$5 million from Shell cracker plant fine to fund environmental, health or quality of life projects

MONACA, Pa. (KDKA) -- After Shell was fined nearly $10 million for violations at its cracker plant in Beaver County, plans are underway to use half of that money for projects that benefit the community.  

A 17-member steering committee finalized protocol to allocate the funding for projects with environmental, health or quality of life benefits to Beaver County, the Department of Environmental Protection announced on Friday.

In May, the state entered a consent order and agreement where Shell acknowledged the company exceeded total emission limitations for air contaminants and agreed to make repairs and pay $10 million.

The DEP said the steering committee, comprised of representatives from organizations serving the county, was created to ensure the mitigation funds are invested to benefit the community. 

Under the protocol, at least one project should provide for regular, independent air quality testing and at least one project should focus on "meaningful community education and engagement that fosters civic participation" to design strategies that improve the health and/or quality of life of communities near the facility. 

"The Consent Order and Agreement includes a strong recommendation to fund a project that provides additional and independent air monitoring. We're encouraged by the community feedback we received supporting that and the steering committee incorporated it in the final protocol," said DEP Secretary Rich Negrin.  

Now the steering committee will work on creating a protocol implementation plan to detail the process for submitting, evaluating and selecting proposals. A yet-to-be-formed advisory board will be selected to approve projects.