The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s (AG) Office has filed 48 counts of environmental crimes against Energy Transfer LP for its alleged misconduct during construction of the Mariner East 2 (ME2) pipeline project. 

Energy Transfer

AG Josh Shapiro said a statewide grand jury investigation determined that Energy Transfer repeatedly allowed thousands of gallons of drilling fluid to escape underground. The AG’s office indicated that the spills mainly resulted from the company’s use of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) to lay the pipeline. While inadvertent returns are a common occurrence during HDD work, drilling fluid escaped to fields, backyards, streams, lakes and wetlands, the AG said. 

“Pennsylvanians from impacted communities testified about thousands of gallons of drilling fluid...