BP gets break on dumping in lake
Refinery expansion entices Indiana

By Michael Hawthorne
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 15, 2007

The massive BP oil refinery in Whiting, Ind., is planning to dump significantly more ammonia and industrial sludge into Lake Michigan, running counter to years of efforts to clean up the Great Lakes.

Indiana regulators exempted BP from state environmental laws to clear the way for a $3.8 billion expansion that will allow the company to refine heavier Canadian crude oil. They justified the move in part by noting the project will create 80 new jobs.


Under BP's new state water permit, the refinery -- already one of the largest polluters along the Great Lakes -- can release 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge into Lake Michigan each day. Ammonia promotes algae blooms that can kill fish, while sludge is full of concentrated heavy metals.

The refinery will still meet federal water pollution guidelines. But federal and state officials acknowledge this marks the first time in years that a company has been allowed to dump more toxic waste into Lake Michigan.

BP, which aggressively markets itself as an environmentally friendly corporation, is investing heavily in Canadian crude oil to reduce its reliance on sources in the Middle East. Extracting petroleum from the thick goop is a dirtier process than conventional methods. It also requires more energy that could significantly increase greenhouse gases linked to global warming.

Environmental groups and dozens of neighbors pleaded with BP to install more effective pollution controls at the nation's fourth-largest refinery, which rises above the lakeshore about 3 miles southeast of the Illinois-Indiana border.

"We're not necessarily opposed to this project," said Lee Botts, founder of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. "But if they are investing all of these billions, they surely can afford to spend some more to protect the lake."

State and federal regulators, though, agreed last month with the London-based company that there isn't enough room at the 1,400-acre site to upgrade the refinery's water treatment plant.

The company will now be allowed to dump an average of 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of sludge into Lake Michigan every day. The additional sludge is the maximum allowed under federal guidelines.

Company officials insisted they did everything they could to keep more pollution out of the lake.

"It's important for us to get our product to market with minimal environmental impact," said Tom Keilman, a BP spokesman. "We've taken a number of steps to improve our water treatment and meet our commitments to environmental stewardship."

BP can process more than 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily at the plant, which was built in 1889 by John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Co. Total production is expected to grow by 15 percent by the time the expansion project is finished in 2011.

In sharp contrast to the greenways and parks that line Lake Michigan in Chicago, a string of industrial behemoths lie along the heavily polluted southern shore just a few miles away. The steady flow of oil, grease and chemicals into the lake from steel mills, refineries and factories -- once largely unchecked -- drew national attention that helped prompt Congress to pass the Clean Water Act during the early 1970s.

Paul Higginbotham, chief of the water permits section at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, said that when BP broached the idea of expanding the refinery, it sought permission to pump twice as much ammonia into the lake. The state ended up allowing an amount more than the company currently discharges but less than federal or state limits.

He said regulators still are unsure about the ecological effects of the relatively new refining process BP plans to use. "We ratcheted it down quite a bit from what it could have been," Higginbotham said.

The request to dump more chemicals into the lake ran counter to a provision of the Clean Water Act that prohibits any downgrade in water quality near a pollution source even if discharge limits are met. To get around that rule, state regulators are allowing BP to install equipment that mixes its toxic waste with clean lake water about 200 feet offshore.

Actively diluting pollution this way by creating what is known as a mixing zone is banned in Lake Michigan under Indiana law. Regulators granted BP the first-ever exemption.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been pushing to eliminate mixing zones around the Great Lakes on the grounds that they threaten humans, fish and wildlife. Yet EPA officials did not object to Indiana's decision, agreeing with the state that BP's project would not harm the environment.

Federal officials also did not step in when the state granted BP another exemption that enables the company to increase water pollution as long as the total amount of wastewater doesn't change. BP said its flow into Lake Michigan will remain about 21 million gallons a day.

In response to public protests, state officials justified the additional pollution by concluding the project will create more jobs and "increase the diversity and security of oil supplies to the Midwestern United States." A rarely invoked state law trumps anti-pollution rules if a company offers "important social or economic benefits."

In the last four months, more than 40 people e-mailed comments to Indiana officials about BP's water permit. One of the few supportive messages came from Kay Nelson, environmental director of the Northwest Indiana Forum, an economic development organization that includes a BP executive among its board of directors. She hailed the company's discussions with state and community leaders as a model for others to follow.

Nearly all of the other comments, though, focused on the extra pollution in Lake Michigan.

"This is exactly the type of trade-off that we can no longer allow," wrote Shannon Sabel of West Lafayette, Ind. "Possible lower gas prices (I'll believe that when I see it!) against further contamination of our water is as shortsighted as it is irrational."

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mhawthorne@tribune.com

Editorial

The administration of Gov. Mitch Daniels has signed off on a proposal by the massive BP refinery in Whiting to dump more toxic sludge and ammonia into Lake Michigan, effectively reversing decades of efforts to clean the lake.

The agreement, which has received the blessing of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, allows British-owned BP to dump up to 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of toxic sludge into Lake Michigan every day. The company dumps some of that material into the lake now, but the new permit increases the amount of ammonia allowed by 54 percent and the amount of sludge by 35 percent.

While BP will remain within federal limits for this discharge, we feel increasing pollution is the wrong way to go.

Essentially, IDEM granted BP the increase in exchange for a $3.8 billion expansion and the creation of 80 new jobs so the 1,400-acre refinery can process Canadian crude oil, which is much dirtier than oil from the Middle East. BP also says it doesn't have the space to upgrade its water treatment plant, which sends 21 million gallons of water into the lake every day.

Still, the fact that more toxic material is being pumped into the lake is the wrong thing to do. Lake Michigan is where we get our drinking water and it's a playground for millions of people who boat, fish and swim there.

The irony of the announcement is that BP has been promoting itself in television advertising as an environmentally friendly company, a notion that has been completely erased with this decision.

In the 1960s, Lake Michigan was so polluted from material dumped there by steel mills and other industries that Congress passed the Clean Water Act in the 1970s. Ever since, Lake Michigan has gotten cleaner and more attention has been paid to what is dumped there.

In what has to be one of its most embarrassing decisions ever, IDEM granted BP its first exemption to its rules that bans precisely this kind of discharge into the lake.

BP should be ashamed that it continuing to pollute one of Indiana's most treasured natural resources and IDEM ought to be embarrassed it is allowing this kind of activity to take place.

Our Opinion
The Issue: Indiana agreed to allow BP to increase discharges of ammonia and sludge into Lake Michigan as it refines "dirtier" Canadian crude.

Our Opinion: After years of progress in reducing discharges of contaminants into Lake Michigan, the state has taken the unheard of step of allowing more pollutants in the lake's clear water.

Sound Off! entry by: Jason Lukas

BP Dumping Sludge
Dear News Dispatch: Recognizing the impact to Lake Michigan this project would create, it is essential that IDEM and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reevaluate this decision immediately. The permit allows BP to dump 1500 pounds of ammonia and over 5,000 pounds of sludge into Lake Michigan daily. It is negligent for government officials and BP to subject northwest Indiana residents and the Great Lakes to the adverse effects caused by this degradation. In addition, an exemption allows BP to mix this toxic pollution with clean lake water in Lake Michigan a mere 200 ft. offshore. In this way, BP can bypass parts of the Clean Water Act. Rather than putting out more gallons of waste water, (already a monstrous 21 million gallons daily), BP will simply increase the concentration of discharge and mix it in our playground, drinking water, and greatest resource, Lake Michigan. This is a poor precedent that will revive an outdated mantra of industry – “dilution is the solution to pollution.” A choice to dilute says that IDEM and BP are thinking back to 1967 rather than looking ahead from 2007 to the future. I’m not against development in northwest Indiana, a place where the economy needs a significant boost and residents need jobs, but BP is getting a free pass to pollute Lake Michigan. That’s wrong and unnecessary. BP can afford to, and must, prevent this pollution from entering Lake Michigan, while honoring their very public commitment to environmental sustainability. For the sake of our Great Lakes, residents and wildlife alike, IDEM must reconsider its decision to allow a company that prides itself on eco-responsibility to engage in polluting practices of decades past. According to BP’s 2005 Environmental Statement for the Whiting Business Unit, the company will “conduct [group activities] in a manner that… is environmentally responsible with the aspiration of ‘no damage to the environment.’” Let’s hold them to their standards. Thank you for your time and your consideration. Sincerely, Jason Lukas Local Surfer and Concerned Citizen

Legislators blast waiver for BP plant near lake

By Michael Hawthorne
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 18, 2007
Several Great Lakes lawmakers this week urged federal regulators to block a BP refinery near the Illinois-Indiana border from dumping significantly more ammonia and industrial sludge into Lake Michigan.

Reacting to a story in Sunday's Tribune, members of Congress from Illinois, Indiana and Michigan contacted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, demanding to know why the agency stood idle while Indiana regulators approved the oil company's proposal.



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Chicago and the Chicago Park District, meanwhile, are planning to conduct a petition drive at beaches this weekend to encourage public opposition to BP's plans.

State officials exempted BP from Indiana environmental laws to clear the way for a $3.8 billion expansion, which will allow the Whiting, Ind., refinery to process more heavy Canadian crude oil. They justified the move in part by noting the project will create 80 new jobs.

Like most states, Indiana is authorized to administer the Clean Water Act and other federal environmental laws. The U.S. EPA frequently steps in to oversee permits and enforcement, but in this case the agency did not object to the state's decision.

The refinery already is one of the largest polluters on the Great Lakes, but under BP's new state permit it can release 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge into Lake Michigan every day. Ammonia promotes algae blooms that can kill fish and trigger beach closings, while sludge contains concentrated heavy metals.

Federal and state regulators acknowledged this is the first time in years that a company has been allowed to dump more pollution into the lake, the source of drinking water for Chicago and dozens of other communities.

"We need to embarrass the BP leadership to do the right thing," U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) said Tuesday on WGN radio's "The Spike O'Dell Show." "In my book, BP, which tries to market itself as an environmentally friendly company, now stands for 'Bad Pollution.'"

Kirk and other lawmakers said they previously weren't aware of the BP permit. Among those demanding more information were U.S. Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Reps. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) and Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.).

Durbin sent a letter to top EPA officials in Washington citing, among other things, a Clean Water Act provision that prohibits any decline in water quality even if limits on pollution discharges are met. The amounts allowed under BP's new permit remain at or below federal guidelines.

"It's our responsibility to support efforts to restore, rather than further degrade Lake Michigan," Durbin wrote.

The EPA is preparing a response to the congressional letters and calls, said Phillipa Cannon, a spokeswoman in the agency's regional office in Chicago. Indiana regulators, meanwhile, said they forced BP to discharge less pollution than the company had requested.

In an e-mail, a BP official said the company is spending $90 million to upgrade the refinery's water-treatment plant.

"Every step has been done properly, with the oversight of state and federal regulators and in full public view," wrote Scott Dean, a company spokesman.

But state and federal regulators agreed with BP that there isn't enough room at the 1,400-acre Whiting site to upgrade the water treatment plant enough to keep more pollution out of the lake. As a result, the company will be allowed to dump an average of 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of sludge into Lake Michigan every day.

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mhawthorne@tribune.com

By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune staff reporter Gary Washburn contributed
July 19, 2007

The City of Chicago joined the fight Wednesday to stop the BP refinery in Whiting, Ind., from dumping significantly more ammonia and industrial sludge into Lake Michigan.

City administrators said they hope to meet with BP officials next week. They've hired a consultant to review the water permit granted by Indiana regulators that will allow BP, one of the largest polluters along the Great Lakes, to dump 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge into Lake Michigan each day.

City officials also said they are exploring legal options, on the same day BP opened its refinery to media tours and disputed reports about increased pollution resulting from the new permit.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday after a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Kennedy-King College in Englewood, Mayor Richard Daley said increased pollution from the refinery would work against the city's long-term efforts to clean up the lake.

"We are very concerned about that," Daley said. "We protect the Great Lakes. ... That is our drinking water. That is our economic development. That is our recreation."

Indiana officials exempted BP from state environmental laws, allowing the refinery to move forward with plans for a $3.8 billion expansion to process more heavy Canadian crude oil.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which steps in to oversee permits and enforcement, did not object to Indiana regulators' decision in the case.

Chicago's Environment Commissioner Sadhu Johnston said neither state officials nor BP had informed Chicago officials of the refinery's plans. Instead, he said, city officials read about it in Sunday's Tribune.

"They really didn't do any outreach," he said. "Since they are expanding in this community, they should have told us of their plans and what that would do to the lake."

Johnston said he thinks increased pollutant levels could be addressed if BP added more modern technology to the site.

Ald. Ginger Rugai (19th) said she plans to introduce a resolution calling for a City Council hearing on BP's project.

At a Chicago Park District news conference Wednesday, Rugai and other city officials and environmental leaders gathered to announced a petition drive this weekend along the city's lakefront. Parks Supt. Tim Mitchell said he hopes to deliver tens of thousands signatures to the governor of Indiana, asking him to reconsider the decision to allow BP to move ahead on its plans.

These latest efforts come on the heels of objections by several U.S. lawmakers from Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, who urged federal regulators this week to block expansion efforts by BP. Phillipa Cannon, spokeswoman for the Environmental Protection Agency's Chicago office, said administrators in Washington are preparing a response to the congressional letters and calls.

Officials with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management have said that the approval came after "substantial citizen participation" and that the limits are below federal water quality requirements.

But Carolyn Marsh, a Whiting resident who appeared at the Chicago Park District news conference, said the public comment period lasted only 2 months. She said she was appointed to a citizen's committee by BP, but the refinery never mentioned any increase in ammonia or other pollutants.

Also on Wednesday, BP officials invited journalists to tour the refinery and its water treatment site and downplayed reports of increased pollution related to the expansion project.

Company representatives said they will be spending $150 million to modernize their water treatment plant. They disputed the Tribune's use of the term "sludge," saying the discharged elements would be tiny particles, one-tenth the thickness of the human hair, called "total suspended solids."

They said the refinery would discharge ammonia and these particles at lower amounts than the permit allowed most of the time. The refinery asked for the higher levels for "operational upsets" such as heavy rainfallor problems at the refinery, plant manager Dan Sajkowski said.

It's an argument the city wasn't buying.

"Whether it's sludge or particulate, either way it's a pollutant and it's going into Lake Michigan," Johnston said.

Park staff will collect signatures for the "Save Our Lake" effort at 14 lakefront locations including beaches, Navy Pier and the Museum Campus.

Our rep Scott Pelath is calling for an investigation into the situation.

While I am not a fan of The Mayor, I hope his weight reverses the BP allowance.

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=55455.72

BP Rebukes Reports It's Discharging Sludge Into Lake
WHITING, Ind. - An official at the BP refinery in Whiting has disputed the idea that the company discharges sludge directly into Lake Michigan.

Reports this week revealed permits granted by a state agency allow BP to increase the volume of sludge and ammonia discharged into the lake to 4,925 pounds of sludge per day, and 1,584 pounds of ammonia per day.

Dan Sajkowski, BP Whiting Refinery business unit leader, in a statement, said the discharged is fine particles that aren't filtered out in the plant's water treatment system. He disputed news reports saying the company discharged "sludge."

"That is not true. The refinery does not and will not discharge sludge into the lake. The refinery discharges only treated water into the lake. Treated wastewater is more than 99.999 percent water. The remainder is salt, nutrients, organics and inorganics that are not dissolved in water ... All wastewater sludges are treated separately, according to state and federal requirements, and never discharged to Lake Michigan," Sajkowski said.

Regarding ammonia, the new permit allows the refinery's average ammonia discharge to increase from 1,030 pounds per day to 1,584 pounds per day.

However, Sajkowski said, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines could allow as much as 3,358 pounds per day, more than double the refinery's newly permitted ammonia discharge limit.

"Also, it is important to remember that these permit numbers are maximum limits; on a daily average basis, actual discharges by the Whiting Refinery are substantially less."

The limits imposed by regulations are based upon best available technology, refinery size and complexity, he said.

"Every step has been done properly, in full public view and with the oversight of regulators whose guidelines ensure that aquatic and human life are protected," Sajkowski said.

The new IDEM permits, with higher allowable sludge and ammonia discharges, were sought because the BP refinery is increasing the amount of crude oil from Canada, which contains more materials to remove in the process.

"Through upgrades at Whiting, BP will be able to process additional heavy crude oil from Canada, a secure, reliable and sustainable source. The refinery currently runs about 30 percent heavy Canadian crude. The reconfigured refinery will run about 90 percent," Sajkowski said.

BP is planning an investment of more than $3 billion to modernize the refinery so it continues to provide the reliable fuel supply people need well into the future, he said.

Looks like plenty of room to expand a wastewater treatment plant. Zoom up:

Google Maps North Whiting

Let go swimming here: Whihala Beach County Park

Whihala Beach offers the following features:
barrier free toilet

Welcome to the site LakeEffect! I see you accepted my invitation. I hope you enjoy our little place.

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=46017.27

Groups Say 80 Jobs Not Worth Environmental Impact
From Staff Reports

MICHIGAN CITY - The Save the Dunes Council and an organization representing 60 chapters of the League of Women Voters on Friday slammed the state for allowing the British Petroleum refinery in Whiting to discharge more pollutants into Lake Michigan.

The Save the Dunes Council, an environmental group based in Michigan City, said the creation of 80 new jobs at an expanded BP refinery isn't a justification for additional sludge and ammonia to be put into the lake.

"Save the Dunes argues that the creation of 80 or so proposed permanent jobs or the 2,500 temporary jobs is in no way equal, in proportion, to the economic and social importance of a clean Great Lakes," said Susan MiHalo, Save the Dunes Council president.

Under Indiana law, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's Commissioner, Thomas Easterly, has discretionary powers that allowed him to issue the permit. Law allows IDEM to weigh additional pollution against other social and economic factors, and additional jobs was a key factor.

"BP needs to understand the regional and national importance of this vitally important fresh water system," she said. "The best entity to convey that to BP and to IDEM is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."

Meanwhile, Jeanette Neagu of Michigan City, co-president of the Lake Michigan Interleague Organization, representing 60 League of Women Voters chapters in the Lake Michigan watershed, said the group strongly opposes IDEM's decision.

"We do not believe lack of space to expand its wastewater treatment facility in Whiting is justification for permitting BP to discharge daily into Lake Michigan 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of sludge (contaminated with numerous toxic metals). If BP has the capacity to move tons of sands from upper Canada to Indiana and the capacity to move millions of gallons of gasoline and oil from one state to another it surely can find a solution for the removal of toxins before additional contaminants are sent into Lake Michigan," Neagu said in a prepared statement.

BP has argued that the additional pollutants are within pollution discharge limits and that the 21 million gallons of water treated at its plant each day before discharge into Lake Michigan is 99.999 percent water, with the remainder particles so fine they can't be collected by treatment plant's filtration system.

BP plans a $3.8 billion modernization and expansion of the refinery to handle Canadian crude oil, which is "dirtier" that Middle East crude. The refinery supplies gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for much of the Midwest.

I love your avatar Stumper. It looks like a muppet (Guy Smiley perhaps?) and I LOVE the muppets.
Lake Effect sent me an email concerning this issue. I assume he got my addy from ND Soundoff. Anyway, since he sent me an email about it, I invited him to join our MB.
He, like me, is a former Hoosier who lives out west and has a vested interest in the Lake.

And concerning BP's response, like I said, It's just fluff to quiet the masses.

Well if we really want to make a statement, stop buying gas at BP and Amacco stations.

PARK DISTRICT URGES PUBLIC TO HELP “SAVE OUR LAKE” FROM INDUSTRIAL SLUDGE

Release Date: 07/19/07
Chicago, IL– The Chicago Park District and the City of Chicago announced plans for a petition drive on local beaches to save the lakefront from industrial sludge. The Park District and the City are urging concerned citizens to sign a petition to “Save Our Lake.” Click here for a petition.

In addition, the Park District is asking for volunteers to come out to the 14 locations along the City of Chicago’s entire Lakefront this Saturday and Sunday, July 21 and 22 from 9am to 1pm to sign petitions and/or volunteer to get more signatures.

With the approved expansion of BP’s Whiting Refinery by way of state regulators circumventing environmental laws, a considerable amount of ammonia and industrial sludge will be polluting Lake Michigan, the very source of Chicago’s fresh water.

“The Chicago Park District works hard to manage our lakefront beaches and keep them clean for all Chicagoans and visitors to enjoy,” said Timothy J. Mitchell, Superintendent & CEO of the Chicago Park District. “Clean, fresh water is an essential human necessity that we require to sustain a healthy lifestyle. We are urging concerned citizens to help by signing this petition that helps preserve and protect this valued natural resource, so that future generations can use and enjoy its clean water.”

On Saturday and Sunday, July 21 & 22 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., the Chicago Park District & City of Chicago will be staging a volunteer effort along the City of Chicago’s entire Lakefront to “Save Our Lake.” At 14 locations along the lakefront, concerned citizens can help by signing a petition or volunteering to recruit more signatures. The following is a list of 14 locations that will be staging the volunteer effort to “Save Our Lake”:

·Loyola Park, 1230 W. Greenleaf Ave.
·Foster Avenue Beach, 5200 North and the lake
·Montrose Beach, 4400 North and the lake
·North Avenue Beach, 1603 N. Lake Shore Drive
·Oak Street Beach, 1000 North and the lake
·Navy Pier
·Buckingham Fountain, Congress Parkway and Columbus Drive
·Museum Campus (12th Street Beach)
·31st Street Beach, 3100 South and the lake
·57th Street/Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 South and the lake
·63rd Street Beach, 6300 South and the lake
·South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Dr.
·Rainbow Beach, 3111 E. 77th St.
·Calumet, 9801 S. Ave. G

For more information about how you can help “Save Our Lake” please call 312.742.4775 or email at janis.taylor@chicagoparkdistrict.com.

Publication Date: 07/19/07

Administrator, can you combine the two BP vs. Lake threads so they are easier to keep track of, and send off to people?

Actually Roger, I think this is the original thread, Mike just changed the name of it. If you go back to page one, it started July 16th when the original story was published.

If you guys want to throw key points out here, I will be happy to put together a letter. I am an excellent letter writer. Either post it or PM me with important statements you would like in the letter and I'll put it all together. I'll give you guys till Thursday and then I write the letter Friday. Hows that sound?

Groups Say 80 Jobs Not Worth Environmental Impact
From Staff Reports

MICHIGAN CITY - The Save the Dunes Council and an organization representing 60 chapters of the League of Women Voters on Friday slammed the state for allowing the British Petroleum refinery in Whiting to discharge more pollutants into Lake Michigan.

The Save the Dunes Council, an environmental group based in Michigan City, said the creation of 80 new jobs at an expanded BP refinery isn't a justification for additional sludge and ammonia to be put into the lake.

"Save the Dunes argues that the creation of 80 or so proposed permanent jobs or the 2,500 temporary jobs is in no way equal, in proportion, to the economic and social importance of a clean Great Lakes," said Susan MiHalo, Save the Dunes Council president.

Under Indiana law, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's Commissioner, Thomas Easterly, has discretionary powers that allowed him to issue the permit. Law allows IDEM to weigh additional pollution against other social and economic factors, and additional jobs was a key factor.

"BP needs to understand the regional and national importance of this vitally important fresh water system," she said. "The best entity to convey that to BP and to IDEM is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."

Meanwhile, Jeanette Neagu of Michigan City, co-president of the Lake Michigan Interleague Organization, representing 60 League of Women Voters chapters in the Lake Michigan watershed, said the group strongly opposes IDEM's decision.

"We do not believe lack of space to expand its wastewater treatment facility in Whiting is justification for permitting BP to discharge daily into Lake Michigan 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of sludge (contaminated with numerous toxic metals). If BP has the capacity to move tons of sands from upper Canada to Indiana and the capacity to move millions of gallons of gasoline and oil from one state to another it surely can find a solution for the removal of toxins before additional contaminants are sent into Lake Michigan," Neagu said in a prepared statement.

BP has argued that the additional pollutants are within pollution discharge limits and that the 21 million gallons of water treated at its plant each day before discharge into Lake Michigan is 99.999 percent water, with the remainder particles so fine they can't be collected by treatment plant's filtration system.

BP plans a $3.8 billion modernization and expansion of the refinery to handle Canadian crude oil, which is "dirtier" that Middle East crude. The refinery supplies gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for much of the Midwest.

Mayor Urges Action At BP
MICHIGAN CITY - Mayor Chuck Oberlie on Monday issued a statement urging residents to get involved in the petition drive to comment on BP Amoco plans to increase its discharges into Lake Michigan.

An expansion of BP's Whiting, Ind., refinery so it can handle heavy Canadian crude oil instead of lighter Middle Eastern oil would allow BP to dump hundreds of pounds more of ammonia and toxic sludge into the lake each day.

Oberlie's statement Monday said: "The citizens of Michigan City and our immediate surrounding areas depend upon the fresh water of Lake Michigan as our source of drinking water. But even more importantly, we must accept our responsibility to act as stewards of this outstanding natural resource for children, grandchildren and all generations of citizens that have yet to be born.

"As stewards of clean water in Lake Michigan, we must take action to ask BP Amoco to join us in these critical efforts to reduce pollution in Lake Michigan, rather than adding pollution to the lake," said Oberlie.

Oberlie said that a section of BP's Web site is dedicated to environmental requirements for new projects. The company's Web site, he said, contains the following quote: "BP needs to convince its critics that in a company of such size, it is able to turn

good headquarters policies into effective operational practice."

"We must urge BP to begin 'effective operational practice' right here in Northwest Indiana with an improved system that will not result in increased ammonia and increased industrial waste into Lake Michigan," Oberlie said.

The mayor said the city has duplicated the Save Lake Michigan petition drive initiated by Chicago and is asking local residents to sign the petitions and return them to the mayor's office in City Hall, or fax them to the mayor's office at 873-1515.

Petition forms can be downloaded from the emichigancity.com Web site, or they can be obtained directly from the mayor's office at City Hall.

How did His Governorship defend it?

I am getting the feeling that those involved in approving the permit thought that it would slip through with no fanfare.

BP Dumping SludgeWhat's all the fuss about?
Even a bird has enough common sense not to mess in it's own nest... Here are a few facts you forgot to mention: If you actually bother to read the Clean Water Act (CWA) you will find that it has as its Goals and Policy the restoration and maintenance of chemical, physical and biological integrity of our Nation's waters. And that it's first Goal states that; "it is the national goal that the discharge of pollutants into the navigable waters be eliminated by 1985." Humm, isn't it funny that we seem to never discuss that Goal any more... I guess we are too busy increasing discharges. Lake Michigan has the second highest levels of contamination in Great Lakes fish. Lake Huron is first. I find the fact that we have contaminated fish and advisories on "safe" consumption of fish outrageous. Eating fish is suppose to be good for you not bad for you and your children's long-term health! Oh, by the way, the second Goal in the CWA has; "an interim goal of water quality which provides for the protection and propagation of fish. shellfish, and wildlife..." Most native species of fish can no longer naturally reproduce in the southern end of Lake Michigan so we have to stock them to keep sport fish populations up... The cause is thought to be from man-made air contaminates found in precipitation falling within the drainage basin of the southern end of Lake Michigan. One exception being the non-native invasive species we have allowed to escape and biologically pollute the Great Lakes. The fact is; that what became the CWA was first passed in 1972 and we haven't even come close to meeting it's Policies or first two Goals in 2007. BP's financial performance has never been better, thanks to sky- high oil prices. The company earned a record $7.27 billion in its second quarter, 30 percent more than a year earlier, and had net profit of $12.9 billion in the first half of 2006. And what is BP doing with these record profits? Certainly not attempting to reach the first two Goals of the CWA even though better technology and methods exist to eliminate and/or treat their wastes... In fact. BP has been on the annual list of the "worst corporate citizens"as published by Multinational Monitor twice! In 2000 BP/Amoco made the list because of: a $500,000 criminal fine for failing to report the illegal disposal of hazardous waste on Alaska's North Slope, paid $6.5 million in civil penalties to resolve allegations that the company illegally disposed of hazardous waste and violated federal drinking water laws, agreed to pay $32 million to resolve claims that it underpaid royalties due for oil produced on federal and Indian lands since 1988, and agreed to pay $10 million to settle a Clean Air Act case... In 2006 BP made the list because of a March 2006, a leak in the Alaska pipeline that BP maintains led to the second biggest oil spill in Alaskan history. Then, in August 2006, BP was forced to shut down the pipeline because of massive corrosion problems the company had permitted to fester... BP slogan is "Beyond Petroleum" it portrays itself as a "green" company... Well it's time BP put it's money where it's mouth is and get Beyond it's Pollution as a responsible corporate citizen of our world now. Larry Davis 268 South, 600 West Hebron, IN 46341 (219) 988-4843 < lad@netnitco.net >

Posted Online: 7-24-2007
BP dumping divides Morris, Oberlie
Comment on this story

Erin Blasko, 1-866-362-2167 Ext. 13894, eblasko@heraldargus.com


La Porte mayor hesitant to support petition drive

MICHIGAN CITY -- One name not likely to appear on Michigan City Mayor Chuck Oberlie’s petition opposing the decision to allow BP to dump additional waste into Lake Michigan is La Porte Mayor Leigh Morris’s.

Morris told The La Porte County Herald-Argus this morning that while he had received from Oberlie’s office Monday the announcement of the petition drive, he’s hesitant to support it.

“It appears the proper procedures have been followed,” Morris said in regard to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s (IDEM) decision to grant BP a permit to dump additional waste at its Whiting facility. “It does not violate public policy.”

Morris said that, to his knowledge, current public policy does not prohibit additional dumping of waste into the lake, and that the widespread perception that it does is misinformation that’s been spread by environmental groups and certain government officials -- especially one.

“I think there’s been a lot of misinformation out there spread by (Chicago) Mayor (Richard) Daley,” he said.

The real debate, he said, is not whether IDEM’s decision was right or wrong -- the agency was clearly within legal bounds to grant BP an exemption, he said -- but whether public policy should be changed.

Oberlie, however, said that IDEM’s decision to allow additional dumping by BP goes against the Great Lakes Initiative, an agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Great Lakes states to restore the Great Lakes and “stop using them as sewers.”

Oberlie described Lake Michigan as the region’s “lifeblood,” and also a major economic engine for Michigan City.

“Without the lake,” Oberlie told The Herald-Argus today, “we’re just the same as any other small town.”

Oberlie’s petition, which mirrors one that’s been circulating in Chicago, urges Gov. Mitch Daniels, the EPA and BP North America to “reconsider the decision to move forward with an expansion at the Whiting refinery without first ensuring that proper controls are in place to prevent any increase in pollution discharge into the Great Lakes from the expanded facility.”

Oberlie launched the petition drive in response to IDEM’s decision last week to grant an exemption to BP to dump an additional 556 pounds of ammonia and 1,277 pounds of suspended soils into Lake Michigan once an expansion of its Whiting refinery is completed in 2011.

The petition can be downloaded from the city’s Web site (www.emichigancity.com) or picked up at Michigan City city hall. Oberlie said he also plans to send volunteers out to collect signatures at local beaches, possibly as soon as this weekend.

Signed petitions can be returned directly to city hall or faxed to 219-873-1515.

Ideally, said Oberlie, the petition will encourage BP to invest in refinery improvements that result in zero discharge into Lake Michigan.

His fear, however, is that the petition will be “ignored by the corporate process.”

“We need to end discharges,” he said, “not add new ones.”

Congress Blasts BP Expansion Plan, Dumping
Local Lawmakers Divided Over Issue

Pamela Jones
Reporting

(CBS) GARY, Ind. Congress is applying more pressure on oil company giant BP to drop a refinery expansion plan that would add more pollution to Lake Michigan.

The House approved a resolution Wednesday sponsored by Reps. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) that expresses disapproval of the plan for the refinery in Whiting, Indiana.

The vote was 387-26 in favor.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management had issued a permit allowing BP to increase its daily dumping of ammonia and sludge into Lake Michigan.

Wednesday, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management said the permit stands as is.

Meanwhile, CBS 2 Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones reports local lawmakers are giving the plan mixed reviews.

“They simply want to do the right thing, they just were ignorant of the fact that we didn't want sewage dumped in our lake,” Michigan City Mayor Chuck Oberlie said.

Oberlie is copying a petition originated in Chicago to get local residents on board to stop an increase in dumping.
But not everyone agrees with the move.

"My name won't go on it,” LaPorte Mayor Leigh Morris said.

He said people standing against BP might do more by trying to change the policy which legalized BP's special permit because BP is only following the rules.

"So when I began hearing the outcry I began to wonder what's happening here. Did somebody screw up? But the more research I've been able to do, the more I've come to the conclusion that we have a lot of misinformation that's being spread,” Morris said.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels agrees saying BP's expansion project with some 2,000 promised jobs is crucial. "I don’t think it should be held up without a good scientific reason and none has been provided," Daniels said.

In Gary, another city right on the lake, Councilmember Marilyn Krusas is leading an effort to draft the Gary Council's own resolution opposing the BP water pollution permit and asking for it to be revoked.

U.S. Senator Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) issued a statement on the matter, saying, "BP’s willingness to discuss feasible alternatives is welcome news. With the technological resources we have available to us today, economic progress and environmental protection can and should go hand-in-hand. The BP Whiting refinery has been an integral part of the local, state and national economy for decades. Its future is important to the continued economic growth of the area and vital to our nation’s energy independence and our ability to secure our nation’s oil supply. However, that doesn’t have to come at the cost of our environmental resources. I’m hopeful that this commitment on the part of BP will mean we can find a resolution that strengthens our economy and maintains the integrity of our air and drinking water, along with the health of Lake Michigan."

U.S. Senator Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.) said in a statement he supports the resolution voted on in Washington. "Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes grow more valuable each day, and in order to maintain and improve this important natural and global resource, it is crucial to reduce the level of pollution being discharged into them. "

In response to the vote in Washington and recent reports on the issue, a BP spokesperson said their plans for environmental treatment are the best they could come up with at the time.

Members of Illinois' congressional delegation, led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Emanuel, met on Tuesday with BP officials, who agreed to look at alternatives to the increased dumping.


The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Dan Sajkowski, BP Whiting Refinery business unit leader, in a statement, said the discharged is fine particles that aren't filtered out in the plant's water treatment system. He disputed news reports saying the company discharged "sludge."

"That is not true. The refinery does not and will not discharge sludge into the lake. The refinery discharges only treated water into the lake. Treated wastewater is more than 99.999 percent water. The remainder is salt, nutrients, organics and inorganics that are not dissolved in water ... All wastewater sludges are treated separately, according to state and federal requirements, and never discharged to Lake Michigan," Sajkowski said.

Regarding ammonia, the new permit allows the refinery's average ammonia discharge to increase from 1,030 pounds per day to 1,584 pounds per day.

However, Sajkowski said, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines could allow as much as 3,358 pounds per day, more than double the refinery's newly permitted ammonia discharge limit.

"Also, it is important to remember that these permit numbers are maximum limits; on a daily average basis, actual discharges by the Whiting Refinery are substantially less."