Technical Talking Points for Plan Approval D
1. DEP must not issue this plan approval permit due to Shell’s severe, ongoing noncompliance with air pollution control laws.
a. Under the department’s regulation, a “plan approval will not be issued to an applicant or related party if a violation or lack of intention or ability to comply at a source owned or operated by the applicant or a related party appears on the compliance docket.” (compliance docket…why is Shell not there if they’ve been out of compliance for so long?)
2. DEP must require Shell to buy two times the emissions reduction credits to offset its nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, or a ratio of 2:1, not 1.15:1.
a. The draft permit required Shell to purchase emission reduction credits at a ratio of 1.15:1 to offset its NOx emissions, but now it is required to offset at a ratio of 2:1.
b. As a result, Shell must purchase and apply 253.26 tons of NOx, rather than 147 tons of NOx, an additional purchase of 106.26 tons per year.
3. No pyrolysis oil may be used by Shell as feedstock.
a. Shell has told the public and had contracts for this facility to use pyrolysis oil as feedstock, but that was not mentioned in Shell’s permit application to DEP or analyzed by DEP in this draft permit. Therefore, Shell MAY NOT use pyrosis oil, which can contain many dangerous pollutants, as feedstock at this facility without submitting a new permit application to do so.
4. The draft Plan Approval must require Shell to permanently operate the existing fenceline monitoring systems for benzene, and other pollutants of concern, to alert and protect local residents from dangerous releases.
5. The draft permit must be revised to ensure that the permit includes all applicable requirement for each flare.
a. Every requirement that applies to each flare should be clearly stated or explicitly incorporated into the permit to ensure compliance and maximum transparency.
b. DEP should revise the Plan Approval to require Shell to conduct periodic performance testing on each flare to determine whether the flares are properly controlling pollution under operating conditions, including as the flares age and degrade over time.
6. For years, Shell has been generating benzene waste in amounts that violate Shell’s existing permit limit of 11 tons per year by generating up to 60 tons of benzene waste annually.
a. DEP should not remove this limit in Shell’s current permit. Instead, DEP should require Shell to reduce the amount of benzene waste that the plant generates to the levels that Shell originally represented when it built the plant.
b. Shell has experienced issues at the facility’s wastewater treatment plant that have resulted in harmful levels of benzene emissions that risk public health.
c. If DEP allows Shell to generate this much benzene waste, DEP must significantly improve the monitoring, reporting, and other compliance requirements in the permit, including related to the wastewater treatment plant plan, to make sure Shell properly quantifies and controls this waste and to minimize potential emissions related to this waste. These requirements should be clearly stated directly in the permit to maximize public transparency around Shell’s compliance.
7. The draft permit must include each requirement that applies to each source and require monitoring, testing, record keeping, and reporting requirements sufficient to demonstrate compliance with all permit limits.
8.
The department should hold a second Community Meeting that:(1) Provides opportunities for live, unscreened public questions;
(2) Ensures transparency by allowing attendees’ to hear all questions asked at one microphone;
(3) Creates enough time and space for meaningful dialogue between community members and the DEP staff present;