Upper Makefield Response

This website is designed to provide background information and updates related to a pipeline release that occurred in the Mt. Eyre neighborhood in Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County, PA, impacting residential wells. This website, operated by Energy Transfer, aims to inform impacted residents and provide resources.

Multi-Phase Extraction (MPE) Pilot Test Cancellation

Upper Makefield Township recently informed SPLP that it would require SPLP to obtain zoning, mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits, in addition to the road occupancy permit that SPLP applied for on August 16th. While Pennsylvania law makes it clear that such local permits are not required when conducting remedial activities under Act 2, the Township has indicated that it will nevertheless require SPLP to obtain those permits. Unfortunately, as SPLP has communicated several times to the Township, MPE pilot testing is only feasible in September and October when the water table is low, and obtaining these additional permits creates a delay that precludes implementing the multiphase extraction (MPE) pilot test this fall. Accordingly, SPLP has been forced to cancel the MPE pilot testing that was planned for the coming weeks. SPLP will begin removing equipment and materials that it had staged at the Community Support Center/Pump Station in anticipation of beginning the MPE pilot testing.

As noted in our last update, the Remedial Action Plan proposed conducting an MPE pilot test to enhance recovery of light non-aqueous phase liquid petroleum (LNAPL) from selected recovery and monitoring wells. The purpose of the proposed MPE pilot test was to measure the effectiveness of the MPE remediation method, and data collected from the MPE pilot test would be used in the design of a future MPE system for the site. The MPE pilot test would have had the added benefit of recovering LNAPL and dissolved petroleum product from groundwater and further preventing any contamination migration. While MPE pilot testing is no longer possible in the fall of 2026, SPLP will evaluate whether MPE pilot testing is feasible and necessary for the fall of 2027 when the water table again drops. In the meantime, SPLP will continue its ongoing site characterization activities and will also continue recovering LNAPL with active and passive methods under the oversight of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and in accordance with the Act 2 regulations as part of our response to the pipeline release.

Questions and Concerns. Please call the Upper Makefield Hotline 1-877-397-3383 or send you questions via email uppermakefieldresponse@energytransfer.com. More information can also be found at https://uppermakefield.incidentupdates.com.