Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by mark ondrusek on August 2, 2015 at 4:15am

I spent some time there walking around yesterday.  they are going full tilt.  they gotta be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars everyday.  it is a site to see.  if you have not been there I encourage you to take a drive..see for yourself.  at this point I see no slowing at all!

Permalink Reply by Frank Nesmith on August 10, 2015 at 11:00am

Wondering if the new lawsuit against Shell will make any difference? Ideas?

Permalink Reply by craig on August 10, 2015 at 2:31pm

My guess is it won't be but a ripple in the pond. I say this because Shell has indeed dotted all their I's and crossed all their T's in regards to permits. Doesn't the lawsuit have to pass some sort of 'mustard' with a judge to continue?  Of course a rogue judge could do anything in today's world.

Permalink Reply by craig on August 12, 2015 at 3:48pm

I suspect the following is related to Shell and the future cracker plant...

A family member saw a Falcon 7X  business jet land at the County Airport the other day. Very, very, very few jets rotate there, especially ones that go for $27 million...used price!  I checked Shell's air fleet and they have a Falcon 7X based in Houston as well as 2 based in the Netherlands. I guess we know what company flew in. A big shot or two had to have been on board.

Maybe it will be announced sooner than the end of next year? Who knows?...  None of us!

Permalink Reply by Nancy LeNau on August 13, 2015 at 2:51pm

WOW craig....   getting excited !    Thanks for the information !    God Bless.....

Permalink Reply by Todd on August 21, 2015 at 5:13am

Thanks again for the inside scoop Craig!

Here's an article regarding skulls and bones found at the Shell site which was formerly the Stone farm before the zinc smelter was there since 1930:

http://marcellus.com/news/id/127776/officials-investigating-shells-...

Could also be Native Americans of course.

Permalink Reply by DG on August 25, 2015 at 1:43am

So this was found about three weeks ago by Duquesne light crews that have been working there for awhile now. 

Actually I know the guy that found them and called it in, got to see the pictures too pretty crazy, but I guess prior to any work being done Shell officials were looking for a family cemetery that they knew of for that area but couldn't find it. They are thinking that its this but, it also could be Native Americans. Tests will determine the age and what not but honestly it won't slow the work down. DQE Light has had this work order for over a year now so its coming big plants like this take time to prep, build, etc let alone all the red tape. 

This is a good thing for the area I'm excited its in the valley. 

Permalink Reply by craig on August 25, 2015 at 1:59am

I previously knew the history of the buildings in that area but didn't know about a possible family cemetery. Thanks for the info DG, excited as well!

Permalink Reply by Gary on September 22, 2015 at 8:07am

Shell Paying $80M to Clean Up PA Site for Ethane Cracker Plant
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Bookmark Shell continues to work (and spend money) on a site in Beaver County, Pennsylvania that will one day hopefully be the home of an ethane cracker plant. The most recent positive sign that Shell will move forward with the project is that they are in the process of building a bridge over a highway for trucks to access the site as they work on site preparation and building (see Shell Begins Building Bridge to PA Cracker Plant Site). The newest evidence that Shell will move forward with the project is their plan to deal with leftover contamination at the site. The site is a former zinc smelter and there are high levels of very nasty stuff in the soil at the site, including lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. Shell plans to cover the site, locking in the nasty stuff–a project that will cost them $80 million and take two years to complete…

Plans include preventing rainwater from reaching the contaminate soil. Here’s the latest from our favorite Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter:

Since the 1930s, a chunk of land in Beaver County has been growing richer in all the wrong types of ways — building up reserves of lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury.

The land, which until last year housed the largest zinc smelter in the nation, is now in the process of a major upheaval. Shell Chemical Co. is preparing the site for a multibillion dollar petrochemical complex, should the company decide to go through with plans to build it.

Over the next two years, Shell will spend around $80 million dealing with the environmental contamination it inherited in buying the 300-acre site from Horsehead Corp.

Shell’s plan to essentially raise the ground level by about six feet and cap the metal-laden soil with pavement, roads and buildings has been approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Now a sprawling expanse of dirt along the Ohio River, the property once housed a zinc smelter, a powerplant, two landfills, a paint booth and various smaller shops and storage areas.

The contamination that has built up over the past 85 years came from a number of sources: unlined ponds and landfills, out-of-date storage techniques, air emissions from the smelter and storm water runoff.

The metals in the ground and in the water have been the subject of state and federal interest.

…

In its 3,097 page Act 2 application, Shell said its analysis found high levels of lead, arsenic and several other contaminants in the soil and groundwater.

It evaluated several options including excavating all the impacted soil — some 2.3 million cubic yards — and hauling it away, which Shell estimated would cost between $150 million and $200 million; and stabilizing the soil with material that would prevent metals from leaching into the groundwater at a cost between $90 million and $250 million.

The company settled on a plan to cap the site and restrict its future use through a deed.

Jim Sewell, environmental manager for the project, said Shell will put between five and seven feet of clean soil on the ground, which will prevent rain water from flowing through the contaminated soil layer.

“Assuming we go ahead with the project, we’ll put in foundation, buildings and roadways,” he said. That would further isolate the contaminated soil from rainfall.

Culverts will be built for portions of two streams running through the property and the company has already installed retention ponds and a water treatment system to prevent contaminated runoff into the Ohio River.

Shell is drafting the deed it plans to file with the Beaver County Clerk of Courts that will specify that untreated groundwater from the site can’t be used for potable or agricultural purposes.

The whole remediation plan is expected to take one to two years, Mr. Sewell said.*

Permalink Reply by Gary on October 7, 2015 at 4:31am

Shell Paying $69M to Move Water Plant for Cracker Project
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Bookmark Shell is currently spending an undisclosed amount of money (millions of dollars) to build a bridge to a site they now own where they may one day build a $2-$3 billion ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA (see Shell Begins Building Bridge to PA Cracker Plant Site). Shell is also reportedly spending $80 million to clean up the site (see Shell Paying $80M to Clean Up PA Site for Ethane Cracker Plant). In yet one more positive sign that the project will happen, Shell is spending $69 million to move a water intake site and build a new water treatment site for Center Township–because the current water intake is on the site Shell owns–and Shell needs extra capacity for water treatment. You don’t spend hundreds of millions of dollars to walk away from a project, in our humble opinion…

Shell Chemical Co. and the Center Township Water Authority have reached an agreement that will give the township a new water intake site and a new water treatment plant, with Shell footing most of the bill.

The water authority estimated the project would cost $72 million and has previously budgeted about $3 million for it. Shell has agreed to pay the rest.

The authority’s current water source is on the site that Shell has been preparing for a multibillion-dollar ethane cracker, although it has not made a final decision to go ahead with construction.

Shell mentioned moving the intake site and the need for a new water treatment plant for the authority in its lengthy soil-remediation plan, which the company estimated would cost another $80 million.

In a statement Tuesday, Shell said it was pleased to have reached the agreement, something that was necessary for the company to continue its site-preparation work.

“The next step involves pre-construction activities to build a roll-on, roll-off dock facility near where the (authority’s) water supply source is currently located,” the company said. “Pre-construction activities related to the dock are critical to the potential construction phase if Shell decides to build the facility, since it will be used to deliver major pieces of equipment. Planning to build the dock now will allow Shell to maintain its schedule for the potential construction phase.”*

Permalink Reply by Todd on October 7, 2015 at 5:33am

Sounds like Shell is serious about this.

-- understatement of the year!

Thanks for keeping us posted.

Permalink Reply by Trapper on October 7, 2015 at 5:40am

Like Todd said , thanks Gary!
If it weren't for Shell and the Cracker we wouldn't have anything to get excited about! Lol
Deader than a doornail hereabouts otherwise.

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