Beaver County's sprawling cracker plant notified of emission violations

A facility that recently opened in the Mahoning Valley’s back yard to convert natural gas into chemicals used to make plastics has been notified that it is in violation of environmental emission limitations.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued a notice of violation to Shell Chemicals for exceeding its rolling 12-month total emission limitations of volatile organic compounds at its cracker plant in Beaver County.

Shell's air quality plan approval states that the facility's emissions of volatile organic compounds shall not equal or exceed 516.2 tons of VOCs in a 12-month period.

The DEP says on November 7, Shell reported emissions data showing that for the 12-month period ending in September 2022, the total VOC emissions reached 521.6 tons.

In addition, for the 12-month period ending in October 2022, VOC emissions reached 662.9 tons.

Until September 2022, the facility's emissions were below its 12-month rolling limits for all air contaminants. The emissions are associated with initial startup of the facility.

This exceedance is a violation of Shell's plan approvals and the Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act and regulations.

Under Pennsylvania's air regulations, this plant is considered a major source of air contaminants for ozone precursors (nitrogen oxides (NOx), nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, hazardous air pollutants, and carbon dioxide equivalents.

The DEP says the notice is an initial step in a compliance and enforcement process, and it is not a final action.

DEP is still investigating the violations and obtaining additional information, data, and reporting from Shell and may take additional enforcement actions as appropriate to compel compliance, require corrective actions, and assess civil penalties.