The ongoing battle over whether the leviathan Sun Oil Co., the nation's largest distributor and marketer of finished petroleum,
has the right to clear out trees over an underground pipeline on town-owned land appears to be heading closer to court.
    The controversy centers on Koenig Road, a street of behemoth-sized trees and small but picturesque homes off Niagara Falls
Boulevard, near the Youngmann Highway in the Town of Tonawanda.
    Sun officials contend that they "must" fell those trees that are near their 58-year-old pipeline, along a right of way that has never
been cleared, to facilitate easier access and inspection. Many in town, including Koenig residents and Town Supervisor Carl J. Cal-
abrese, oppose Sun's plan which, if effected, would practically denude the south side of Koenig of many of its stately and
most strikingly majestic and towering trees.
    Thus far, Calabrese has put a halt to Sun's plans. Invoking section 197-3a of the town code, which prohibits removing road-
side trees without a permit, and which, if granted, could come only after an environmental review, Calabrese has forbidden Sun to carry out their tree-cutting project.
    "If they send anybody with a chain saw, then they better be prepared to bail them out," he said. "As fast as you can say
'Sun,' I will instruct the town police to arrest them."
    However, Sun, in turn, has refused to comply with the town's permit-granting process to date. Their Philadelphia-based attor-
neys, Hancock and Estabrook wrote in a 17 page memorandum that "tree removal ordinances ... are not enforceable with respect
to Sun Oil's right of way," further suggesting that a court of law would overrule Calabrese's fiat.
    "If it has to go to court then so be it," Calabrese responded. "(But) unless a judge orders it, Sun Oil is not going to take down
one publicly-owned tree, and if we lose in court, we're going to appeal it.
    "If there really was a problem, I could dispatch a highway crew to take down a tree immediately," Calabrese added, discounting Sun's oft-repeated claim that their tree removal project is a "safety" issue.
    "What they really want to do is cut..the trees for their own convenience to facilitate aerial inspections."
    Operators of underground petroleum pipelines are required by federal regulations to walk by, drive by, or fly over pipelines at least 26 times a year to check tor evidence of leakage. Only aerial inspections require a clear-cut right of way:
    Sun spokesman Bud Davis, giving a clue as to the severity of the problem from Sun's perspective, indicated that the company has already cleared 228 of 252 miles of the pipeline for aerial inspection and if they were to be stopped at Koenig, it would "set
a precedent."
    The corporation, which employs 14,000 people and grossed $9.8 billion in 1994, owns or operates 7,000 miles of pipeline.
Erie County legislator Charles M. Swanick (D-Kenmore), at the behest of Koenig residents, has been closely monitoring the dispute.
    He sides with the residents, and is prepared to take the issue countywide, if necessary, through a legislative action in the
county legislature which would memorialize their opposition to Sun's tree-cutting project.
    "If I were Sun Oil, I would look at this closely. You cannot have the neighbors maintain an area and beautify an area for 58 years and then come along and suddenly turn the land to dust," Swanick said. "They (Sun) are part of the Western New York family. I would consider, carefully, if I were them, that there are a lot of places where Western New Yorkers can buy gasoline."
    Sun Oil is the parent company of Sunoco, one of the leading retailers of finished petroleum In Western New York.