the soil and erosion around its Revolution pipeline in western Pennsylvania, as it was ordered to do in October.
As a result, it is halting construction permits on the company’s pipelines in the state, it said.
“This hold will continue until the operator corrects their violations to our satisfaction,” Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell said in a statement.
Energy Transfer’s pipelines in Pennsylvania include the Mariner East 1, 2 and 2X natural gas liquids pipelines across southern Pennsylvania.
That has resulted in more than $13 million in fines and several temporary shutdown orders from state agencies, including one last month by the Public Utility Commission that has kept the Mariner East 1 pipeline shut down following a sinkhole that developed in suburban Philadelphia’s Chester County.
Nearby residents worried over sinkholes along the Mariner East pipelines sued Energy Transfer last summer in federal court. Chester County’s district attorney, Tom Hogan, is demanding documents from the company as part of a criminal investigation he opened.
Energy Transfer has said it is confident that it hasn’t violated criminal laws.