Pittsburgh, PA – The Shapiro Administration through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), together with nonprofits Three Rivers Waterkeeper and PennEnvironment, Inc., filed a proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania with BVPV Styrenics, LLC and Styropek USA, Inc. (collectively, “Styropek”). If approved by the court, the agreement will require Styropek — an expandable polystyrene (plastic) pellet manufacturing facility in Monaca Borough, Beaver County — to pay $2.6 million in penalties and remediation costs for repeated pollution violations that discharged plastic pellets into Raccoon Creek and the Ohio River, funding watershed rehabilitation and restoration projects.
“Pennsylvanians have a right to a clean and safe environment,” said DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley. “This consent decree holds Styropek accountable for its violations and requires they act to stop further unlawful discharges while supporting the cleanup of a treasured creek in Beaver County.”
On October 18, 2022, DEP inspectors observed plastic pellets on the ground at several locations at the Styropek facility. A follow-up survey along Raccoon Creek and the Ohio River on December 13, 2022, revealed numerous pellets downstream of the facility’s outfalls. Ten days later, DEP issued Styropek a Notice of Violation (NOV) for the unauthorized discharge of plastic pellets onto land and into Raccoon Creek.
These releases constitute pollution and the unlawful discharge of industrial and solid waste under the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law, the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act, and the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). The pellets entered waterways both through the facility’s wastewater treatment unit and from inadequate containment on-site, which allowed pellets to blow across the property and wash into stormwater outfalls.
While DEP was developing enforcement actions, PennEnvironment, Inc. and Three Rivers Waterkeeper filed a federal complaint against Styropek. DEP later joined that case.
Under the proposed decree, Styropek must take significant steps to stop future pollution, including installing new turbidity curtains at the facility’s lagoons; upgrading wastewater treatment with cloth media filters and other improvements; and implementing stricter monitoring and stormwater control procedures.
In addition, Styropek will pay $100,000 in civil penalties to DEP’s Clean Water Fund and $2.5 million for environmental restoration projects in the Raccoon Creek and Ohio River watersheds.
Of the $2.5 million restoration funds:
- $2 million will support the Raccoon Creek Plastic Remediation Fund, which will investigate and clean up polystyrene pellet pollution in the watershed’s sediment, water, and banks. Styropek will be responsible for carrying out remediation under DEP oversight.
- $500,000, along with any unspent remediation funds, will create the Raccoon Creek Benefit Fund, administered by the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds. This fund will support projects that restore, preserve, and protect water quality in the Raccoon Creek watershed and nearby areas of the Ohio River watershed.
The proposed consent decree must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice for a 45-day review period before it can be entered by the court. It may be viewed by requesting an informal file review via DEP’s website.
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