Shell says its ethane cracker in Beaver County suffered an equipment malfunction. As a result, the company flared gases at the plant Monday afternoon and evening. For StateImpact Pennsylvania, The Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier reports.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland was in Western Pennsylvania Thursday touting the administration’s efforts to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells. President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law allocated a record $4.7 billion for the effort.
Western states are grappling with how to divide scarce water resources. Pennsylvania generally has abundant water, but StateImpact Pennsylvania’s Rachel McDevitt reports, experts say the commonwealth still must take steps to protect its waterways and nearby communities.
The U.S. Postal Service says it intends to convert most of its fleet of vehicles to all-electric. StateImpact Pennsylvania’s Susan Phillips reports the move comes after several states including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware filed suit, challenging the agency’s original plan to buy new gas-powered vehicles.
A Fayette County hauling contractor was fined by the state $600,000 for illegally transporting and dumping solid waste from the oil and gas industry. For StateImpact Pennsylvania, The Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier reports the fine is for violations that took place between 2012 and 2015.