Shell
Shell Agrees to Pay $10 Million After Permit Violations at its Giant New Plastics Plant in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday announced that he had reached an agreement with Shell to pay $10 million in penalties because the company’s new plastic manufacturing plant in Beaver County near Pittsburgh put more pollution in the air in its first months of operation than its state permits allow. The plant has the capacity […]
Read MoreShell Sued Over Air Emissions at Pennsylvania’s New Petrochemical Plant
Two environmental groups sued Shell on Thursday, claiming that air emissions from its massive new petrochemical plant about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh repeatedly violated federal and state air-quality laws and far exceeded limits set in its operating permit. The plant officially opened in November 2022 after months of testing. The Environmental Integrity Group and […]
Read MoreShell Refinery Unit Had History of Malfunctions Before Fire
The units at a Houston-area Shell refinery that caught fire this weekend repeatedly malfunctioned in recent years without recourse from Texas regulators. Since the start of 2022, the British oil giant reported at least four malfunctions at one olefins unit in its Deer Park petrochemical refinery that had resulted in thousands of pounds of illegal […]
Read MorePennsylvania Advocates Issue Intent to Sue Shell’s New Petrochemical Plant Outside Pittsburgh for Emissions Violations
Two environmental groups said on Thursday they intend to sue Shell Chemical Appalachia, operator of a big new petrochemical plant near Pittsburgh, for its violation of federal and state air-quality standards. The Environmental Integrity Project and the Clean Air Council gave Shell a required 60 days to respond to their notice of intent to sue […]
Read MoreOil Companies Had a Problem With ExxonMobil’s Industry-Wide Carbon Capture Proposal: Exxon’s Bad Reputation
ExxonMobil has been the prime target of activists and politicians angered by the oil industry’s efforts to block action on climate change. Now, newly disclosed documents confirm that the oil company’s reputational woes have extended into the industry itself and threatened to derail Exxon’s biggest climate proposal to date. Last year, Exxon struggled to gain […]
Read MoreA New Shell Plant in Pennsylvania Will ‘Just Run and Run’ Producing the Raw Materials for Single-Use Plastics
Internal documents unearthed by congressional Democrats reveal an apparent moment of candor two years ago from Shell public relations executives discussing their company’s environmental responsibilities related to the massive plastics manufacturing plant they were building 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. The multi-billion dollar Shell plant became fully operational in November after years of construction and […]
Read MoreA New, Massive Plastics Plant in Southwest Pennsylvania Barely Registers Among Voters
ALIQUIPPA, Pa.—From the tranquility of her garden in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Terrie Baumgardner worries that her grandchildren will grow up without access to clean air, clean water and a safe space to play outdoors. For decades, Beaver County’s economy has been dependent on polluting industries—first steel, and more recently natural gas drilling. Many longtime residents, […]
Read MoreNew Jersey Joins Other States in Suing Fossil Fuel Industry, Claiming Links to Climate Change
New Jersey became the latest U.S. state to sue the fossil fuel industry over climate change, alleging it knew for decades that emissions from its products contributed to global warming, but lied to protect its profits and deter efforts to curb greenhouse gases. State Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced a suit on Tuesday against five […]
Read MoreEnvironmentalists Fear a Massive New Plastics Plant Near Pittsburgh Will Worsen Pollution and Stimulate Fracking
Fifteen years after Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry began to raise worries about air and water pollution, the industry’s critics now fear a new source of harmful emissions from the fledgling petrochemical industry, which is poised to become a major customer for the state’s abundant gas reserves. In a state that has long nurtured the extraction […]
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