The shale gas boom on the Gulf Coast has had a trickle down effect for the region's petrochemical industry. Could the same happen in western Pennsylvania?
As a petrochemical industry boom looms, Pennsylvanians could learn a lot from chemical capitals like Houston about how to keep air pollution under control.
It's not every day that a major corporation agrees to move an entire community out of the path of pollution from one of its facilities. But a retired Louisiana school teacher was able to get Shell to do just that.
Shell's ethane cracker may prove to just be an opening act. A new state-commissioned report says that by 2030, Pennsylvania could be a major hub for the nation's petrochemical industry.
Shell is building a brand new ethane cracker in Beaver County, but it wants to use the less-stringent water pollution permit that was issued to the site's previous owner. Will the state play along?
Is cutting more of one kind of pollution in exchange for less of another a fair trade? That's what Shell is asking the DEP to consider to meet pollution requirements for its new petrochemical plant.
Shell's plans to build an ethane cracker near Pittsburgh are moving full-speed ahead. But the company still needs an important permit from a local township.