The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued the corrective action order in September, following a 600-gallon crude oil leak in Macomb County, Michigan. The agency said the circumstances resembled the failure of Energy Transfer subsidiary Sunoco’s Twin Oaks pipeline in Bucks County, where a leak discovered last year contaminated drinking water sources with jet fuel.

Both leaks began at failed repair sleeves, according to the agency. The Twin Oaks leak went undetected for 16 months and released more than 6,000 gallons of jet fuel, based on the company’s estimate.

Regulators said Energy Transfer could not find records for the sleeves involved in either failure, or for hundreds of other sleeves installed across its pipeline systems. Those records are needed to confirm repairs were properly installed and remain sound, the agency said.

The order requires pressure restrictions, an inventory of repair sleeves and other steps to evaluate affected pipelines and Energy Transfer’s other hazardous-liquid pipelines. The Twin Oaks line is currently operating under a 20% pressure reduction. The agency warned that without the required measures, the company’s network “is or would be hazardous to life, property, or the environment.”

The agency said similarities between the failures, along with the company’s apparent inability to detect them, indicate a risk of further breakdowns. It found a high likelihood that the conditions behind the Michigan and Twin Oaks failures also exist elsewhere in Energy Transfer’s systems.

In May 2025, regulators ordered Sunoco to inspect and verify Type-A repair sleeves along the 105-mile Twin Oaks pipeline after determining that a faulty Type-A sleeve caused the Bucks County leak. The Michigan failure involved a Type-B sleeve, which has structural differences but is similar to a Type-A repair. In June 2026, the agency issued a safety advisory about risks associated with Type-A sleeves across hazardous-liquid pipeline operators.

The investigations into both leaks are ongoing. Energy Transfer did not respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Bucks County Republican who has worked with Upper Makefield residents on proposed pipeline-safety legislation, said the latest findings show why reforms are needed. He warned that questions about numerous undocumented repairs could represent vulnerabilities threatening communities nationwide.

The Twin Oaks leak’s aftermath continues to affect the Mt. Eyre neighborhood in Upper Makefield. Residents have complained that cleanup is progressing too slowly and disrupting daily life, while community members and local officials have called for the pipeline to be shut down during the federal investigation.