DV Journal

Sam Gigliotti has been in the water filtration business in Bucks County for 19 years, and says he’s never been busier than he is right now, weeks after a jet fuel leak in Upper Makefield.

Gigliotti and his partner, Clark Dilatush, run The Water Cleaner. It provides water filtration systems, testing, and other services.

“Between our normal client list and the new clients, this has definitely added an extra dynamic that has got us working overtime for sure,” said Gigliotti.

Much of that work is being paid for by Energy Transfer/Sunoco which operates the Twin Oaks pipeline that delivers fuel to the airport in Newark, N.J. When the leak was discovered at the end of January, the company began widespread testing and pledged to provide water treatment systems to residents who needed them.

The Water Cleaner is one of several companies adding point of entry (POET) treatment systems to homeowners in the Mount Eyre Manor neighborhood. Because Gigliotti has been in business for so long and has many clients in the Washington Crossing area, he’s getting a lot of calls for testing and filtration systems.

He explained the filtration systems use charcoal to remove the volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which comprise jet fuel or gasoline, from water.

His company usually charges about $6,000 for those systems, depending on what is needed, he said. “Sunoco reimburses (homeowners) up to $7,500,” he said.

Gigliotti called the situation “a real mess.”

Sunoco Project Manager Matt Gordon told residents at a public meeting earlier this month that the company is “committed to cleaning this up. The DEP issued a notice of violation. And issued an administrative order for actions they were already taking.”

Paying businesses like Gigliotti’s is one of those actions.

More than 500 samples have been taken in the area and, as of March 10, six properties had VOC readings above the allowable limit.

But the company has paid for filtration systems like those installed by Gigliotti at 60 properties, Gordon said, and plans to install 34 more.

Sunoco has also completed various tests of the soil and used ground radar to detect what lies underneath. They are going to start on “packer testing” of wells, which is “an EPA-recogized test to help determine the permeability of the well.” It shows fractures in the bedrock, he said.

“Hopefully we’ll get approvals to install monitoring wells,” Gordon added.

Local property owners are still angry.

“Residents are pushing for 25 years paid monitoring (of their wells), but Sunoco has offered them 10 years,” Gigliotti said.

And the state Attorney General’s Office is now among the agencies investigating the leak, a spokesperson confirmed.

Several local elected officials have called for the pipeline to be shutdown entirely, including Upper Makefield Supervisors Chair Yvette Taylor.

“How can we look into the eyes of the impacted residents and demand anything less than transparency? They suffer and we suffer with them as we demand relief from this crisis. Again, shut down this pipeline.”

The township recently hired geologist David Fennimore of Earth Data Northeast. He will conduct a replacement study for a long-term clean water source.

“We recognize their wells have (filter) systems on them now but this is a long-term solution,” said Fennimore. He is starting with three options: reconstruction of the wells, a community water system, and hooking up to public water.

Sunoco officials declined to answer questions at the March 11 meeting because of a pending residents’ lawsuit.

The pipeline is still operating at 20 percent less volume. There has been no evidence of additional leaks, he said. They plan to do tests by running “in-line tools” through the pipeline to ensure there are no other cracks.

Joe McGinn, vice president of public affairs for Sunoco, again apologized to affected residents. McGinn said the company is providing bottled water and paying for POET systems. The company is giving water testing results to the DEP and the township. And Sunoco excavated soil from the area of the leak.

“We will be able to say the product that’s in the ground has been removed,” said McGinn.

Although the DEP has now mandated the Act 2 process, they are “committed to do it voluntarily and right away. To the stringent-ist amount, the statewide standard,” said McGinn.

Sunoco plans an online town hall for March 27.

The leak of jet fuel in Bucks County made big headlines, but the latest water testing confirms the impact has been small.

Testing in Lower Makefield, Falls Township, and Yardley Borough by Pennsylvania American Water officials found no hydrocarbon compounds in samples of its source water. Hydrocarbons are the main components of jet fuel.

“Pennsylvania American Water is pleased to reassure its customers in the Yardley area that the source water in their system shows no signs of contamination from this pipeline leak,” said Brandy Braun, director of water quality environmental compliance for Pennsylvania American Water. “We understand the anxiety associated with a situation such as this and are committed to providing peace of mind regarding the safety of their drinking water.”

A pipeline carrying jet fuel was found to have leaked in neighboring Upper Makefield, sending crowds of concerned citizens to pack public meetings. However, testing by a third-party contractor of 447 water samples found only six had chemical levels above safety standards.

Energy Transfer, which operates the pipeline that provides jet fuel to the Newark, N.J. airport, has installed full point-of-entry water treatment systems (POET) for the six wells that tested above the statewide health standard. It is also offering water testing at cost for the area.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ordered the company to provide bottled water to residents impacted by the leak, a demand that Energy Transfer says is redundant.

“We want to reinforce that we have already committed to doing all this and more. We have been providing bottled water to impacted homeowners since this issue was first identified last month and will continue to do so. Additionally, the process of installing point-of-entry treatment systems for impacted homeowners is well underway. We will continue to cooperate with all appropriate parties as we work through the process of fully remediating this situation.”

The Twin Oaks pipeline leak was discovered on Jan. 31 in the Upper Makefield Township neighborhood of Mr. Eyre Manor. The site is approximately 7,700 feet from Pennsylvania American Water’s nearest well. The pipeline, which is owned by Energy Transfer/Sunoco, carried jet fuel from Delaware County to Newark, N.J.

“Aware of the concern of our customers and the community, Pennsylvania American Water will monitor our source water for any signs of contamination and retest those sources as warranted,” said Braun.

Elected officials continue to call for the pipeline to be shut down.

“This past Friday, I met with the residents of the Upper Makefield Task Force to continue our fight together in addressing this urgent community crisis,” Bucks County Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick posted on X.

“It has been over a month since the Sunoco Pipeline leak and our community still faces uncertainty. That’s unacceptable. I immediately renewed my call for PHMSA to shut this pipeline down. Until there’s undeniable proof it’s safe, it must stay offline—anything less is reckless and irresponsible.”

A meeting with Sunoco, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is scheduled for March 11 at 7:30 p.m. at The Crossing Church, 1895 Wrightstown Road, Washington Crossing.

American Water is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the U.S. and dates back to 1886. It provides drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people with regulated operations in 14 states and on 18 military installations. American Water employs 6,700 people. Pennsylvania American Water is a subsidiary of American Water with about 2.4 million customers, officials said.

Jet fuel leaking from a Bucks County pipeline has directly impacted fewer than a dozen wells, but it has caused widespread concern — and anger — across the Upper Makefield community.

That anger was on display Thursday night at Sol Feinstone Elementary in Newtown during a contentious and crowded meeting where residents and elected officials called on Energy Transfer/Sunoco to shut down the pipeline entirely.

The Twin Oaks pipeline, which carries jet fuel from Delaware County to Newark, N.J., remains active with a 20 percent reduction in pressure, after the company repaired the leak.

The release of the jet fuel was confirmed on Jan. 31, impacting some residents in the Mt. Eyre Manor neighborhood, officials said. Out of 359 wells tested, six were found to contain hydrocarbons above statewide health standard amounts, while four others had lesser amounts, company officials said during a presentation.

That was cold comfort to the families directly affected or to the community members who said they’d been smelling and tasting gas in their water for months.

One of those residents is Kristine Wojnovich, who said the pipeline company told her in 2023 that there was no leak and that the odor she was experiencing could have been caused by bacteria. The company did a dig near the home looking for a leak and none was found.

Now jet fuel has been found in her well.

“To date, they recovered more jet fuel from my property than anywhere else,” she said. “Not just measurable. Feet of jet fuel.”

“Described to residents as a slow drip, explain to me how wells, with five, six or 12 feet [of jet fuel] in them, could possibly have been detected shortly after it began?” she asked.

Energy Transfer Vice President of Public Affairs Joe McGinn apologized for the jet fuel leak and said the company’s “focus and goal is to restore the community to its original state.”

The company has installed full point-of-entry water treatment systems (POET) for the six wells that tested above the statewide health standard. It is also offering water testing at cost for the area.

Energy Transfer is also providing bottled water for residents, has purchased a house at 108 Spencer Road, and has posted a website to share information with concerned residents.

Project Manager Matthew Gordon said company officials are continuing to inspect the pipeline.

“We hear you, and we’re taking steps to clean this up and make sure the pipeline operates safely,” said Gordon. An ultrasonic tool will be used inside the pipeline to find cracks.

Brian Jimenez, director of pipeline safety, said Energy Transfer is working on a full remediation plan that it will share it with the United States Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the federal agency in charge of pipelines.

A third-party company is doing an investigation to find out how the leak occurred in the 105-mile-long Twin Oaks pipeline.

Not good enough, said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks), whose representative read a letter to the meeting.

“I will not stop until we get answers and accountability your families deserve,” the letter read. “From day one, I’ve been working to seek answers and transparency. While I appreciate the involvement of PHSMA and DOT, the answers we received do not go far enough…The answers we received so far are woefully short of transparent.”

“What we need as a community is clear: number one, the pipeline needs to be shut down,” he wrote. “Number two, water testing needs to be expanded and expedited. Lead and benzene need to be included and reported publicly.”

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously for an ordinance directing Energy Transfer to shut down the pipeline.

Longtime pipeline opponent state Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D-Bucks) also called for a shutdown.

“This Twin Oak pipeline, they have had a problem, and they’ve not been effective in managing it. We need to shut this pipeline down. It needs to be shut down now.”

Resident Bryan Roberts said the pipeline is 67 years old, and the leak occurred at a type-A sleeve previously repaired 30 years ago. Those sleeves are known in the industry to be problematic, he claimed.

On Jan. 24, he said a resident had a private test performed on their well water that detected the jet fuel after Sunoco again failed to detect a leak, he said. When the company opened up the ground at the sleeve, it was found to be leaking. The company removed the leaking sleeve in the middle of the night, he said.

“Shut down the pipeline,” he said to applause.

The Newark airport is a key transport hub for New York City and the surrounding region, and commercial airlines rely on the fuel from the pipeline. And the Pennsylvania energy sector transports billions of dollars in fuels each year via the network of pipelines crisscrossing the state.

The Liquid Energy Pipeline Association reports incidents involving pipelines were down 23 percent over the five years 2019 through 2023, according to federal data. The pipeline association released a report that found operations and maintenance incidents impacting people or the environment declined 54 percent between 2019 and 2023. Also, total equipment failure incidents impacting people or the environment decreased by 50 percent during that period.

Residents can call a 24/7 community hotline: 877-397-3383.