Pipeline leaking jet fuel in Bucks County: Community demands answers in meeting
Residents demand answers after pipeline leak contaminates water
A Bucks County community is outraged and demanding answers after learning about a pipeline leaking jet fuel.
UPPER MAKEFIELD, Pa. - A Bucks County community is outraged and demanding answers after learning about a pipeline leaking jet fuel.
Upper Makefield Township officials say even some of the drinking water has been contaminated.
Township officials also stated that the leak was discovered a month ago but may have been happening for more than a year. Many neighbors are scared to drink the water in their own homes.
What we know:
On or around January 27, 2025, Lower Makefield Board of Supervisors say a fuel pipeline leak was reported involving a pipeline owned by Energy Transfer/Sunoco.
According to a resolution from those officials, the leak resulted in contamination of residential walls and people reported the water has a gasoline-like smell.
A lot of people are at their wits' end. Many say they will never drink their water out of the tap now.
They basically want the pipeline shut down. No surprise it was standing room only at this meeting as frustration mounted over the lack of answers and action.
Residents attended a meeting with Energy Transfer/Sunoco, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and the United States Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on Thursday in Newtown.
What they're saying:
"We didn't want this, obviously. We didn't ask for this. Seems like we can't do anything about it," said Mike Nelson of Spencer Road.
"You want us to trust you. You want us to believe public safety is your number one priority, yet your legal representation insults us," added Clem Smith, also of Spencer Road.
Residents from the Mount Eyre neighborhood in Upper Makefield Township described what they are calling a crisis in their community after a jet fuel leak was detected in a Sunoco pipeline on January 31. Many now fear there could be other leaks in the 120-mile Twin Oaks pipeline.
"The future of this community, the young people in this community are counting on you to ensure what happened doesn't happen to their neighborhood," said resident Bryan Roberts.
Kristine Wojnovich described her nightmare. She lives on Walker Road, right across from where the leak was detected. We talked to her before the meeting.
"I raised my children in this house, and the fact we may not be able to live here is really hard. It's really hard," Wojnovich said.
Kristine says she first noticed a taste and smell of gas in their water in September 2023, but Sunoco told her tests showed no problem. Almost a year and a half later, Sunoco finally opened her well and found more than 12 feet of jet fuel on the top.
"When they opened it, there was this smell, and I was honestly emotionally unprepared for this to happen," she said.
She says Sunoco now comes twice a day because she still has fuel coming into her well. She and hundreds of others want to know the plan.
A representative from Energy Transfer, the parent company of Sunoco, said, "The company is moving forward with the investigation to try to get those answers," according to Joe McGinn of Energy Transfer.
Energy Transfer fixed the leak, and the pipeline was back up and running two days later.
What's next:
The township is demanding an independent investigation and remediation, and wants Energy Transfer to make the health and safety of residents a priority.
What you can do:
Residents with questions and/or concerns can obtain further information by contacting the resident hotline at 1-877-397-3383, by emailing uppermakefieldresponse@energytransfer.com, or by visiting the website at https://uppermakefield.incidentupdates.com.