Rose Tree Media School Board Approves Pipeline Resolution, Calls for Reclassification of Mariner East 2 Pipeline Permit

November 11…The Board of Directors of the Rose Tree Media School District last night signed a resolution expressing “deep concern” about the current pipeline and proposed pipeline (marketed as “Mariner East 2”) and its proximity to Glenwood Elementary School.

The resolution outlines the realistic problems associated with this project – the materials, if released, could create an “extremely flammable or explosive gas cloud” and an evacuation plan “that seems implausible where the lives of elementary school children are concerned.”

“The current pipeline operations were not fully vetted and assessed by the local community and the regulatory community with regard to the potential to jeopardize Public Safety, and the health and safety of school communities in Delaware County by uncontrolled leaks and explosions,” states the resolution.

A significant concern raised by the resolution is the fact that the proposed Mariner East 2 pipeline is currently misclassified for regulatory purposes as a liquids pipeline, but in the event of a leak, the contents revert entirely back to a gaseous state. Rose Tree Media School District called for the Governor and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to reclassify the permit application. It also asks that a period for open comment on the permit application be offered for at least 60 days.

In signing the resolution, the school district declared itself “an interested party in all proceedings,” whether those proceedings occur on a local, state or federal level, or with a regulatory agency if they involve an increase in the shipment of hazardous liquids through the Rose Tree Media School District in close proximity to its schools.

The resolution indicates that the District is prepared to authorize and utilize resources for the purposing of intervening in the PADEP’s pipeline permitting process on the proposed Mariner East 2 pipeline project and any other project that may have direct or indirect impacts on the health, safety and welfare of district students.

According to Rose Tree Media School District Superintendent James Wigo, the District supports the development of a county-wide comprehensive independent risk assessment study as well as the development of an incident-response plan “as part of the reclassification” of the permit application.

Following the adoption of the resolution by the Board of School Directors, the resolution is being forwarded to Governor Tom Wolf and the PADEP.

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