On Aug. 29, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to accept discretionary appeals in two separate cases (No. 952 C.D. 2017 and No. 942 C.D. 2017) relating to the construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline. The denial of the petitions for appeal concludes this chapter of challenges to the construction of the Mainer East Pipeline based on local zoning ordinances.

By way of background, Sunoco is in the process of constructing the Mariner East 2 pipeline, which is intended to traverse the entirety of Pennsylvania. Sunoco is operating pursuant to a certificate of public convenience issued by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (Pa. PUC), which authorizes it to transport natural gas liquids from Western Pennsylvania, and nearby West Virginia and Ohio, to points in Eastern Pennsylvania, terminating at the Marcus Hook facility in eastern Pennsylvania. In connection with this project, the Pa. PUC found that the proposed pipeline and the service it would provide was a public utility service, and that Sunoco was a public utility corporation subject to Pa. PUC regulation as a public utility. Previously, Pennsylvania courts affirmed Sunoco’s status as a public utility and the pipeline as a public utility service, see In re Sunoco Pipeline, 143 A.3d 1000 (Pa. Commw. 2016) (en banc), appeal denied 164 A.3d 485 (Pa. 2016).