centers of industry. As with regulation of refinery construction discussed 

 in 2.4.1 and of oil storage terminal construction discussed in 2.3.6, 

 governments may delay or block construction of new petrochemical industries 

 and refined products pipelines through zoning laws and state utilities 

 regulations and water and air pollution abatement programs. The 1976 

 amendments to the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 expand the 

 responsibility of state coastal planners in this field. With an approved 

 Coastal Zone Management Program, their plans may influence Federal 

 permit and licensing activity. 



Federal Role : The Federal role in the location of petrochemical 

 industries is dependent on water access or alteration of wetland areas 

 regulated under dredge and fill statutes. Industry standards affecting 

 operations have also been specified under the air and water quality 

 programs pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments 

 of 1972 (PL 92-500) and the Clean Air Act. The primary Federal agency 

 involved, therefore, is the Environmental Protection Agency. 



Development Strategy 



Petrochemical development will be affected by a number of factors, 

 such as potential profit, feedstock availability, investment costs, 

 available labor skills, and a receptive political/environmental atmosphere. 

 Table 21 shows the relative ranking of six regions according to key 

 locational factors. On the East Coast, development in New England 

 should be minor with only a high OCS find yielding development of major 

 petrochemical facilities. The reason for this is the relatively low 

 level of expected refinery activity and the higher priority alternative 

 fuel uses of that refinery output. Development in the Mid Atlantic 

 should approximate the overall output percentage for petrochemical 

 feedstock use. This development should occur despite environmental 

 resistance because of the high market demand and attractive economics of 

 petrochemical production in the Mid Atlantic [48]. 



In the South Atlantic, substantial development could occur under 

 OCS development, exceeding tnat of the Mid Atlantic. The likely profit- 

 ability, greater availability of feedstock, land availability, and a 

 more receptive political /environmental climate should allow more signifi- 

 cant development in this area. On the West Coast, petrochemical development 

 should occur on a limited basis due to lower feedstock availability, 

 limited market demand in the Northwest, higher investment costs, and 

 potential political/environmental resistance. This should be more the 

 case for San Francisco than for Puget Sound. In fact, under high OCS 

 development, the latter area could become a net exporter of petrochemical 

 products to other western regions by the year 2000 [48]. 



201 



