West Goshen OKs pipeline settlement

West Goshen Township officials voted Wednesday to accept a settlement agreement that would limit Sunoco Logistics' pipeline construction but that critics say would make fighting future pipeline projects more difficult.

The 5-0 decision by the Board of Supervisors came a month after the board tabled the vote after hearing from angry residents who wanted more from the deal with Sunoco Logistics. About 50 people attended Wednesday's meeting.

After the April meeting, the board reviewed the agreement based on residents' concerns about safety and about the township's ability to contest future pipeline plans, said Theodore Murphy, vice chair of the Board of Supervisors. Township officials did not alter the agreement before Wednesday's vote.

Murphy said in an interview after the vote that the township would be able to challenge Sunoco Logistics' future plans if the firm strays from the parameters of the agreement, which includes safety and aesthetic concessions.

"The unanimous vote shows the board is united in its concern for the safety of our residents," Murphy said. "This preserves the quality of life for our residents."

West Goshen officials and their lawyers have called the settlement a victory for the township.

Jeff Shields, a spokesman for Sunoco Logistics, said the agreement "represents a positive step forward for all parties."

Lilli Middlebrooks, a lawyer and a representative of Concerned Citizens of West Goshen Township, said before the meeting that the settlement was better than anything the township could get by fighting Sunoco Logistics in court.

"It's not perfect, but it's the best we can do under the law that we have and with what the parties have been able to negotiate," she said.

The settlement is the result of negotiations among the township, the citizens group, and Sunoco Logistics to settle a yearlong dispute over plans to build a second pump station in the township. Sunoco Logistics is repurposing its Mariner East pipeline to transport Marcellus Shale natural gas liquids to Marcus Hook.

Under the agreement, Sunoco Logistics will not build a new pump station and will confine its pipeline construction to a limited area of the township. It also will make safety upgrades, including automated valves that would shut in an emergency.

During the public-comment portion of the meeting before the vote, Matt Federici, who said his son's school is within 500 yards of Sunoco Logistics' site, said he worried that the valves were not enough to prevent a disaster.

Sunoco Logistics also will continue with plans to build a flare stack, which some residents say is too close to homes.

Walker Tompkins, a West Goshen resident, encouraged people to contact their legislators with concerns.