Energy Transfer must dredge lake, pay $4M in Mariner East pipeline spill

Maksim Safaniuk/iStock via Getty Images

• In a settlement that will allow construction of the Mariner East pipeline to resume, Energy Transfer's (NYSE:ET) Sunoco subsidiary agrees to clean up a contaminated lake and pay more than $4M for spilling thousands of gallons of drilling fluids last year at a state park in Chester County, Pa.
• The company spilled up to 28K gallons of drilling mud into the 535-acre Marsh Creek Lake during construction of the pipeline in August 2020, which caused a shutdown of part of the lake and a halt to construction along a one-mile-long stretch of pipe.
• The agreement allows Sunoco Pipeline LLC to resume construction of the pipeline with a new route and a different construction method that will eliminate the use of drilling fluids.
• The settlement comes two months after Pennsylvania's Attorney General filed 48 criminal charges against the company related to Mariner East construction.

Comments

[BMW7]

Looks like management is buying more units then they are selling by a wide margin . They most likely know that Mariner is a go and the distribution is going higher .

www.marketbeat.com/...

[oilyolin1]

The DEATH CROSS is when the 50 day avg. crosses the 200 day avg. This is a sign many traders use as a tool to short a stock. Just saying--ET.- it has happened.

[Retired101]

on 12/5 Mackie sold 210,790 units at 8.609
Whitehurst sold 43,185 units at 8.609
Sturrock sold 7,004 units at 8.609
Mason sold 61,006 units at 8.609
Ramsey sold 74,252 units at 8.609

anyone know why?

[Sanmartinoclimber]

@MidstreamBB40 that doesnt sound good at first glance

[BIZUN1973]

@MidstreamBB40 a shot in the dark but maybe tax purposes or Christmas presents for their families.

[Retired101]

@Bavossler looks like 0.1525 distribution just dosent cut it,… need more cash

[takeone1]

Hi everyone,
I may see another round of extortion from the peoples commonwealth..Maybe the issued permits will be emended to require that the pipe has to be made at home..It will all have be replaced or (yawn) pay another fine..Easy money for doing nothing,sort of like the IRS taxing stock gains..no risk,but 25% + payday...Have a good one everybody !!

[rgpeterson4592]

@takeone1 Ultimately it's all of us who pay the fines, not Corporations, which the Law only treats as individuals for Legal convenience!

[badbernanke]

@rgpeterson4592 Yes, we all pay for corporate wrongdoing.

[Invest In Texas]

@SA Editors ,

Please correct your bullet point #4 which states the following:

The agreement allows Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) to resume construction of the pipeline with a new route and a different construction method that will eliminate the use of drilling fluids.

Sunoco L.P. , Ticker SUN, has absolutely nothing to do with this project. Sunoco Pipeline LLC, a non public entity is the lead.

It may also be helpful to your subscribers to add this to your bullet points.

paallianceforenergy.com/...

[arbtrdr]

@Invest In Texas about damn time. The PA DEP caused this mess. ET requested open trench long ago. ET is guilty of giving in to construction requirements they new would be a problem in return for getting the permits. That does not change the facts of the root cause being PA itself.

[smcguyer]

@arbtrdr You see this all the time. Over-regulation causing more problems than it solves.

[harvadler]

A petty cash fine that will allow completion of ME2. Good news.

[rodney2000]

@harvadler speeding ticket!

[cypresshouse]

So parks and wildlife needed to dredge part of a shallow lake and TA-DA, the ransom monies to do so have been found.

[john18]

I read the news 24 hours ago. The key is that ME2 will be finished soon. No more delay!

[john18]

Clearly a good news since the last section of the ME2 is going to be done after years of delay. The fine is equivalent of several days of cash flow.

[john18]

A few days of cash flow from the new pipeline.

[Tellurium128]

Another week, another court settlement they have to pay

[cpr1200r100]

@Tellurium128 BFD. $4 mil. pffft.

[goodfellasfinancial]

@Tellurium128 another boogeyman laid to rest . DAPL imminent

[HaroldL]

@goodfellasfinancial Nobody really worries about DAPL being shutdown. Biden has already faced up to the environmentalists when he did not shut DAPL during the EIS process in May or June of this year. He has already taken all the heat he is ever going to get from the anti-fossil fuels faction regarding this pipeline. He is not going to needlessly stir up a storm of criticism from the general public (republicans and democrats) by letting the Army Corp of Engineers go rouge on him and find that the pipeline is too great a danger. The Army Corp staffers have always supported DAPL.

[WisPokerGuy]

Somebody school me on these energy LP's. The dividends are terrific, but basically since 2016, this particular equity has done nothing but tank? Oil goes up... $ET goes down... Oil goes down... $ET goes down. Just what exactly is suppose to be the positive catalyst for this thing?

[HaroldL]

@WisPokerGuy
If you read this article, then you know what the catalyst is. This is the last piece that needs to fall into place, and it looks like it's finally happening.

[PlumberMD]

@HaroldL How long will this piece take to complete? Also I want to add, once completed how much will this add to their EBITDA?

[weed54]

@PlumberMD 4-6 weeks to finish construction then need to commission. End of Q1 seems about right. As far as EBITDA that’s never been mentioned. With Mariner 1 and 2X in service with other workarounds, I think Mariner 2 can transport 275K per day and with additional pumps go to 450K per day. So clearly some significant volumes will flow.

[Retired101]

dredging? drilling fluid is mud,…. sheesh,….

[Sanmartinoclimber]

@MidstreamBB40 really...do they know how much biota will be affected by the dredging of a few millimeters of bentonite? Chester county please shut up about some clay...everytime it rains your poorly stabilized lands and its excessive nutrients are polluting waterways at alarming rates

[Follow$]

@Sanmartinoclimber Exactly. Chester County is mostly farmland in this area. Lot of nitrogen run off which does more harm to waterways than bentonite

[msrahlj2]

@Follow$: but the bentonite certainly doesn't help, does it?

[Username Already Taken]

I didn’t know Sunoco was doing the construction on this project… Shmeh

[Treading Softly]

@Username Already Taken they mislabeled it. It's SUNCO pipelines - an ET subsidiary - not SUNCO (SUN) the publicly traded MLP

[deckofcards]

48 criminal charges filed against a sheet of paper. Free market.

[pcprincipal]

Waiting for good news with ET is like [fill in analogy].

[ckarabin]

@pcprincipal You just got the good news: very small cost and the Mariner 2 project will now be completed in Q1, and go operational, big incremental cash flow.

[Sanmartinoclimber]

@pcprincipal this is great news...at a great price. Dropped below 8 this morning and everyone scooping it up

[Financial Man]

@Sanmartinoclimber Large ET shareholder is selling a large number of ET shares this year, driving the price down for now.

[Virtue16]

Sounds like a great deal buying a 535 acre lake for $4M really. Similar lakes and their surrounding shores would likely be valued in the $500M range.

[Stillhunter888]

@Virtue16 ET is not "buying" the lake. The $4m is their fine for the spill of drilling fluids into the lake. Sheesh...

[oscargarcia]

@Virtue16 $4M is just the cash portion:"Sunoco Pipeline LP will dredge at least 6 inches of sediment from Ranger Cove, part of Marsh Creek State Park in Downingtown. It will also replace fish, turtle and bird habitat, restore the shoreline, and reroute its Mariner East 2 pipeline"

Dredging ain't cheap.

[Sanmartinoclimber]

@Virtue16 4 million for fine and another 4 mill for clean up. But they have approval to complete. So that’s great news

[propane1]

It would be nice to see some good news on ET,so the stock would move up!

[ckarabin]

@propane1 You just got it, pipeline will open for business in Q1, small fine

[FatherTime]

Whoops, there it is.
But, it's only money. Truly, a chumps change.

Glug Glug

[Jason Z]

@FatherTime they add up, ET has excessive amount of "accidents", poor management. $4M fine plus dredging plus legal cost plus delay cost, it's probably cost ET $20M+ total. Not really a small amount, even for ET.

[jupenya]

Sunoco pays - ET holds a non controlling interest. Well it just a Canadian nothing burger. Next.

[mailbox456]

The Democratic Party is trying to do to natural gas what they did to coal. They are attacking on all fronts. It will be good to put this behind ET and move on.

[DigitalRobberBarons]

@mailbox456 I'm loving this attack on real assets. Some day soon the "woke" %$# will be schooled hard and these investments will moon.

[Augustus]

@DigitalRobberBarons

The Woke population of Europe is getting their schooling this winter.
Just read that two German nuclear plants will be closed in a year.
Rats in cages will be used to spin the turbines as replacement I suppose.
Unlimited supply of rats so they will be considered a renewable power source. I believe I remember that there is a population or type of rats called German Rats.