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DEP Notified Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County It Can No Longer Operate Under An Air Quality Construction Permit And Has 120 Days To Submit A Full Title V Air Quality Permit Application

The Department of Environmental Protection notified the Shell Petrochemical Plant in Beaver County it will no longer be able to operate under an Air Quality Construction permit and must submit an application for a full Title V Air Quality Permit within 120 days, according to the Clean Air Council.

The federal Clean Air Act and US Environmental Protection Agency regulations require that a facility submit a Title V Operating Permit application within 12 months of commencing operation.

The Shell Plant began operations in November 2022 and has been operating under a construction permit DEP keeps renewing.

On February 22, 2024, DEP issued a letter to the Shell Petrochemical Plant directing the facility to submit a Title V Operating Permit application within 120 days-- by June 21.

Once that application is submitted, DEP must issue or deny the permit within 18 months.

“Since its opening in late 2022, Shell’s Beaver County plastics plant has been a serial lawbreaker, illegally emitting many tons of pollution into the air we breathe,” said Alex Bomstein, Clean Air Council Executive Director. “PADEP’s order to Shell to apply for a Title V Operating Permit for its plant sets up the public and our environment with better protection from harmful pollution, and allows the public to file comments and petition the EPA to object to any potential shortcomings in the resulting permit.”

Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community sent a letter to DEP on March 21, 2024 requesting that once they receive Shell’s application it should be posted on DEP’s website so that the community has ample time for review.

BCMAC will also ask that a public hearing be held to allow sufficient time for public comment.

"We're working with local, regional and national partners who have the legal and technical experience with Title V permits to ensure that Beaver County residents will be accurately informed every step of the way," said Hilary O’Toole, Executive Director of BCMAC. “We will be scheduling meetings and educational events throughout Beaver County to engage municipal leaders and community members.”

Multiple, Continuing Violations

Shell exceeded its 12-month rolling emission limits for--

-- Volatile organic compounds (VOC) beginning in October 2022 through April 2023;

-- Carbon monoxide (CO) from February through March 2023;

-- Nitrogen oxides (NOx) from December 2022 through April 2023; and

-- Hazardous air pollutants (HAP) from December 2022 through April 2023.

In addition to emissions violations, DEP cited Shell for

-- Flaring violations from June 2022 through April 2023;

-- Malodor violations from its wastewater treatment plant in January, February, and April 2023 - which included discharging benzene into the Ohio River.

$12,671,044.75 In Penalties

In May 2023, DEP and Shell signed a consent order and agreement that required the company to pay $10 million in penalties and local payments for air quality violations. Read more here.

In February, 2024, DEP confirmed Shell paid an additional $2,671,044.75 in penalties stipulated in the May 2023 agreement for air quality violations happening after May 2023. Read more here.

In addition, the DEP said, “DEP considers [other] notices of violation issued after May 24, 2023 as open compliance matters and has not assessed or collected a civil penalty for those violations as of today.” Read more here.

Deficiencies In Act 2 Land Cleanup Report

On February 6, 2024, DEP sent a deficiency letter to the Shell Petrochemical Plant saying a Final Report Shell submitted under the Act 2 Land Recycling Program "did not demonstrate attainment of the Statewide Health and Site-Specific cleanup standards.”

Shell will now have the opportunity to correct those deficiencies in the report.

The notice of the letter in the PA Bulletin listed dozens of chemicals that contaminated the soil and groundwater of the site which was formerly owned by Horsehead Corporation. (PA Bulletin, page 1412)

The Bulletin notice listed these chemicals as soil and groundwater contaminants: Beryllium, chromium, copper, silver, aroclor, 1016, aroclor, 1221, aroclor, 1232, aroclor, 1242, aroclor, 248, aroclor, 1254, aroclor, 1260, 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene, 1,2,4-trichloro- benzene, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, 1,3-dichlorobenzene, 1,4- dichlorobenzene, 2,2-oxybis(1-chloropropane), 2,3,4,6-tetra- chlorophenol, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4-dimethylphenol, 2,4-dinitrophenol, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, 2,6-dinitrotoluene, 2-chloronaph- thalene, 2-chlorophenol, 2-methylnaphthalene, 2-nitro- aniline, 2-nitrophenol, 3-methyl-phenol, 3-nitroaniline, 3,3’-dichlorobenzidine, 4-methyl-phenol, 4-chloro-3-methyl- pheno,l, 4-nitrophenol, ace-naphthene, acenaphthylene, acetophenone, anthracene, atrazine, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(g,h,i)peryl- ene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzyl, butyl phthalate, bis(2- chloroethoxy)methane, bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, carba- zole, chrysene, diben-zo(a,h)anthracene, dibenzofuran, dibutyl phthalate, dichloroethyl, ether, diethyl phthalate, dinitro-o-cresol, di-n-octylphthalate, fluoranthene, fluorene, hexa-chlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene, hexa- chlorocyclo-pentadiene, hexachloroethane, indeno(1,2,3-cd)- pyrene, isophorone, naphthalene, nitrobenzene, n-nitro- sodi-n-propylamine, n-nitrosodiphenylamine, o-cresol, p-chloro-niline, pentachlorophenol, phenanthrene, phenol, p-nitroaniline, pyrene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1,2,2-tetra- chloroethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethene, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,2-dichloro- propane, 1,4-dioxane, 2-butanone, 2-hexanone, 4-methyl- 2-pentanone, acetone, benzene, bromodichloromethane, bromoform, carbon, disulfide, carbon, tetrachloride, chloro- benzene, chlorobromomethane, chloroethane, chloroform, chloromethane, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, cis-1,3-dichloro- propene, cumene, cyclohexane, dibromochlor-omethane, ethylbenzene, methyl, acetate, methyl, bromide, methyl, chloride, methyl, tert, butyl, ether, methylene, chloride, styrene, tetrachloroethene, toluene, trans-1,2-dichloro- ethene, trichloroethene, vinyl, chloride, xylenes, antimony, arsenic, cadmium, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium, thallium, and zinc for soil. beryllium, chro- mium, copper, 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene, 1,2,4-trichloro- benzene, 1,2-dichloro-enzene, 1,3-dichlorobenzene, 1,4- dichlorobenzene, 2,2-oxybis(1-chloropropane), 2,3,4,6- tetrachlorophenol, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, 2,4,6-tri- chlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4-dimethylphenol, 2,4- dinitrophenol, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, 2,6-dinitrotoluene, 2-chloronaphthalene, 2-chlorophenol, 2-methylnaphth- alene, 2-nitroaniline, 2-nitrophenol, 3-methylphenol, 3-nitroaniline, 3,3’-dichlorobenzidine, 4-methylphenol, 4-chloro-3-methylphenol, 4-nitrophenol, acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, acetophenone, anthracene, atrazine, benzo- (a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene, benzo(k)fluor-anthene, benzyl butyl phthalate, biphenyl, bis(2-chloroethoxy)methane, bis(2- ethylhexyl)phthalate, carbazole, chrysene, dibenzo(a,h)- anthracene, dibenzofuran, dibutyl phthalate, dichloroethyl ether, diethyl phthalate, dinitro-o-cresol, di-n-octyl phthalate, fluoranthene, fluorene, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene, hexachlorocyclopentadiene, hexa- chloroethane, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, isophorone, naph- thalene, nitrobenzene, n-nitrosodi-n-propylamine, n-nitro- sodiphenylamine, o-cresol, p-chloroaniline, pentachloro- phenol, phenanthrene, phenol, p-nitroaniline, pyrene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1,2,2-, etrachloroethane, 1,1,2- trichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethene, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,2-dichloropropane, 1,4-dioxane, 2-butanone, 2-hexanone, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, acetone, benzene, bromodichloromethane, bromoform, carbon disulfide, carbon tetrachloride, chlorobenzene, chloro- bromomethane, chloroethane, chloroform, chloromethane, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, cis-1,3-dichloropropene, cumene, cyclohexane, dibromochloromethane, ethylbenzene, methyl acetate, methyl bromide, methyl chloride, methyl tert butyl ether, methylene chloride, styrene, tetra- chloroethene, toluene, trans-1,2-dichloroethene, trichloro- ethene, vinyl chloride, xylenes, aluminum, antimony, arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium, silver, and thallium for soil.

Visit DEP's Shell Petrochemical Plant Facility webpage for more information on these actions.

NewsClip:

-- The Allegheny Front: Taxpayers Subsidize Polluting Plastics Plants Like Shell’s Petrochemical Plant, Report Finds

Related Articles - Shell Plant:

-- DEP: Shell Petrochemical Plant Pays Additional $2,671,044.75 In Civil Penalties For 12-Month Air Quality Violations After May 2023 Consent Order [PaEN]

-- PA Taxpayers To Give $130.9 Million In Tax Credits To Subsidize Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County; Total Expected To Be $1.17 Billion Thru 2042; No Regard For Environmental Compliance Record [PaEN]

-- DEP Accepting Project Applications For $5 Million Shell Petrochemical Plant Beaver County Environmental Mitigation Community Fund [PaEN]

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

-- Western PA Residents Comment After A Year Of Shell Petrochemical Plant Operations [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - March 16 to 22 - Truck Rollover; 12 More Abandoned Wells; Failure To Submit Annual Reports; Another Chewed Wastewater Line Leaking [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - March 23 [PaEN]