The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the July 6 PA Bulletin it approved a Final Report on remediation of soil and groundwater contamination by certain chemicals to meet Site-Specific Standards under the Land Recycling Program at the Shell Petrochemical Plant in Porter Township, Beaver County.  (PA Bulletin, page 3829)

The chemicals included aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, selenium, and zinc in groundwater; antimony, arsenic, cadmium, lead, manganese, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium, and zinc in soil.

The Shell plant was built on the former Horsehead Corporation zinc production facility which caused the contamination.

Shell submitted a Final Report on the facility in November covering dozens of chemical contaminants in soil and water to demonstrate cleanup at the site met both Statewide Health Standards and Site-Specific Standards.  Read more here.

After DEP issued a technical deficiency letter in February, Shell resubmitted the report and DEP approved it on June 21.

Copies of the Final Report, the deficiency letter and approval letters are available on DEP’s Shell Petrochemical Plant Facility webpage.

Questions should be directed to Thomas Buchan DEP’s Southwest Region Environmental Cleanup & Brownfields Program at 412-442-5240.

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Report Emergencies, Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; visit DEP’s Blog,  Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

(Photo: Original Horsehead Zinc Plant.)

Related Article This Week - Shell:

-- DEP: Shell Petrochemical Plant Title V Air Quality Permit Application Complete, Now Posted On DEP's Website; Comment Period Opening Soon  [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - June 29 to July 5 - Lots Of Conventional Wells Venting Gas; 12 + 6 More Abandoned Conventional Wells  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - July 6 [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posted 53 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In July 6 PA Bulletin  [PaEN] 

Related Articles This Week:

-- Federal Judge Halts Biden’s Pause On New LNG Gas Export Facility Permits; EQT, PA Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition Plan To Ship PA Gas To China To Support Its Economy  [PaEN]

-- DEP Citizens Advisory Council To Discuss Carbon Sequestration-Hydrogen Hub Pipelines; Critical/Rare Earth Mineral Recycling At July 9 Meeting  [PaEN]

-- PublicSource.org: July 9 Learn The Story Behind The Story - EQT's Gas Play In Pennsylvania, West Virginia  [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Air Quality Permit For Frontier LNG Gas Facility In Clinton County  [PaEN]

-- DEP: Shell Petrochemical Plant Title V Air Quality Permit Application Complete, Now Posted On DEP's Website; Comment Period Opening Soon  [PaEN]

-- DEP Approves Final Land Recycling Cleanup Report For Shell Petrochemical Plant Site In Beaver County  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- PennLive: Environmental Concerns Focus Of DEP Hearing On PA General Energy Double Gas, Wastewater Pipeline Route

-- TribLive: Great Allegheny Passage Trail To Close 2.5 Mile Section In Fayette County Through Mid-October For Texas Eastern Gas Pipeline Replacement Project

-- StateImpactPA/WITF: Per Well Impact Fees Paid By Shale Gas Drillers In PA Drop By More Than $100 Million In 2023 [IFO Predicts Another $114 Million Drop In 2024 ]

-- StateImpactPA/WITF: In US, Overall Emissions Down As Oil & Gas Production Rose Between 2015-2022; But In PA Region Carbon Dioxide Emissions Are Up 4%, Methane Emissions Down 25%

-- ProPublica: How America’s ‘Most Powerful Lobby’ Is Stifling Efforts To Reform Oil, Gas Well Cleanup In State After State [PA Included]

-- CNX Foundation Launches Internship Program To Develop Student Interest In The Regional Energy Industry

-- Environmental Defense Fund Blog: Unpacking EPA/DOE $850 Million Program To Tackle Oil & Gas Industry Methane Emissions

-- Utility Dive: US Supreme Court Decisions Could Delay Energy Investments, Spur Litigation, Analysts

-- The Hill: LNG Gas Export Projects Likely To Remain In Limbo Despite US Supreme Court Ruling

-- AP: Louisiana Federal Judge Sides With 16 States, Putting Pause On Biden’s Pause On New LNG Gas Export Facility Permits

-- Reuters: Louisiana Federal Judge Halts Biden’s Pause On New LNG Gas Export Facility Permits

-- Reuters: China Sets Up New State Body To Drill Deep For Unconventional Oil And Gas Reserves

[Posted: July 5, 2024]

7/8/2024