PA Environment Digest Blog: Beaver County Residents And Allies Launch New Shell Ethane Plant Accountability Campaign

On November 21, Beaver County residents united with national allies to call on Shell Appalachia to step up and take several decisive steps to be a responsible neighbor to the thousands of residents living in close proximity to the plant.

Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC) along with Earthworks and more than 15 local, national and international allies launched the Shell accountability campaign on November 21st demanding that Shell commits to addressing a To-Do list of concerns.

BCMAC and allies have shared with Shell Appalachia Leadership a To-Do List of 6 categories with more than 20 expectations for transparency and accountability.

Even through the list was shared with Shell three times, Shell leadership has yet to provide a satisfactory response to the six main demands:

-- Ensure the community is prepared for emergencies

-- Immediately notify residents and appropriate others of incidents

-- Use the best available monitoring technology, including infrared cameras and advanced VOC monitors

-- Respect our night sky by reducing overnight lighting

-- Address the plastic crisis

-- Support climate action and reduce greenhouse gas emissions

“This To Do List has emerged from community concerns. Even before coming online, Shell was responsible for emissions that impacted nearby residents, an on-site spill and surfactant foam that was discharged into the Ohio River. Beaver County residents will be the first to feel the impact of pollution events at the plant, and we deserve to be notified in real-time to keep our families safe,” said Dr. Clifford Lau, BCMAC board member.

“After officially opening its plastic plant, Shell already has its eye on the next fossil-fuel Ponzi scheme: Blue hydrogen and Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS). The petrochemical buildout that is desecrating Southwestern Pennsylvania must end. In the face of the plastic and climate crises that will rain down suffering on the heads of our children, we call on Shell to decry false solutions designed to entrench that buildout in order to prolong our addiction to fossil fuels,” said Nora Johnson, BCMAC board member.

"Shell has had ample time to respond to this To Do List. Instead, they chose to prioritize their attempts to make profits instead of being a good neighbor," said anaïs peterson, petrochemicals campaigner for Earthworks. "By announcing the plant is operational before adequately responding to resident’s concerns Shell has proven once again that we cannot trust it to be a good neighbor. Residents and allies will be here for as long as it takes to demand Shell go beyond minimum legal requirements to protect residents and our global climate."

Shell, the world's 16th richest corporation, has made billions in profits while ignoring the health, safety, air and water quality and plastic pollution toll its operations will take on communities and climate change.

The plant is approved to emit 516 tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) per year, 612 tons of VOCs per year through an emission reduction credit (ERC) and 2.3 million tons of CO2e per year which will push the planet toward climate change (PADEP Permit, 2021).

If Shell truly plans to attempt to be a “good neighbor” in Beaver County, it must go beyond the minimum legal requirements and meet the demands of the community.

List of Partners

Between the Waters, Beyond Plastics Beekman, NY, Breathe Project, Center for Coalfield Justice, Climate Reality Project, Extinction Rebellion Kentucky, Friends of the Earth, Healthy Gulf, FracTracker Alliance, Moms Clean Air Force, Mountain Watershed Assoc., The Natural History Museum, Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania, PASUP, Plastic Pollution Coalition, Protect PT, Story of Stuff Project, Three River Waterkeeper, Zero Waste Ithaca

Visit the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community website for more information.

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-- Delaware River Basin Commission Meets Dec. 7 On Shale Gas Fracking Wastewater Regulations [PaEN]

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-- NRDC Blog: How Clean Is Pennsylvania’s New Hydrogen Subsidy? It’s Up To The Feds - By Mark Szybist, Natural Resources Defense Council [PaEN]

-- Beaver County Residents And Allies Launch New Shell Ethane Plant Accountability Campaign [PaEN]

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