Sunoco pipeline creates a divide across Pennsylvania
HUNTINGDON COUNTY, Pa. - The fallen pines and oaks lie in jumbled heaps as though a tornado ripped up the forest. But it was no force of nature that cut a 50-foot-wide gash through the Gerhart family's property four months ago.
Over the family's protests, timber crews hired by Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. cut down trees on three of the Gerharts' 27 acres. Protected by sheriff's deputies, the loggers came bearing a court order to clear a path for the Mariner East 2 pipeline project, a 350-mile conduit to deliver natural gas liquids such as propane to a terminal south of Philadelphia.
The company, based in Newtown Square, needed to remove the trees before the end of March to avoid harm to nesting birds. But it does not yet have all the permits to build the pipeline, so it left the timber behind. The workers also left a sleeping bag, a banner, and the discarded ropes of the activists who climbed into trees to protest the action.
The Gerharts are appealing a lower court's decision to give Sunoco permission to take a pipeline easement by eminent domain. Ellen Gerhart and daughter Elise are also fighting criminal charges of disorderly conduct stemming from the protests.
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/energy/20160810_Sunoco_pipeline_creates_a_divide_across_Pennsylvania.html
