This settlement resolves allegations that Shell Chemical LP (Shell) violated the Clean Air Act and State law by failing to properly operate industrial flares at a chemical plant located in the Norco, Louisiana.
The settlement involves the reduction of air pollution from four industrial flares at the Norco facility. A flare is a mechanical device, ordinarily with a flame elevated high off the ground, used to combust waste gases that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere during certain industrial processes.
Shell?s Norco facility is located approximately 20 miles northeast of New Orleans. The facility manufactures ethylene, propylene, and butadiene to sell to other manufacturers for use in the production of antifreeze, tires, plastic food containers, trash bags, laundry detergent, cosmetics, adhesives, coatings, and hundreds of other consumer and industrial materials and products. The facility operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
The consent decree requires Shell Chemical to take the following actions: Submit and implement detailed plans for reducing the amount of waste gas that will be sent to flares, undertake a root cause analysis and implement corrective action for ?reportable flaring incidents?, operate an existing flare gas recovery system at the facility, install and operate flare monitoring and control equipment in order to assure high combustion efficiency at all flares subject to the settlement and operate fenceline monitoring stations to dete