Air and water permits have been issued for a second ethane cracker in the region. This one in eastern Ohio is a little more than an hour's drive from Pittsburgh.
After years of decline, East Liverpool is banking on new economic life from the gas industry. But many are still struggling from pollution that has plagued this town for decades.
Shell’s Falcon Pipeline would run through Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, transporting the ethane necessary to fuel the cracker plant its building in Western, PA. The cracker creates ethylene, which is used in manufacturing plastics.
The state extended the public comment period for the pipeline after environmental groups asked for more time to review the pipeline’s impact on waterways and local communities.
The request comes a few weeks after the state shut down another pipeline project due to repeated permit violations, including more than 60 spills along its route.
Shell’s ethane cracker is scheduled to begin construction later this year. Many in the region worry what impact the plant--and others that might be built in the future--will have on the region’s air.
