Environmental groups are urging the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to deny Shell Pennsylvania Chemical’s air quality permits on the basis of what they say will be too much pollution into the Pittsburgh region. Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community’s letter is the latest volley in environmentalists’ battle against the Potter Township project, costing in excess of $6 billion, that has remade a portion of the Ohio River coastline and brought thousands of construction jobs into the region. They’ve asked for a 30-day extension for more information about the permits as well.
BCMAC Co-Chair Robert Schmetzer wrote that the levels of emissions — a total of 516 tons of volatile organic compound — that will come from the Shell plant once it’s operational will make it the largest source of VOCs in western Pennsylvania. It also said that Shell is asking for permission to emit another chemical SF6 to insulate electrical equipment and BCMAC said that adds to CO2 emissions.
Another letter to DEP from the Environmental Integrity Project, the Clean Air Council and Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, the last being a Pittsburgh-based group, said the permit application appears to be an expansion of the conversion of ethane feedstock into […]
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