In December, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency issued an air pollution permit to a proposed cracker plant in Belmont County. Cracker plants use intense heat to “crack” the natural gas liquid ethane into ethylene, a raw material for plastics manufacturing.
If the two South Asian companies behind the $10 billion project proceed, the cracker plant would be roughly 65 miles away from Royal Dutch Shell’s ethane cracker in Beaver County, Penn., currently under construction.
On Jan. 18, the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity and several other environmental organizations filed an appeal with the Ohio EPA to have the Ohio cracker plant’s permit thrown out. “These plants will contaminate Ohio River Valley communities just to create more plastic pollution,” said Lauren Packard with the Center for Biological Diversity.
On Dec. 20, Pennsylvania regulators approved water permits for the proposed 97-mile Falcon Ethane Pipeline, allowing tree-felling to begin along the pipeline’s path through the state. Falcon, which would feed Shell’s ethane cracker, still needs approval from Ohio, West Virginia and federal regulators.
Related Articles
Latest News
More Stories
Ridgeline Pipeline Construction Impacts in Rural East Tennessee
Neighbors share about noise, unpredictable construction schedules and other disruptions due to methane gas pipeline construction in East Tennessee. The 122-mile Ridgeline Expansion Project, constructed and owned by East Tennessee Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Enbridge, a multibillion-dollar Canadian fossil fuel company, was approved to go into service Nov. 1.
Neighbors Help Neighbors
A photo essay that celebrates the volunteer spirit of the grassroots group Hurricane Helene WNC and speaks to the resourcefulness, collaboration and hard work embodied by thousands and thousands of volunteers, first responders and aid workers across the region after Hurricane Helene.
Halloween Approaches, and Night School Is in Session
The House of Art in Bluefield, West Virginia, looks like a haunted tower, making it the perfect location for its sixth annual haunt event: Night School. The Night School will be open every Friday and Saturday night through Oct. 31.
‘The Most Perfect Act of Love’
Hundreds of people attended the second annual Affirming Sumner Pride celebration on a 24-acre farm dubbed “Fruity Farm” in Bethpage, Sumner County, Tennessee.
Signs of Life: Endangered Bats Found in Nantahala for First Time in More Than a Decade
In the Nantahala National Forest, a team of biologists spotted Indiana bats, an endangered species that hasn’t been seen in North Carolina for the last 11 years.
‘First Line of Defense’
During Hurricane Helene and its aftermath, rural fire departments and other first responder hubs played critical roles in keeping their communities safe, even without power and cut off from outside support for days or weeks after the storm. Two years later, plenty of work remains to ensure these hubs have the resources they need to operate day to day and be ready when emergencies or natural disasters strike.
Leave a comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Leave a Comment