Monday, November 25, 2024

Shell Falcon Pipeline LP Pleads No Contest To Criminal Charges For Violating The State Clean Streams Law In Allegheny, Beaver, Washington Counties; Will Pay $300,000 In Penalties

On November 25 at a Washington County Courthouse hearing, Shell Falcon Pipeline LP pleads no contest to three of 13 criminal charges for violating the state Clean Streams when it constructed a natural gas liquids pipeline in Allegheny, Beaver and Washington counties serving the Shell Petrochemical Plant in Beaver County, according to the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community.

Attorney General Michelle Henry brought the charges against the company in April for allegedly failing to notify DEP about multiple issues that the company encountered during some of the horizontal directional drills (HDD) that were utilized to construct some portions of the pipeline.  Read more here.

Shell Falcon Pipeline will pay $300,000 in penalties-- a $25,000 fine to the Department and $275,000 to the Independence Conservancy to support environmental restoration efforts.

These penalties are in addition to a $670,000 civil penalty DEP accessed against Shell Falcon Pipeline and its contractor Minnesota Limited LLC for violations of its permit and other laws and regulations that occurred in 2019 and 2020 during pipeline construction.  Read more here.

This brings the total criminal and civil penalties against the pipeline to $970,000.

“Shell’s reckless disregard for our community is nothing short of infuriating,” said Hilary Starcher-O’Toole, Executive Director of Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC). “From the devastating environmental damage caused by the Falcon Pipeline to the unrelenting pollution from the Shell Plastics Plant, Beaver County has been treated as a dumping ground for corporate greed. Our families are paying the price—with our health, our water, and our future. This conviction is just the beginning. Shell must be held fully accountable for the irreparable harm they’ve caused, and we will not stop fighting until justice is served for every resident of Beaver County.” 

Questions should be directed to: Hilary Flint, Director of Communications and Community Engagement, BCMAC at hilaryfflint@gmail.com.

Visit DEP’s Shale Pipeline Company webpage for more information on the pipeline.

Shell Petrochemical Plant Penalties

In May 2023, the Shell Petrochemical Plant served by the pipeline signed a consent order that included over $17 million in penalties to resolve air pollution violations-- over $12.6 million in penalty payments and $5 million in local community environmental restoration funding. Read more here.   Read more here.

On October 2024, the Clean Air Council and the Environment Integrity Project filed a notice of intent to sue the Shell Petrochemical Plant in Beaver County for emitting particulate matter (PM 2.5) and nitrogen oxides in violation of the federal Clean Air Act, the state Air Pollution Control Act and the plant's permit.  Read more here.

A similar lawsuit preceded the May 2023 penalty settlement.

This year Pennsylvania taxpayers are giving $65 million in tax subsidies to the Shell Petrochemical Plant as part of the PA Resource Manufacturing Tax Credit incentive program for locating in Beaver County. Read more here.

Visit DEP’s Shell Petrochemical Plant webpage for more information on the facility.

Most Penalized Industry

The shale gas and natural gas pipeline industry has been assessed over $71 million in penalties for environmental violations-- the most of any industry in Pennsylvania.  Read more here.

Natural gas pipelines and shale gas companies have also been convicted of multiple criminal charges-- Mariner East & Revolution Pipelines, Coterra Energy (formerly Cabot Oil & Gas),  CNX Pipeline, Greylock Production, LLC, Southeast Directional Drilling, National Fuel Gas Supply and pipeline subcontractor  -- and criminal charges have been brought against XTO Energy, pipeline workers and Equitrans.

NewsClips:

-- Observer-Reporter: Shell Pipeline Company Pleads No Contest To Criminal Charges For Discharges During Falcon Pipeline Construction  [PDF of Article]

-- WTAE: Shell Falcon Pipeline LP Convicted Of Criminal Charges After Violating PA Clean Streams Law

-- Marcellus Drilling News: BIG Mistake: Shell Falcon Pipeline Pleads Guilty To Criminal Charges  [PDF of Article]

Resource Links - Shell:

-- Attorney General Henry Files Charges Against Shell Falcon Pipeline For Failure To Report Drilling Issues That Caused Industrial Waste, Potential for Water Pollution  [PaEN]

-- DEP Signs Consent Order Including $10 Million In Penalties, Local Payments With Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County To Resolve Air Quality Violations; Plant To Restart May 24  [PaEN]

-- DEP: Shell Petrochemical Plant Pays Additional $2,671,044.75 In Civil Penalties For 12-Month Air Quality Violations After May 2023 Consent Order  [PaEN]

-- Environmental Groups File Notice Of Intent To Sue The Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County For Air Pollution Violations: Similar Action In 2023 Resulted In $10 Million Settlement   [PaEN]

-- PA Taxpayers To Give $130.9 Million In Tax Credits To Subsidize Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County; Total Expected To Be $1.17 Billion Thru 2042; No Regard For Environmental Compliance Record  [PaEN]

-- Natural Gas, Hazardous Liquids Pipelines Are NOT Required To Carry Insurance Or Show They Can Pay For Damages If They Explode, Leak Or Kill Someone  [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Nov. 23 to 29 - 3 Wastewater Pipeline Releases; More Abandoned Shale Gas, Conventional Wells; Leaking Gas Storage Area Wells  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - November 30 [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posted 87 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In November 30 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]  

Related Articles This Week:

-- Shell Falcon Pipeline LP Pleads No Contest To Criminal Charges For Violating The State Clean Streams Law In Allegheny, Beaver, Washington Counties; Will Pay $300,000 In Penalties  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Determines Rulemaking Petition Submitted By Environmental, Health Groups To Adopt More Protective Setbacks From Shale Gas Wells Is An Action The Environmental Quality Board Has Statutory Authority To Take  [PaEN] 

-- CNX Gas Company Reports It Did Not Stop Pumping Shale Gas Wastewater Through A Punctured Pipeline For 24+ Hours During An Incident In Morris Township, Greene County In May  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Discovers Evidence Of Continuous Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Release At McKean County Well Site During Routine Inspection [PaEN]

-- Public Citizen: LNG Gas Exports Could Cost Pennsylvanians Up To $16 Billion More In Energy Costs [PaEN] 

-- PUC Invites Stakeholder Comments On The Issue Of The Adequacy Of Electricity Supplies In Pennsylvania  [PaEN] 

-- PUC Encourages Consumers To Prepare For Dec. 1 Electricity Price Changes; Rates Will Vary From 8.4% Decrease To 31.2% Increase [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- Marcellus Drilling News: PA DEP Aids Efforts By Antis To Establish 3,000+ Foot Setbacks From Shale Gas Well Pads  [PDF of Article]

-- Observer-Reporter: Shell Pipeline Company Pleads No Contest To Criminal Charges For Discharges During Falcon Pipeline Construction  [PDF of Article]

-- WTAE: Shell Falcon Pipeline LP Convicted Of Criminal Charges After Violating PA Clean Streams Law

-- Marcellus Drilling News: BIG Mistake: Shell Falcon Pipeline Pleads Guilty To Criminal Charges  [PDF of Article]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: FERC Approves Rover Pipeline Connection To Energy Transfer Revolution Natural Gas Liquids Cryogenic Processing Facility In Washington County  [PDF of Article]

-- Financial Times: Oil/Gas Producers Warn 25% Republican Tariffs On Canada Will Push Up Prices For American Motorists, Natural Gas Users   [United Refining Refinery In Warren Uses Oil From Canada As Feedstock]

-- AP: Republican Administration Threatens To Impose New 25% Tariffs On All Canadian Imports To US  [United Refining Refinery In Warren Uses Oil From Canada As Feedstock]

-- Reuters: How Proposed Republican Tariffs Might Affect Commodities And Energy

-- E&E News/Politico: What Republican Tariffs Could Mean For America Energy 

-- Reuters: Exxon: US Oil/Gas Firms Unlikely To Go ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Under Republican Administration  

-- Reuters: Exclusive: Republican Administration Prepares Wide-Ranging Energy Plan To Boost Natural Gas Exports, Oil Drilling, Sources Say  [PDF of Article

-- Public Source.org: Pittsburgh-Based EQT’s ‘Bulldog’ Has D.C. In His Grip, With Profits And Maybe Higher Gas Bills On The Horizon 

--  Scranton Times: UGI Gas Customers To See Nearly 9% Increase In Natural Gas Costs For Non-Shopping Customers Dec. 1 

-- WVIA: Heating Bills To Rise 8.7% For UGI Gas Customers Starting Dec. 1

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.06   Ohio- $3.03   PA- $3.24 

-- Reuters: US Oil Output Fell In September By The Most Since January, EIA Says

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs Same As Last Week At 15; Aug. 23 Was 21

-- The Energy Age Blog: New Fortress Energy, Leader Of LNG Gas Export Growth Bubble, Facing Bankruptcy

-- Marcellus Drilling News: EPA Set To Bestow WV With CO2 Class VI Injection Well Primacy  [PDF of Article]

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: EPA Plans To Approve West Virginia Underground Injection Control Program, Here’s What That Means For PA  [PDF of Article

-- Marcellus Drilling News: EPA Set To Bestow WV With CO2 Class VI Injection Well Primacy  [PDF of Article]

-- Public News Service: PA Environmental, Free Speech Advocates Worry Over ‘Anti-Terror’ Law Moving In Congress 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: How EQT Gas Company Is Tackling Ambitious Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals 

-- The Center Square: Federal Court To Hear American Gas Assn. Challenge Against Natural Gas Furnace Efficiency Rules 

-- Utility Dive: EPA Proposes Tightening NOx Limits For New Natural Gas-Fired Power Plants

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Rise On Cold Weather Forecast, Supply Risk

-- Reuters: Republican Nod To LNG Gas Export Facility Project Could Boost Supply Starting In 2027, Goldman Says

[Posted: November 25, 2024] 
PA Environment Digest

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