Environmental groups PennEnvironment and Three Rivers Waterkeeper filed a lawsuit last month against plastic maker Styropek USA, accusing the company of discharging contaminated wastewater and stormwater from its manufacturing site in Monaca, Pennsylvania.
The suit alleges that Styropek and its subsidiary BVPV Styrenics violated the Clean Water Act by dumping millions of tiny plastic pellets, called nurdles, into the Raccoon Creek, which flows into the Ohio River in northwest Pennsylvania, according to court documents.
“The discharge of microplastics into our waters is an immediate and growing problem right here in western Pennsylvania, posing threats to aquatic life and potentially even to people,” Heather Hulton VanTassel, executive director of Three Rivers Waterkeeper, said in a statement. “While we are open to discussing a negotiated resolution of Styropek’s violations, we will not shy from our intent to hold the company fully accountable for its ongoing violations of the Clean Water Act.”
The environmental groups state in their suit that the Monaca plant’s alleged actions violated a section of the Clean Water Act that prohibits the discharge of pollutants like nurdles into waterways, according to court documents.
The Clean Water Act authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to implement pollution control programs, such as the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. The elimination system sets limits on what types and how much contaminated waste a company can discharge, as well as requires companies to monitor and report pollution discharge.
The lawsuit came over a year after the Three Rivers Waterkeeper and environmental nonprofit Mountain Watershed Association claimed they found nurdles in Raccoon Creek’s surface, aquatic vegetation and shoreline as part their monthly “nurdle patrols,” which began in September 2022.
“Styropek takes concerns from the community seriously, which is why we immediately initiated a thorough investigation as soon as allegations of the possible discharge of beads were raised by Three Rivers Waterkeeper in late 2022,” Gina Hogue, responsible care and environmental coordinator at BVPV Styrenics, told Manufacturing Dive in an email. “We have since invested millions of dollars to improve the Monaca facility and its operations consistent with our commitment to operating at the highest standards of environmental protection and in compliance with our permits.”
The environmental groups are seeking civil penalties against the companies for each day they continue to violate the law and are asking for remediation efforts in the area.
There are no court dates set, but the two environmental groups have been speaking with BVPV Styrenics and the Pennsylvania DEP in the hopes of negotiating a resolution without formal litigation, Matthew Donohue, an attorney at the National Environmental Law Center representing the nonprofits, said in an email to Manufacturing Dive.
BVPV Styrenics and Styropek USA are subsidiaries of Mexico-based chemical maker Alpek. In 2020, Alpek announced Styropek acquired expandable styrenics business BVPV from Nova Chemicals. The acquisition included the Monaca site and an R&D pilot plant in Painesville, Ohio.
