UPPER FRANKFORD TWP., CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania Attorney General launched an investigation into a controversial pipeline across Pennsylvania.
The Mariner East 2 pipeline runs through parts of Franklin, Lebanon, Lancaster, York, Dauphin, and Cumberland counties.
FOX43 spoke with neighbors after news of the investigation broke in Cumberland County.
One farmer told us the pipeline has cost him more than just hard earned cash and that this investigation is a long time coming.
That’s Rolphe Blume. He walks through what he says used to be his beautiful green backyard in Upper Frankford Township.
A portion of the Mariner East 2 pipeline now runs right through his property.
Blume blames its construction for the mess seen on his property and for the one he says is costing him money every day.
“They have ruined, contaminated my well... close to where we’re standing here. Can’t drink it. I had to drill a new well, and that’s still no good to drink. We turn the water on. It comes out black," said Blume.
Not only did the water come out black when Blume turned it on for us, it also smelled like sulfur.
FOX43 photographer Corey Aspril says the smell almost made him vomit.
Blume says it ruined the home he and his wife once loved.
“My wife is half nuts about it because it’s her home. She’s been here. She was born. She is 79, years old now or 80, I don’t know… and this was her home, and it just ruined it," added Blume.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said on Twitter, "We will leave no stone unturned in this case."
For Blume, the investigation is a tiny sigh of relief that took a little too long.
“I think it’s a good thing. It’s a little late. I had contacted him a year or more ago and asked for help, and they said, 'we don’t do that kind of stuff,'" explained Blume.
There is one man who has stood by Blume, filing a formal complaint with the Pennsylvania Utility Commission on his behalf.
That's Wilmer Baker.
"I hope the state does get involved. Because the deeper I get into this, the more it gets dirty," said Baker.
Baker will soon have a hearing with the PUC.
His biggest concerns? What materials are being used and what he calls a lack of safety measures in place to keep people in Upper Frankford Township safe.
“They’re using steel that is substandard. They’re not doing what the government asked them to do for evacuation plans… they're not ready, and if this pipe breaks, too bad, so sad," added Baker.
We did reach out to both the Attorney General’s Office and Energy Transfer, the pipeline's parent company, the AG's office told us they can’t comment because it’s an active investigation, and we haven’t heard back from Energy Transfer.
