A guest post by “Valley Voice”*

When a 20-foot section of newly installed ME2 was excavated recently at the junction of Valley and Sweetwater Roads, that naturally aroused our concern and gave rise to many questions. In response to a Right to Know request, Edgmont Township was more than happy to cooperate and supply an engineer’s report which highlighted coating issues with the pipe in question.

The same, however, cannot be said for Middletown Township who attributed Valley Road’s activity to maintenance. Their response to a resident’s Right to Know request was that Middletown’s engineer’s report was not readily available.  They required an extension of time—namely 30 days—and a legal review to supply this information.

Questions need to be asked and answered:

  • How did this issue come to light? What effect does it have on the integrity of the pipe?
  • Where was the pipe manufactured?
  • Where was the coating applied and who is the manufacturer of that polymer coating?
  • If any of the pipes were bent or shaped – where was that done and how? And what effect has that had on the coating?
  • Are pipe sections being dug up HDD or trenched or both?
  • What color is the coating being inspected and what is the difference in the light brown coating and the green coating?
  • What is the issue with the polymer coating specifically? Has it been recalled and what is being done to rectify the coating issue?  For example, is the coating being re-applied?
  • Is it true that there were welding issues? What were they? Was there an operator error?

We expect to receive answers from the PUC, PHMSA and Middletown Township.  We received and expect none from Sunoco. In the meantime, be vigilant, ask questions and insist on answers. We have the right to know and, for the safety of our community, we have a responsibility to find out.

__ 

* I am happy to consider Dragonpipe-related guest posts written by readers. I will publish posts (such as this one) written under pseudonyms, but I prefer to use people’s real names when possible.