Pennsylvania's second-highest appeals court told state regulators to dismiss a complaint and dissolve a petition for emergency relief lodged by Sen. Andrew Dinniman challenging the construction of Sunoco Pipeline LP's Mariner East pipeline system, citing a lack of legal standing.
In a Sept. 9 opinion by President Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt, the three-judge panel ruled that Dinniman, a Democrat, failed to establish both personal and legislative standing to challenge the Energy Transfer LP subsidiary's pipelines. Dinniman had asked state regulators to halt the operation of Mariner East and the construction of Mariner East 2 and 2X pipelines in his township. The state in part obliged, calling for a stop to the construction.
The Commonwealth Court overruled the state Public Utility Commission's decision that granted Dinniman personal standing simply because the pipelines are located in the town where he lives. "The complaint alleges neither harm to Sen. Dinniman's property nor harm to his person, and the hearing before the [administrative law judge] did not yield evidence of either type of harm," Leavitt wrote in the opinion.
Dinniman, according to the court, also lacks legislative standing as his complaint "does not allege an injury to his ability to act as a legislator," Leavitt wrote.
Dinniman filed the complaint in April 2018. He alleged that the construction of the Mariner East 2 and 2X pipelines caused sinkholes to develop in the West Whiteland Township, damaging the existing Mariner East 1's underground support. The senator also lodged a petition for emergency relief, citing "serious public safety concerns" raised by the pipelines.
Energy Transfer applauded the court ruling in an emailed statement Sept. 10 and urged the commission to act quickly to take care of the matter. "We have always believed that Sen. Dinniman did not have the legal standing to bring his complaint to the PUC," Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for Energy Transfer, said.
"Furthermore, we believe this ruling confirms that Sen. Dinniman inappropriately used public funds to pay his legal fees, which should result in him having to pay the money back to the commonwealth," Granado added.
The Mariner East family of pipelines share the same route from the Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale fields to the Marcus Hook terminal in Delaware County, Pa.
