DEP: Monaca Shell plant's 'high-priority' Clean Air Act violations 'not an imminent threat'

Beaver County, PA. - A Shell plastics plant in the Ohio River Valley has been issued three new High Priority Violations (HPVs) as of June, bringing the facility to a total of six violations in 2025, already surpassing the previous year, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports .

The EPA defines HPVs as a "subset of violations of regulations authorized by the Clean Air Act that warrant additional scrutiny" to ensure state and local agencies respond to them in an appropriate manner.

Though the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) told 21 News that HPVs are "typically not items that pose an imminent threat to the public," the EPA additionally describes the violations as "most likely to be significant for human health and the environment."