GOP congressional candidates criticize pipeline

• Marie Cusick
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  Marie Cusick was the Harrisburg reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania.

The Republican candidates vying for the seat held by the retiring congressman Joe Pitts (R- 16th) are both criticizing a proposed interstate natural gas pipeline. If the Atlantic Sunrise line is approved by federal regulators it would run through 10 Pennsylvania counties, including parts of the 16^th congressional district in western Lancaster County, where opposition has been fierce. Pitts has been criticized for failing to take a position on the project.
State senator Lloyd Smucker (R- Lancaster) and Manheim businessman Chet Beiler are competing in the April 26th GOP Primary. Neither candidate opposes the project outright, but both question how it’s been handled so far. The Atlantic Sunrise pipeline would carry Marcellus Shale gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to markets along the East Coast and to an export terminal.
“I think there should be a high bar for any new pipeline,” says Smucker. “Particularly a pipeline that is going through some of the most productive farmland in the state.” He isn’t sure whether the company behind the project, Williams, has met that high bar yet. He also says if Pennsylvania enacts a new severance tax on gas production, there should likewise be a new tax levied on pipelines.
Beiler initially told StateImpact Pennsylvania he didn’t know enough about the Atlantic Sunrise project to be for or against it. Later, he said he supports it.
However he doesn’t like the excessive use of eminent domain—which Williams says will be a last resort if it can’t get property owners to agree to the project.
“Some of these people were treated with great disrespect,” says Beiler. “Had they been treated differently, it might not have gotten out of hand as it did.”
Williams spokesman Chris Stockton says the company welcomes the opportunity to educate the candidates about the project and the precautions it’s taking to minimize impacts.
“For example, we are working behind the scenes with soil scientists, agronomists and local agricultural experts to ensure our construction techniques and restoration methods are appropriate for the area’s soils, crops and farming practices,” he says.
Local landowners have repeatedly protested the project. Last year eight people were arrested after linking arms to block equipment. Earlier this week, they unveiled a 50-foot-long anti-pipeline quilt on a preserved farm along the route of the project.
Federal regulators are expected to make a decision on the pipeline in late 2016 or early 2017.
Lancaster nonprofit consultant Christina Hartman is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. She says she takes the concerns about the pipeline seriously, but if elected, wouldn’t have much say in the final decision.
This story has been updated with the following clarification: Smucker is not sure yet whether Williams has made the case for running the pipeline through Lancaster’s farms. A previous version of the article stated that he thought the company had not made its case. The story has also been updated to reflect Beiler’s new position on the project.

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