Shell lays out details of air quality plan

MONACA — Representatives from Shell Chemical have laid out details of an air quality plan for a proposed petrochemical plant in Western Pennsylvania.

Some residents say they’re worried about potential pollution. But the few concerned at Tuesday’s two-hour public hearing and question-and-answer session were outnumbered by those who say the benefits outweigh any potential environmental woes.

Shell and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection took questions from residents in Monaca before the public hearing got started.

Most at the forum say they welcomed the potential economic boost. But some say they’re skeptical Shell would be a good neighbor.

Plans call for the plant to be constructed in Beaver County at the site of the former Horsehead zinc processing plant.

Calif. adopts strict water regulations

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California water regulators adopted sweeping, unprecedented restrictions on how people, governments and businesses can use water amid the state’s ongoing drought, hoping to push reluctant residents to deeper conservation.

The State Water Resources Control Board approved rules Tuesday that force cities to limit watering on public property, encourage homeowners to let their lawns die and impose mandatory water-savings targets for the hundreds of local agencies and cities that supply water to customers.

Gov. Jerry Brown sought the more stringent regulations, arguing voluntary conservation efforts have so far not yielded the water savings needed amid a four-year drought. He ordered water agencies to cut urban water use by 25 percent from levels in 2013, the year before he declared a drought emergency.