Republican Herald Editorial: State Lawmakers Should Adopt Rules That Preclude State Taxpayers From Subsidizing Pollution From Oil & Gas Industry

This editorial was first published in the Republican Herald on October 19, 2022--

Shell Pipeline Co. and a pipeline contractor, Minnesota Limited, have agreed to pay a $670,000 fine for pollution they generated during the construction of the Falcon Pipeline in Western Pennsylvania.

The state Department of Environmental Protection conducted 67 inspections of the pipeline when it was under construction and found that sediment and drilling fluids had leaked into the Ambridge Reservoir, Raccoon Creek, the Ohio River and more than a dozen smaller streams.

Although the case indicates vigilance by the DEP, it says the opposite about the state Legislature.

The Falcon pipeline connects gas processing plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania with the massive Shell petrochemical refinery in Beaver County. 

The plants separate ethane from other gases and liquids extracted from the Marcellus Shale, and ships the ethane to the petrochemical refinery. The refinery converts the ethane into plastic pellets.

Remarkably, while suing the pipeline for environmental violations, the state government also heavily subsidizes the Shell refinery with $1.7 billion in tax credits.

Since first awarding the credits a decade ago, the Legislature has gone all in on such subsidies, awarding them for similar but smaller projects around the state, including for a pipeline in Schuylkill County.

None of those subsidies are contingent upon environmental compliance. So, for example, the Shell petrochemical refinery’s subsidies aren’t affected by the related pipeline’s fine, which amounts to a miniscule fraction of the public subsidy.

Lawmakers should adopt rules that preclude state taxpayers from having to subsidize pollution.

NewsClips:

-- 175 Organizations, 6,751 Individuals Send Letter Urging Full Oil & Gas Fracking Wastewater Ban In Delaware River Basin 

-- Inside Climate News: Sinkholes And Damage Attributed To Mariner East II Natural Gas Pipeline Construction Underline The Stakes In PA’s Governor’s Race

-- Chambersburg Public Opinion: Sharp Divide Between PA Candidates For Governor On Natural Gas, Other Issues

-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: Environmentalists Fear A Massive New Plastics Plant Near Pittsburgh Will Worsen Pollution, Stimulate Natural Gas Fracking

Related Articles:

-- TribLive Editorial: State Fines Should Be Higher Than Tax Cuts To Penalize Environmental Leaks [PaEN]

-- DEP: Shell, Pipeline Contractor Assessed $670,000 Penalty For Falcon Ethane Pipeline Construction Violations In Allegheny, Beaver, Washington Counties  [PaEN]

-- Senate Committee Reported Out Bill To Deny Counties Drilling Impact Fee Revenue If Only 99% Of The Land In Their County Available For Shale Gas Leasing; Other Bills  [PaEN]

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Dangerous Course For Oil & Gas Well Emissions, Obstructionists Should Get Out Of The Way  [PaEN]

-- PA League Of Women Voters, University Of Pittsburgh Graduate School Of Public Health Host 2022 Shale Gas & Public Health Conference Online Nov. 15-16  [PaEN]

Related Articles - Major Oil & Gas Criminal/Monetary Penalties Last 2 Years:

-- House Committee Fails To Address $70 Million In Penalties On Natural Gas Pipelines Or Real Concerns Of People Living Near Gas Production & Distribution Facilities

-- AG Shapiro: Energy Transfer/Sunoco Convicted Of Criminal Charges Related To Construction Of Mariner East 2 & Revolution Natural Gas/Liquids Pipelines In PA

-- Sunoco/Mariner East Pipeline To Pay $4 Million In Damages And Restore Lake At Marsh Creek State Park Polluted By A Spill In Chester County

-- Federal Court Approves DEP, EPA, DOJ Settlement With Chesapeake Appalachia For Failure To Identify, Protect Wetlands At 76 Gas Well Drilling Sites, $1.9 Million Penalty

-- PUC Imposes $1 Million Penalty On Energy Transfer Company For 2018 Revolution Pipeline Explosion In Beaver County

-- DEP Collects $497,000, Fish & Boat Commission Collects $25,855 In Penalties For Latest Violations Involving Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction In Lebanon County

-- DEP: Range Resources Pays $294,000 Penalty For Delaying The Plugging Of 42 Conventional Oil & Gas Wells In 8 Counties

-- DEP: Olympus Energy Natural Gas Driller Fined $175,000 For Water Quality Violations In Allegheny County

-- DEP Collects $147,250 Penalty From Rice Drilling B LLC For Erosion & Sedimentation Violations In Greene County; DEP Found Rice Had Hundreds Of Other Violations, Including Abandoning Wells Without Plugging Them

-- DEP Collects $140,000 Penalty From ETC Northeast Field Services For Pipeline Construction Violations In Beaver County

-- DEP Order Requires Payment Of $125,000 Penalty For Latest Revolution Natural Gas Pipeline Construction Violations In Beaver County

-- DEP Collects $85,000 Penalty For Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction Violations In Blair, Cumberland, Juniata, Lebanon Counties

-- AP: PUC Judge: Sunoco/Energy Transfer Failed To Protect Delaware County Community During Construction Of Mariner East Pipeline, $51,000 Penalty Proposed

-- AG Shapiro: Southeast Directional Drilling Pleads Guilty To Contaminating Water Supply In Washington County, To Pay $15,000 Fine

[Posted: October 19, 2022]  PA Environment Digest