More than 18 months after officials confirmed that a jet fuel pipeline leak in Upper Makefield Township contaminated private wells, some residents said they are still waiting for meaningful change.
As U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Bucks
, pushes bipartisan legislation in Congress inspired by the community’s experience, families affected by the leak are reporting that the problems that upended their lives remain unresolved.“Not much has changed for us on the ground,” said Kristine Wojnovich, a Washington Crossing resident whose family first noticed the smell of gasoline coming from their kitchen faucet in September 2023. “This is an ongoing issue, and it will be for the community.
"Nothing has really been cleaned up.”
The leak, which was discovered in January 2025 after jet fuel contaminated at least six private wells, may have gone undetected for as long as 16 months. A pipeline here transports jet fuel to Newark Liberty International Airport.
In November, Fitzpatrick introduced the bipartisan Wojnovich Pipeline Safety Act, legislation he said was shaped by the failures exposed during the Upper Makefield spill.
“This was a preventable disaster which exposed gaps in federal and state law,” Fitzpatrick said. “We want the lessons learned in Upper Makefield to result in a positive for the country.”
The legislation would require localized emergency alerts, strengthen inspection requirements for aging and repaired pipelines, improve leak detection and water testing, and require homebuyers to receive information about nearby hazardous liquid pipelines. It would also impose financial penalties on pipeline operators who fail to report, respond to or remediate leaks with urgency.
During a press conference supporting the bill in Washington on July 15, Fitzpatrick called the legislation a “reflection of the resilience, the persistence and the courage of the entire Upper Makefield community.”
“That was not simply a pipeline failure; it was a failure in public trust,” he said. “The principal behind this bill is simple: communities should never be the last to know and the first to bear the consequences of a pipeline failure.”
But for many residents still living with the aftermath, those changes remain theoretical.
Wojnovich said that drinking water at her home remains contaminated and that Energy Transfer, the company that owns and operates the pipeline, is still removing jet fuel from the family’s well.
She added that she doesn't feel Sunoco and Energy Transfer are being transparent.
“We support the Wojnovich Pipeline Safety Act because it will strengthen oversight of the nation’s aging pipelines, improve leak detection and repair accountability and help prevent another family or community from enduring what ours has endured,” the bill’s namesake said at the press conference. “No one should have to discover a pipeline leak by smelling gasoline in their kitchen faucet.”
At a July 8 meeting, Energy Transfer unveiled a “multi-phase extraction system” plan to clean up the spill and remove foul vapors, tainted soil and groundwater.
Some affected families continue to rely on bottled water because they do not trust that their wells are safe, even as cleanup efforts continue. Meanwhile, a class action lawsuit and several individual lawsuits seeking damages have been filed.
Fitzpatrick said the bill ultimately is about ensuring no other community experiences what Upper Makefield did.
“This is about the most basic responsibility of government: protecting the people and communities that we serve,” he said.
Ben Shapiro is a news intern at the Bucks County Courier Times. Reach him at bshapiro@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Upper Makefield residents say little has changed after jet fuel leak
