Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Columbus, OH -- PTT Global Chemical America (PTTGC) has announced that a final investment decision on its massive petrochemical facility, known as an “ethane cracker,” remains delayed indefinitely due to the company’s inability to line up a partner for the project.
The plant, proposed for Belmont County, is one of five proposed petrochemical plants in the Ohio Valley that would use byproducts from fracked gas to make plastic. Along with a large network of proposed fracked gas pipelines along the Ohio River, the plants would make up the nation’s second largest petrochemical complex. Ethane crackers are known to release toxic air pollution, including cancer-causing benzene and other pollutants.
The announcement marks the latest delay in a series of postponements and missed deadlines since the plant was proposed in 2015, due to local opposition and ongoing inability to line up adequate financing for the $10 billion project. The project has already received nearly $100 million in economic development funding.
“Not only would this dirty, dangerous cracker plant threaten our health and environment, it’s also clearly a risky bet for investors,” said Sierra Club Campaign Representative Shelly Corbin. “PTTGC will likely continue pushing our state and federal government to help prop up this doomed project, but we shouldn’t waste another dime padding fossil fuel executives’ pockets at the expense of our communities.”
"Now is the time to move on. Advocates, economists, and residents here have been saying for years that this plastics cracker plant is unsustainable, it's all out-of-town corporate hype, and it actually isn't coming. The writing is on the wall. Now let's keep developing the valley with real, sustainable projects," said Vincent DeGeorge, CORR advocate and president of Ohio Valley Peace, based in Barnesville, OH.
Lea Harper, Managing Director of FreshWater Accountability Project, said, "As PTT Global continues to make empty promises for years, all we have are demolished buildings and $70 million spent by Jobs Ohio for this failed project. Time to claw back the land and use Ohio's funds for a better future for the region."
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.