Beaver County Shell plant seeking air quality approval plan; local environmental groups weigh in

MONACA, Pa. — Changes are coming to the Beaver County Shell Ethane Cracker plant if Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection approves.

The company is currently seeking what’s called an “air quality approval plan.” It’ll be the fourth since 2015.

Proposed changes include updates to flare systems, permanent upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant and administrative updates.

Several dozen people attended a public meeting at Penn State Beaver. Representatives from the DEP and Shell were on hand.

Among those in attendance were members of local environmental groups.

“What will the DEP do to hold them accountable and how are they measuring these things?” Hilary Starcher-O’Toole told Channel 11. She is the Executive Director of the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, or BCMAC.

“There is no notification for real-time alerts in the event of an emergency or emissions event. That’s really concerning.”

The monitoring issue was addressed. A DEP representative said Shell is required to self-report violations within 24 hours, but there is no real-time information available. He said it is “not feasible.”

As far as violations go, the company has incurred a number of them and was fined $10 million back in 2023.

Questions had to be submitted on note cards. One asked why Shell can continue to apply for permits even with those past violations.

“The plan approval is designed to correct the situation,” a DEP representative said. He added that the company has demonstrated that it’s working to fix the problems.

Starcher-O’Toole left the meeting disappointed. She criticized the format.

“I’m a little bit frustrated. I definitely feel like they made an attempt to answer some questions, but I feel like I was more talked to and talked at,” she said.

Shell representatives were there. One spoke, outlining the company’s plan. We tried to interview her afterward, but the contingent left quickly and told us “no.”

The next step is a public hearing on April 7th.

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