plpromo-sunoco-380.jpg

The Marcus Hook Refinery is seen, Wednesday, July 11, 2012, in Marcus Hook.

(AP / Matt Slocum)

Sunoco Logistics has withdrawn the last of a series of petitions before the Public Utility Commission that could have exempted its proposed 300-mile Mariner East natural gas pipeline from local zoning ordinances.

The case, which drew opposition from environmental groups and some municipalities, was the subject of a series of hearings and conflicting opinions. It could have set a precedent for how pipelines are regulated and impacted the burgeoning natural gas industry.

"The withdrawal reflects Sunoco Logistics' commitment and progress in working with various municipalities to meet their needs regarding pump stations and valve sites," said Jeff Shields, a spokesman for the company, which builds and manages energy infrastructure.

This map shows the Mariner East pipeline which extends from Delmont to Marcus Hook as well as a number of the pipeline's feeder lines. A former oil pipeline, the Mariner East is being repurposed to transport natural gas products east.

Sunoco Logistic's $3 billion Mariner East projects will help transport the glut of natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale plays across Pennsylvania -- including the midstate region -- to the refineries in Marcus Hook. From there, the gas can be transported to markets across the country and the world.

Lower Swatara Township was one of the municipalities affected by the filing.

While the community does not have any above-ground facilities under the Sunoco Logistics' plan, Code Enforcement Officer Alan Knoche said the township had opposed the company's attempted exemption from local ordinances.

"They're going to be able to do the eminent domain thing regardless. Federal law allows that," he said. "But to violate or not even consider the local planning and zoning ordinances, that just obviously wasn't warmly received."

Knoche said the township generally didn't object to the pipeline, just the legal ramifications of the PUC case.

"We've had pipelines here and had no problems with them," he said. "It's just another pipeline."

In Sunoco Logistic's PUC withdraw filing, its attorney said the company has worked to "amicably settle and resolve whatever zoning exemptions and/or requirements might be required."

The PUC's administrative law judges had already approved the withdrawal of 22 of the company's 31 original petitions.

"For those pump stations and valve sites that are not yet built, we will continue to work with local government to address any issues," Shields said, in a written statement.

A number of environmental groups said the withdrawal request marked an important victory for communities dealing with pipeline developers.

"This motion from Sunoco shows that they cannot run roughshod over communities that are in the way of the proposed Mariner East pipelines," said Clean Air Council Executive Director Joseph Otis Minott, in a written statement.

Shields said the first phase of Mariner East is expected to begin carrying ethane and propane later this year. According to the company, that pipeline could carry up to 70,000 barrels per day.

"We are currently transporting propane on the line, which has greatly increased the much needed supply of propane in southeastern Pennsylvania during these cold winter months," he said.

A second phase, which would also include Ohio and West Virginia, is still in the planning and land acquisition process. It could carry 275,000 barrels per day upon completion at the end of 2016.

That project has been the subject of recent public meetings in the area.