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DEP Held July 13 Local Steering Committee Meeting For $5 Million Shell Petrochemical Plant Community Fund

On July 10, the Department of Environmental Protection announced the members of a steering committee who will be tasked with developing a protocol to allocate $5 million in funding for community projects in Beaver County from the settlement of Shell Petrochemical Plant air quality violations.

The Environmental Mitigation Fund steering committee will take public feedback into account as they develop the allocation protocol and will host an open meeting for the public on Thursday, July 13, 2023, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Community College of Beaver County’s Learning Resources Center (Room 9103) at 1 Campus Drive, Monaca, PA 15061.

Community organizations with representation on the steering committee, RiverWise and Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, will livestream the meeting on each organization’s Facebook pages to maximize community participation and access.

The committee and staff from DEP’s Office of Environmental Justice will be on hand to provide information and answer questions about the fund.

The $5 million Environmental Mitigation Community Fund is one of the largest funds in Pennsylvania history and is a direct result of Governor Shapiro taking action to hold Shell accountable and deliver real results for Western Pennsylvania.

This multi-million dollar payment secured by the Shapiro Administration is going to provide real help for affected Pennsylvania communities.

“We are committed to working closely with Beaver County residents to ensure that this historic $5 million is an investment in the community,” said DEP Secretary Rich Negrin. “Under Governor Shapiro’s leadership, the Department of Environmental Protection will continue to hold Shell accountable and protect Pennsylvanians’ constitutional right to clean air and water. Thanks to the Environmental Mitigation Community Fund, the people of Western Pennsylvania will receive $5 million for projects to benefit the environment, heath, and quality of life in their community – and we will ensure they have a real voice in determining how that funding is spent.”

In accordance with the May 24, 2023 consent order and agreement, OEJ convened a steering committee to develop the process to allocate funds for community projects.

The protocol will also outline the process for seeking, evaluating, and supporting projects and the creation of a financial entity to hold the funds.

The 17-member steering committee is comprised of representatives from organizations serving Beaver County and those spearheading environmental justice within DEP.

Steering Committee members include--

-- Terrie Baumgardner, Clean Air Council, BMAC

-- Kolbe Cole, TRAILS Ministries

-- Veronica Coptis, Taproot Earth

-- Roger Davis, Community College of Beaver County

-- Lisa DePaoli, DEP Environmental Justice Advisory Board, Center for Coalfield Justice

-- Cindy Gormley, Aliquippa Economic Development Corporation

-- Mary Lou Harju, United Way of Beaver County

-- Heather Hulton VanTassel, Three Rivers Waterkeeper

-- Cheryl King, Franklin Center of Beaver County

-- Matt Mehalik, Breathe Project

-- Norm Mitry, Heritage Valley Health System

-- Pastor Caleb Mussleman, The SOMA Gathering

-- anaïs peterson, Earthworks

-- Daniel Rossi-Keen, RiverWise

-- Tom Torres, DEP EJAB, Ohio River Valley Institute

-- Fernando Treviño, DEP Special Deputy Secretary for Environmental Justice

-- Seth Whitted, Whitted Media/The Genesis Collective

“We are employing community-based decision making, environmental justice principles, and transparency to maximize the positive impact of this fund,” added DEP’s Special Deputy Secretary for OEJ, Fernando Treviño. “What makes this Environmental Mitigation Community Fund unique is the community involvement and engagement through every step of the process.”

Funding Decisions Committee

A separate, yet-to-be-formed, committee will make funding decisions.

Ultimately, DEP will invite applications for projects to benefit the environment, health, and quality of life of the community near the facility for funding.

Information on the community fund, permitting, and compliance information is available on DEP’s Shell Petrochemical Plant webpage for the facility.

July 12 Eyes On Shell

The next meeting of the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community Eyes On Shell monitoring program is July 12 at 7:30 p.m. [PaEN]

Click Here to register.

NewsClip:

-- Living On Earth: Shell Petrochemical Plastics Plant Pollutes

Resource Links:

-- Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community: Eyes On Shell

-- Ohio River Valley Institute: Shell Petrochemical Plant Fails To Deliver For Local Economy

Related Articles - Shell Plant:

-- Residents, Environmental Groups Rally Against Shell Petrochemical Plant's Pollution In Beaver County [PaEN]

-- DEP Signs Consent Order I ncluding $10 Million In Penalties, Local Payments With Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County To Resolve Air Quality Violations; Plant To Restart May 24 [PaEN]