BATON ROUGE – Shell Chemical has agreed to pay a $1 million penalty to the state and invest $5.5 million in beneficial environmental projects in a settlement with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. The settlement stems from a variety of violations which occurred between 1999 and 2004 and includes Shell Chemical sites located in St. Charles and Ascension parishes. The environmental projects consist of installing a flare reduction-flare improvement system, donating to the DEQ hurricane/storm cleanup and recovery fund, donating to an air-quality study, donating to the St. Charles Parish School system for improvement in emergency response and donating to the St. Charles Emergency Operation Center for the purchase of equipment.

The $1 million penalty will be paid into the state’s hazardous waste cleanup fund. Once that fund reaches $6 million, additional penalty money will go into the environmental trust fund.

&#8220This is an important settlement, not just because both parties have addressed past violations, but because we have also agreed to address the needs of the future,” said DEQ Assistant Secretary Harold Leggett. &#8220With the addition of internal audits and installation of new equipment, the Shell Chemical sites involved in this agreement will, if they have not already, see a decrease in emissions and permit violations. Also, through the environmental projects that are included in the agreement, the areas surrounding the Shell Chemical sites will see environmental improvements as well.”