Shell's To Do List - The Community Expects Transparency and Accountability
Shell CEO Ben Van Buerden, CEO Designate Wael Sawan, Project Manager Howell, and Project Senior Vice President Hilary Mercer
JOIN US for the delivery of this petition on June 8th 2023 in Beaver PA!
Details: https://actionnetwork.org/events/rally-for-action-stop-shells-pollution/
As Shell’s petrochemical “cracker” plant in Beaver County Pennsylvania becomes fully operational, residents are expressing a decade’s worth of concerns endorsed by local, state, and national environmental organizations. These concerns include public health and safety risks resulting from the plant’s air, water, and light pollution, as well as the plant’s contribution to plastic pollution and the climate crisis.
Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC) sent Shell an accountability and transparency to do list of the community’s expectations in August 2022. Shell failed to acknowledge the first email and still has not met BCMAC’s request for a publicly shareable response to each item on the List.
Petition by
To:
Shell CEO Ben Van Buerden, CEO Designate Wael Sawan, Project Manager Howell, and Project Senior Vice President Hilary Mercer
From:
[Your Name]
Dear CEO Ben Van Buerden, CEO Designate Wael Sawan, Project Manager Howell, and Project Senior Vice President Hilary Mercer:
I am writing to urge you to comply with the more than 20 unaddressed resident expectations outlined in six categories in the Shell To-Do list for transparency and accountability developed by Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC). As one of the world’s richest corporations and a self proclaimed “good neighbor,” Shell has the resources to go beyond the legal requirements and meet these six demands for community transparency and accountability.
Shell’s To-Do List:
The Community Expects Transparency and Accountability
We expect Shell to:
1) Ensure the community is prepared for emergencies
- Share emergency response plans with residents
- Train residents on understanding fenceline monitoring data
- Slow or halt operations during extreme weather events
- Equip municipal-level emergency responders with monitors
2) Immediately notify residents and appropriate others of incidents
- Notify in real time and with detail on type, causes, emissions and cleanup
- Update residents via local news and social media
- Invite BCMAC and Clean Air Council to Shell’s Community Advisory
Panel
- Notify appropriate agencies: the NRC, DEP, EPA, local water authorities,
ORSANCO, Ohio River Basin Alliance, PA Fish and Boat Commission, etc
3) Use the best available monitoring technology
- Infrared cameras for continuous monitoring
- Advanced VOC monitors and other equipment
- Video cameras on-site and around the plant and publicly accessible 24/7
4) Respect our shared night sky
- Reduce overnight lighting.
- Share the Exterior Lighting Study report
- Provide shielding, filtering, and energy-conserving technology per the
International Dark Sky Association (IDSA)
5) Address the plastic crisis
- Share the cumulative health, environmental and climate impacts of the life-
cycle of the cracker plant’s product
- Publicly reject false solutions such as “advanced recycling”
- Invest in R&D to develop sustainable alternatives to plastics
6) Support climate action
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and purchase offsets for them
- Use renewable energy to power all operations
- Reject false solutions such as blue hydrogen and carbon capture.
- Resolve frontline environmental justice concerns about the impact of
Shell’s operations