The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s recent stamp of approval on the Mariner East 2 pipeline has opened up the flow of cheers from the business community, and chief among them is the celebration by the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce over the pipeline as an imminent boon to the local economy.

“It’s not often that a private project comes along that provides the opportunity to offer employment to tens of thousands of Pennsylvania residents, facilitate our state’s economic growth, as well as give our consumers and businesses growing access to affordable, abundant, and clean energy sources,” said chamber president Trish McFarland in a letter to the Daily Times.

The 350-mile Mariner East 2 project is expected to employ more than 30,000 people directly and indirectly and, together with the original Mariner East pipeline, generate $4.2 billion of economic activity within the state.

“Many of our county’s residents and businesses work hand-in-hand with the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex,” McFarland wrote. “Once this pipeline is in operation, it will deliver feedstocks that can turn Marcus Hook and our county into a future energy hub.”

The state-of-the-art pipeline will primarily carry propane, ethane, and butane, and safety has been a central focus of the approval process.

“Every weld on this pipeline will be real-time x-rayed to ensure there are no defects,” she wrote. “There are comprehensive pressure tests, automatic valve shutoffs, horizontal drilling at rivers and stream crossings to greatly lessen potential impact of spills — all of these precautions go above and beyond what U.S. regulations require.”

Check out previous DELCO Today coverage of the Mariner East here.