NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA – Members of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware Sierra Clubs, as well as representatives from the Delaware Lenape Tribe, converged on Sunoco Logistics Headquarters Wednesday in solidarity with those fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline out west, as the petroleum giant is a main stakeholder in the pipeline.

"We are honored to stand with our brothers and sisters in the Dakotas," said Delaware Lenape Indian Tribe Chief Dennis White Otter Coker outside of Sunoco's headquarters Wednesday afternoon. "As a tribal leader, I feel compelled to be here today. It's a no-brainer that the native community gets involved in these environmental issues." The Standing Rock Sioux tribe is on the front line of the pipeline fight due to the potential threat the pipeline would pose to the environment.



Jim Wylie of the Sierra Club's Southeast Pennsylvania Group said if the pipeline is finished, it will put the Sioux's drinking water at risk due to it crossing under the Missouri River upstream from the tribe's water supply. "While we respect the right to express opinions on infrastructure development, pipelines continue to be the safest form of transporting petroleum products, and we believe that these projects are catalysts for our nation's economy, creating manufacturing opportunities and real, family-sustaining jobs," a Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. statement in response to the protest said.

While Sunoco is a main player in the Dakota Access Pipeline, New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said the company has plans to push pipelines on the East Coast. "Sunoco is not only proposing destructive projects that hurt environmentally sensitive lands in the Mid-West, but are trying to push through pipelines on the East Coast," Tittels said in a statement. "This pipeline might even connect to refineries here, increasing pollution and greenhouse gases. That is why we must continue the public outcry against these dangerous projects and urge Sunoco to reject them."

Wylie said that project, the Mariner East project, would connect an old, re-purposed pipeline at Sunoco's Marcus Hook industrial complex on the Delaware River to three high-pressure pipelines that would bring methane and liquid natural gas products to Chester County.

"These three very high-pressure pipelines will be going next to schools, through many wetlands, very close to communities and even in some cases under people's houses because development came to the area after the old pipeline was installed," Wylie said.

"The argument always is pipelines are less risky than transporting by train or truck, which is arguably true," he said. "But we don't feel that there needs to be any fossil fuel infrastructure added to what we have." Wylie said if energy infrastructure is added to the country, it should be centered on renewable energy.