Shell Expected to Pay $69M to Upgrade Public Water Facilities

Shell Chemicals will pay for nearly all of the costs of a Center Township Water Authority project for new water intake and treatment facilities

The authority agreed to the contract Tuesday, and the estimated $72 million project will replace existing drinking wells and create both a temporary and a permanent water intake and treatment facility, located near the Beaver Valley Mall.

If the company goes forward with a multibillion-dollar petrochemical facility at the former Horsehead Corp. site, Shell could end up using the new water facilities, but that amount would be far less than 10 percent of total water sold by the authority, said Ned Mitrovich, authority engineer. He stressed, though, that usage was still preliminary.

Authority solicitor Ronald DiGiorno said contracts for the work will be paid for directly by Shell, and the authority will own the new facilities and related property.

“We get the bills; those are forwarded to Shell,” Mitrovich said.

The authority had decades-old drinking wells next to the Horsehead plant, and it had planned to add capacity, but when Shell came into the picture, the authority began evaluating other options to avoid having them by a possible petrochemical plant, Mitrovich said.

The authority has been preparing the site, and it has obtained most of the environmental permits necessary through the state, but there are some still remaining before construction can begin, Mitrovich said.

The temporary facility could be in use by March, Mitrovich said.

As part of the authority project, the temporary facility could cost about $25 million, according to the contract, and Mitrovich said it would last a few years. Parts of the facility would be reused or sold, Mitrovich said. That would make way for the permanent facility, which could last 50 to 100 years, he said.

A representative for Shell, Kevin Lanier, was present at a water authority meeting Tuesday, and authority board members asked him what the likelihood was of the petrochemical plant becoming a reality.

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Taxonomy

• Water Utility
• Water Management
• water treatment