Two days after a pipeline explosion in Center destroyed a house and resulted in the evacuation of about 30 homes, the board of a nearby Beaver County township voted unanimously to remove mandatory setbacks for pipelines.
The vote Wednesday by Independence supervisors to repeal the setback ordinance is part of preparing for the Shell Falcon pipeline, a 97-mile pipeline slated to carry ethane, a natural gas liquid, from points in Ohio and Washington, Pa., to the petrochemical complex that Shell is building in Potter, Beaver County.
The vote had been postponed last month because of a typo in legal advertisements announcing the supervisors’ intentions, a township official said.
Independence solicitor David DelGreco said that when Shell announced plans to route the pipeline through Independence, “We realized we didn’t have the expertise and resources to make decisions about it. That’s why we went from the specific ordinance to allowing state and federal agencies to do that, instead of diverting resources.”
Federal pipeline safety regulations don’t have mandatory setbacks for new pipelines. Instead, they provide guidance for how pipelines in populated areas should be built and inspected.
In Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Protection regulates some aspects of pipeline construction. It may require pipelines to be sensitive to environmental resources such as wetlands and certain endangered species, but it does not dictate what would be a safe distance for a building near a pipeline.
Three people who attended a public hearing before the vote said that considering the explosion in nearby Center, Independence should not repeal the setback requirements. The ordinance on the books prohibited pipelines from being built within 100 feet of a residence and within 500 feet of a public gathering spot, like a park, church, school or hospital.
Dan Rubino, a Vanport resident who said he often watches birds in Independence Marsh, told the Independence supervisors, “The explosion in Center was about 300 feet from the structures destroyed. The current ordinance is 100 feet for residences, which seems inadequate as is.”
“Does the [state] Department of Environmental Protection know more than you?” he continued. “I’m not sure they do.”
Ashlee Caul, an Independence resident who spoke at the meeting against removing the setback ordinance, said in reference to the Center explosion, “No one wants their home going up in flames.”
Terrie Baumgardner of Aliquippa, a member of the Clean Air Council, said, “Consider what happened earlier this week in Center Township. Independence Township must reverse course.”
She asked that the setback distance be increased to 2,500 feet.
Virginia Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the Falcon Pipeline, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after the meeting, “Shell Pipeline Co. will build the pipeline safely and follow all requirements and regulations.”
The ordinance repeal was not suggested by Shell, Ms. Sanchez said. Shell told the DEP, in a letter dated Aug. 1, that it had discussed the ordinance with Independence and thought it would be voted on Aug. 8.
The county clerk, Deb Shaffer, said Wednesday that the ordinance was supposed to have been discussed at the Aug. 8 meeting but had to be postponed because of the typo in the public announcement advertising it.
Mr. DelGreco said the board had considered delaying the vote again after the Center explosion, but, “You have to advertise it, and we already had, so we figured logistically it was easier.”
“That was a very unfortunate event,” Ms. Sanchez said of the pipeline that exploded in Center, which is owned by Energy Transfer Corp.
“We’ll look to see any conclusions from that investigation,” she added. “Our pipeline design is very robust.”
“The likelihood of a pipeline going off is low,” Mr. Rubino said after the public hearing. “But it just happened.”
Correction, posted Sept. 14, 2018: The state Department of Environmental Protection regulates and permits the construction of pipelines as it applies to earth disturbances, such as construction, and water crossings, such as wetlands and surface water, and related impacts from construction activity. A story Thursday about Independence Township commissioners voting to remove mandatory setbacks for pipelines mischaracterized the DEP’s role.
First Published: September 12, 2018, 10:49 p.m.