Pennsylvania permits halted for Texas-based pipeline company
By MARC LEVY, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is halting construction permits for natural gas pipelines operated by a company whose pipeline exploded last year, as the governor said Friday that Energy Transfer LP has failed to respect the state’s laws and communities.
The state Department of Environmental Protection said the Texas-based company is not fixing problems related to the explosion, and piled yet another penalty onto a company project in the state.
State agencies already have imposed millions of dollars in fines and several temporary shutdown orders on Energy Transfer projects, while a county prosecutor is demanding documents from the company.
The methane gas explosion destroyed one home in Beaver County last September along the Beaver-to-Butler County pipeline. The Dallas-based firm blamed the blast on “earth movement in the vicinity of the pipeline.”
“There has been a failure by Energy Transfer and its subsidiaries to respect our laws and our communities,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in a statement Friday. “This is not how we strive to do business in Pennsylvania, and it will not be tolerated.”
The Department of Environmental Protection said Energy Transfer hasn’t stabilized the soil and erosion around its Revolution pipeline in western Pennsylvania, as it was ordered to do in October.
As a result, it is halting construction permits on the company’s pipelines in the state, it said.
“This hold will continue until the operator corrects their violations to our satisfaction,” Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell said in a statement.
Energy Transfer said it told state officials that it is committed to bringing the Revolution pipeline “into full compliance with all environmental permits and applicable regulations.”
In a statement, it said the action did not affect the operation of any of its in-service pipelines or any areas of construction where permits have already been issued.
Energy Transfer’s pipelines in Pennsylvania include the Mariner East 1, 2 and 2X natural gas liquids pipelines across southern Pennsylvania.
A DEP spokesman, Neil Shader, said permits for the 16-inch Mariner East 2X — which has yet to start operating — are now on hold.
Construction on those three pipelines has drawn blame for causing sinkholes and polluting drinking water and waterways across the state.
That has resulted in more than $13 million in fines and several temporary shutdown orders from state agencies, including one last month by the Public Utility Commission that has kept the Mariner East 1 pipeline shut down following a sinkhole that developed in suburban Philadelphia’s Chester County.
Nearby residents worried over sinkholes along the Mariner East pipelines sued Energy Transfer last summer in federal court. Chester County’s district attorney, Tom Hogan, is demanding documents from the company as part of a criminal investigation he opened.
Energy Transfer has said it is confident that it hasn’t violated criminal laws.
Also Friday, Wolf called on the Public Utility Commission to require an independent study to determine how long the Mariner East 1 pipeline can continue operating — it is roughly 80 years old — and asked lawmakers to pass legislation giving the state the power to regulate the routes and safety features of intrastate pipelines.

Likely deal would give Trump fraction of desired wall money

By ALAN FRAM and ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional bargainers are working toward a border security deal amid indications that the White House is preparing to accept a bipartisan agreement that would give President Donald Trump a fraction of the money he’s demanded for his proposed southern border wall.
Participants said they expect money for physical barriers to end up well below the $5.7 billion that Trump has sought to begin construction of the wall, which has attained iconic significance for him and his conservative supporters. Underscoring the clout he’s lost during a battle that’s dominated the opening weeks of divided government, the amount seems sure to fall much closer to $1.6 billion, the participants said, a figure that was in a bipartisan Senate bill last year.
“That’s what we’re working toward,” said Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., one bargainer.
An agreement would also avert a new partial federal shutdown next weekend. Trump has warned he might trigger a new closure of agencies if he doesn’t get his way, but that threat has become toothless because of solid opposition from GOP lawmakers burned by the record 35-day closure that he initiated in December.
One White House aide said Trump was expected to back whatever compromise emerges and acknowledged there is no will among congressional Republicans for another shutdown. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.
Coupled with a widespread expectation that the agreement would not use the term “wall,” the pact would represent a significant retreat for Trump, for whom “Build the wall!” has been a battle cry since his presidential campaign.
Democrats seemed to draw a firm line on spending.
“Throughout the talks, Democrats have insisted that a border security compromise not be overly reliant on physical barriers,” said Evan Hollander, spokesman for Democrats who control the House Appropriations Committee. “We will not agree to $2 billion in funding for barriers.”
In another signal that Trump was reluctantly preparing to give ground, the White House has been considering accepting the deal but also using executive action to secure additional barrier funding without lawmakers’ approval. That plan was described by two people familiar with White House thinking who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Depending on what Trump does, such an action could spark lawsuits or congressional votes of disapproval.
Trump supporters have said there are other executive powers Trump could use to divert money from the budget to wall construction, though it was unclear if they would face challenges in Congress or the courts. One provision of the law lets the Defense Department provide support for counter-drug activities.
Besides the dollar figure, talks were focusing on the type and location of barriers, participants said. Also in play were the number of beds the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency could have for detained migrants and the amount of aid included for natural disaster relief.
Money for high-tech surveillance equipment and more personnel was also expected to be included.
No one ruled out last-minute problems, especially with Trump’s penchant for head-snapping turnabouts. But the momentum was clearly toward clinching an agreement that Congress could pass by next Friday. The next day, many government agencies would run out of money and have to close again without a deal.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who leads the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, said he spoke Thursday night to Trump, who he said was in “wait and see” mode. Meadows said he expects an agreement to provide an amount closer to $1.6 billion.
“I’m not optimistic it’ll be something the president can support,” Meadows said.
A conservative House GOP aide said Freedom Caucus members wanted at least $2 billion for barriers and no restrictions on new construction, land acquisition or new types of barriers that could be built.
The aide also said the agreement need not contain the term “wall,” a word that Trump has lately alternated between embracing and abandoning. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private talks.
If there is a bipartisan deal, there would likely be enough votes to pass it without the most conservative Republicans or the most liberal Democrats.
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AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Catherine Lucey and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.