MDN previously reported about problems experienced in Chester County, PA (suburb of Philadelphia) with underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD) by Sunoco Logistics Partners for its Mariner East 2 Pipeline project (see ME2 Pipe Work in Chester County Creates Water Well Issue for Some). Sunoco accepted the blame for fouling a dozen private water wells in West Whiteland Township with drilling mud. The short-term fix was to provide hotel rooms from some of the families most affected–and to provide bottled water for all of them. Sunoco didn’t waste any time with a long-term fix. Sunoco worked on a deal to extend a municipal water pipeline to some 30 homes in the area (see Sunoco Extending Public Water to Homes Affected by ME2 Drilling). The long-term fix is going to cost plenty. How much? Sunoco proposes to pay to connect each homeowner, plus $60,000 to cover the cost of water bills over the next 20 years. If homeowners want to stay on their private water wells instead of hooking up to municipal water, Sunoco will pay them $11,000. Some of the homeowners are pleased with the offer, others are greedy and want more…
