Beaver County man sues Shell, claims cracker plant spews pollution
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A Beaver County man is suing Shell Chemical over pollution he says its ethylene cracker plant is spewing onto his property.
The complaint, filed by John Flynn, who lives in Beaver, was filed Thursday in federal court and seeks class-action status.
The suit follows another brought in May against Shell by the Clean Air Council. That lawsuit alleged that Shell is violating the federal Clean Air Act and the Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act, and therefore harming the health of those “who live, go to school, recreate and work near the plant.”
The sprawling, multibillion-dollar cracker plant, which opened in 2019 in Potter Township, uses ethane, a natural gas product, to produce polyethylene, a common type of plastic.
The state Department of Environmental Protection said that Shell exceeded its emission limitations repeatedly between October 2022 and April 2023, and also had flaring violations for bad smells coming from the plant.
In May, Pennsylvania officials announced a settlement with Shell Chemicals Appalachia in which the company acknowledged it had exceeded emission limits for air contaminants.
As part of the settlement, Shell agreed to pay a civil penalty of $4.9 million, with 25% of that going to local communities.
Shell also is required to spend $5 million for environmental projects to benefit local areas.
But the complaint filed this week alleges that the plant continues to pollute the community around it.
Since the settlement, the lawsuit said, more than 75 people have contacted the law firm representing Flynn to complain about the nuisance created by the emissions.
Complaints about the plant include that it is very loud; there is a strong chemical smell; there are particles that make homes especially dusty; families can’t open their windows and they can’t sit outside.
“I cannot sit on my patio without the smell or noise from this plant,” Flynn said, according to the complaint. “Sounds like a freight train 24 hours a day, some nights there is a bright glow in the sky.”
The lawsuit alleges that the plant is not operating properly, that it failed to install or properly maintain technology to control emissions and that it is polluting surrounding residential areas.
The complaints include claims for negligence, private nuisance, public nuisance and “trespass by fugitive dust.”
A spokesman with Shell Polymers Monaca said he could not comment on the lawsuit since they had not yet seen it, but said the company is committed to the health and well-being of its employees, the community and environment.