Shell Appalachia fined $10 million for air quality violations from Beaver County 'cracker' plant

Patrick Varine, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

May 24—Shell Chemicals Appalachia will pay nearly $10 million for air quality violations during the commissioning of its petrochemical plant in Beaver County.

Under the agreement announced Wednesday, Shell will pay a $4.9 million civil penalty, with 25% going to local communities. Along with $5 million for environmental projects to benefit those communities and additional monthly civil penalties the remainder of 2023, overall the company will put $6.2 million toward improving the quality of life for local residents.

"Shell recognizes that as a company, it must do better, and this $6.2 million commitment to the people of Western Pennsylvania is a down payment on that progress," Gov. Josh Shapiro said. "My administration will continue to work with Shell to ensure they live up to this agreement, and we will be prepared to hold them accountable for any future violations."

Shell exceeded its rolling 12-month emission limits in several areas:

—Volatile organic compounds: October 2022 through April 2023;

—Carbon monoxide: February through March 2023;

—Nitrogen oxides and hazardous air pollutants: December 2022 through April 2023.

Shell was also cited for flaring violations from June 2022 through April 2023, along with odor violations at its wastewater treatment plant in January, February and April.

The agreement requires Shell to obtain approvals to repair its totally enclosed ground flares, requires an engineering evaluation on the efficacy of pollution controls, and requires Shell to obtain approvals to install any additional controls.

Shell will also continue to report emissions from the facility on a monthly basis.

"We're worked closely with the (DEP) to fix the issues that led to prior violations, and Shell Polymers Monaca is resuming production as a result," said Shell spokesman Curtis Smith. "We've learned from previous issues and remain committed to protecting people and the environment, as well as being a responsible neighbor."

State officials want the company to show that commitment through action.

"We know that Shell can operate a state-of-the-art facility that helps grow our economy without harming the environment, and we are going to hold them to the requirements laid out in their permits," said acting Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Rich Negrin. "We are going to make sure that they are good neighbors to this community, and we will be hearing from and working closely with the residents of Beaver County to make sure this $5 million is an investment into the community and the people that live there."

Between September 2017 and this month, the facility received 19 notices of violations from the DEP, according to state records. Shell also entered into a 2019 consent order agreement to address violations regarding the installation of equipment without prior approval from the DEP.

Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick by email at pvarine@triblive.com or via Twitter .