The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is considering Shell’s request for a new permit for its Beaver County ethane cracker, which turns natural gas into plastic. The company said it needs the new permit to account for changes to plant operations and to meet new federal rules.
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The DEP issued a tentative approval in February for the permit, which includes updates for the company’s wastewater treatment and flaring operations. Flaring is a way to reduce pollution and safety risks by burning off excess gasses.
The new permit allows for increases for some pollutants, like nitrogen oxides, a lung irritant that can lead to asthma and respiratory infections. It would also allow the plant to increase emissions of carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming, to 2.56 million tons per year. The plant is already one of the state’s top climate polluters, with a permitted limit of 2.3 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year, or roughly the emissions of 486,000 cars, according to the EPA.
At a public meeting on the permit Thursday in Monaca, Laura Sabolyk, Shell’s environmental manager, said the plant needs to emit increased levels of certain pollutants because of new federal rules for chemical plants like the ethane cracker.
“One of biggest changes with that rule when EPA revised it is updates to flare systems,” Sabolyk said.
She said that the new rules require reconfiguring the plant’s flares to burn more of its excess gasses.
“That will raise the heating value…to ensure our flares meet an adequate combustion efficiency,” Sabolyk said. “This permit…is updated to reflect those emissions that are required to combust our supplemental fuel gas to meet the regulatory standards.”
Shell’s impact on regional air quality
Mark Gorog, air quality program manager at the DEP’s southwest regional office in Pittsburgh, said the agency determined the increases would not put the region in jeopardy of exceeding federal air quality rules.
“There was an inhalation risk assessment done for chemicals of potential concern. That demonstrated that Shell doesn’t cause an undue risk to the public,” Gorog said.
“The end result was Shell doesn’t cause or contribute to a national ambient air quality violation.”
The plant received the largest tax credit in state history–$1.65 billion–and was completed in 2022. It took an army of 8,000 workers to build,at a reported cost of $14 billion. Shell has reportedly explored selling it.
Residents worry about air pollution
Beaver County resident Lindsay Schultz of nearby Monaca wants stricter rules than would be required under the permit. She came to the hearing because she says ever since the plant opened, she’s smelled strong odors.
“Sometimes they’re like a briny nail polish remover scent. Sometimes it smells like plastic,” Schultz said. “There are some times where I feel when I walk outside, it’s hard to breathe. My throat begins to itch and my eyes begin to water from that.”
The plant has had dozens of violations since it received a $10 million fine from the DEP in 2023 for violations related to its startup. Most recently, it exceeded its rolling 12-month emissions limits for nitrogen oxides for four straight months, from October through January. DEP spokeswoman Laina Aquiline said in an email that the exceedances were due to the new federal flaring rules.
“Shell is burning more gas … and Shell is adding supplemental gas at its high-pressure flare to achieve the heat content” required under the new rules, Aquiline said.
It has also had violations for visible emissions, though the DEP has not fined the company for those instances.
The plant also had several recent flaring events, including one in February. Aquiline said that event was caused by “an operational issue with a refrigeration compressor” that resulted in flaring that resulted in no “visible or fugitive emissions or malodors.”
Schultz thinks the plant should have to lower its pollution.
“It’s really sad because we love living here, but this is putting it at jeopardy,” Schultz said. “I don’t know if I want to stay here, especially if they get this (permit).”
Still no long term air permit
Environmental groups are also growing increasingly concerned that Shell has been operating without a long-term agreement with the DEP called a Title V operating permit. The permit is required by the federal Clean Air Act for major polluters, and Shell has gotten a series of extensions from the agency.
“The Clean Air Act makes it clear that they’re supposed to be applying for an operating permit after one year,” said Matthew Mehalik executive director with the Breathe Project. “This is like the fourth time they’ve come back for an extension.”
DEP spokesman Neil Shader said in a statement the number of extensions Shell has gotten is a function of how complex the plant is. “(T)he Monaca Plant is the most complex in the region and perhaps in the Commonwealth,” Shader said. “The facility has submitted an application for Title V Operating Permit and the Department’s review of that application is underway.”
Gorog said the purpose of the public comment session is for the public to weigh in on the proposed permit, and that the permit approval is not a ‘done deal’.
“Did we miss some technology? Tell us and we’ll adjust, after we verify, we would adjust the plan approval accordingly or deny it if there’s something really egregious.”
A public hearing on the plan is scheduled for April 7. The public comment period ends April 17.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 5 p.m. March 26 with comments from the DEP about Shell’s Title V permit application.
