PITTSBURGH — Community advocates tasked with spending $5 million in fines from Shell’s industrial air pollution are determined not to let the oil company take credit for the projects. In a region long plagued by industrial pollution, community advocates say weak enforcement leads to a “pay-to-pollute” model, where it’s cheaper for companies to pay fines for polluting than to clean up operations. Now some of those same advocates — tasked with spending pollution fine money to better their communities’ health — want to hold polluters accountable. By December, the plant had already exceeded its air pollution permit for the year. A 17-member steering committee, made up of community advocates, decided that projects from Shell’s community fund must go toward providing environmental, health or quality of life benefits in Beaver County.

Source: Washington Post August 08, 2023 17:23 UTC