Groups to sue Styropek for plastic discharge at Potter Twp. facility
POTTER TWP. ― Environmental groups plan to sue Styropek for “routinely and illegally” discharging small plastic beads, or nurdles, into Beaver County waterways in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.
PennEnvironment and Three Rivers Waterkeeper filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue BVPV Styrenics and parent company Styropek in federal court for discharging wastewater and stormwater laced with nurdles from the plant for at least a year.
The Potter Township facility, located at the confluence of Raccoon Creek and the Ohio River near Shell’s ethane cracker plant, makes expandable polystyrene, or foam used in packaging and other Styrofoam-like products. The site was previously operated by Nova Chemicals.
Three Rivers Waterkeeper and the Mountain Watershed Association first launched monthly “nurdle patrols” along the Ohio River in 2021. Researchers documented “numerous nurdles of an unusually small size” in September 2022 that were traced to Raccoon Creek and, eventually, outfalls at the Styropek facility, they said. They’ve reported dozens of similar alleged violations in the past year.
Heather Hulton VanTassel, executive director of Three Rivers Waterkeeper, said the Styropek facility “wasn’t on our radar,” when the groups started patrolling for plastic pellets two years ago. She said nurdles moving through aquatic environments may be consumed by fish, enter the food chain and otherwise contribute to pervasive microplastic pollution.
“The scope of the nurdle releases that we’ve documented over the past year is alarming and requires immediate attention and action,” she said. “Plastics in our waters break down into smaller and smaller pieces, making them ever easier to ingest by aquatic organisms and people. We are just beginning to understand the long-term health impacts of ingesting plastics, and we can’t allow polluters to use us and our water resources as guinea pigs.”
The 60-day letter sent to the company and state/federal regulatory agencies details alleged evidence of nurdle accumulations in Raccoon Creek, river sediment and bordering vegetation. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection documented these discharges during follow-up inspections, according to the letter.
The company’s wastewater discharge permit does not authorize the release of plastic pellets, the groups noted Tuesday, adding that “the accumulation of nurdles in the water violates two permit conditions designed to protect water quality.”
“Every nurdle released by the Styropek facility creates outsized risks for our wildlife and environment that reach far beyond Raccoon Creek,” said David Masur, PennEnvironment executive director. “To limit and then eliminate these harms, the facility must come into full compliance with its legal obligations as quickly as possible and begin the difficult process of cleaning up its mess.”
Styropek late last year confirmed to Three Rivers Waterkeeper the company hired an environmental consultant to “identify causes and potential corrective actions” related to the discharges, according to the 60-day notice.
Matthew Donohue, a staff attorney with the National Environmental Law Center, said if the alleged violations are not resolved in 60 days, or “if a state or federal agency hasn’t filed a lawsuit of their own,” the groups will file the lawsuit in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Gina Hogue, environmental coordinator for BVPV Styrenics, said Styropek is "committed to operating in an environmentally responsible manner and in compliance with our permits, and has been since it purchased the (Potter Township) facility in October of 2020.”
“We are aware of the serious allegations being made by PennEnvironment, many of which are inconsistent with our operations, our products, and our testing and permit compliance,” she said. “We are in the process of evaluating those allegations.”
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Groups plan to sue Styropek for plastic discharge at Potter Twp. facility
