The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has extended until April 17 the comment period on water obstruction and encroachment permits needed to build the 97-mile-long Falcon Ethane Pipeline.
The 60-day extension was sought by environmental organizations and the Ambridge Water Authority, who questioned the environmental impacts of the pipeline and voiced concern about the growing petrochemical industry in a petition signed by more than 3,000 people and delivered to Gov. Tom Wolf earlier this month.
The original comment period was set to end Tuesday, Feb. 20.
Additionally, the DEP opened a new comment period for the pipeline’s earth disturbance permits, which will also end on April 17.
The DEP also announced Friday that it will hold public hearings in each of the counties -- Allegheny, Beaver and Washington — on the pipeline route prior to the end of the comment period. Times, dates and locations for those hearings will be posted on the DEP website, in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and in local newspapers when they are finalized.
DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell said in the Friday news release that the department was responding to a “significant number of requests for a comment period extension,” and believes it’s a good idea to provide additional time for public input.
“We thank the DEP for giving organizations the needed extra time to address these serious issues and the risks posed by the Falcon pipeline’s close proximity to homes, recreational areas, sensitive wetlands and the Ambridge Reservoir,” said Matt Mehalik, executive director of the Breathe Project, said in a release responding to the DEP comment extension. “The additional time and the public hearing will give communities, citizens and organizations an opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns.”
The pipeline would carry ethane east through Ohio and the West Virginia panhandle and north from the MarkWest Processing and Fractionation Facility in Washington County, through Beaver County to the planned $6 billion Shell Chemical Co. petrochemical plant along the Ohio River in Potter Township.
The proposed pipeline by Shell Pipeline Company would begin at the MarkWest Houston Processing and Fractionation Facility in Washington County and travel through Washington, Allegheny and Beaver Counties before ending at the Shell Chemical Appalachia Petrochemical Complex in Potter Township, Beaver County.
A separate segment of the pipeline will connect a MarkWest facility in Cadiz, Ohio and the Utica East Ohio plant in Scio, Ohio to the Shell complex.
The pipeline will cross 22 townships and 550 homes are located within 1,000 feet of the pipeline route, as are 20 businesses, 240 groundwater wells, 12 public parks, 5 schools, 6 daycare centers, and tributaries of the Ambridge Reservoir, according to information compiled by teh environmental and community groups. Approximately 45.5 miles of pipeline will be located in Pennsylvania.
The notices for comment period extension were published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on Saturday, Feb. 17.
The DEP has posted a copy of the pipeline application materials on its webpage.
Comments will be accepted at the hearings. Written comments should be emailed or mailed to the following address: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Southwest Regional Office, Waterways & Wetlands Program, 400 Waterfront Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Email address: RA-EPWW-SWRO@pa.gov
Don Hopey: dhopey@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1983, or on Twitter @donhopey
First Published: February 20, 2018, 5:28 p.m.
Updated: February 20, 2018, 5:29 p.m.
