BP and the Great Lakes
Congress has passed a resolution reprehending an Indiana permit allowing oil giant BP to dump more pollutants into Lake Michigan.
The permit decision touched off nearly 45,000 signatures opposing BP's increased pollution to Lake Michigan resulting from its planned refinery expansion in Whiting, Ind. The threat has attracted more attention than any other industrial pollution discharge to the Great Lakes in years.
The congressional resolution, introduced by U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), urges the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to reconsider its permitting of BP's refinery expansion.
Indiana regulators issued BP a permit to discharge daily loads of nearly 1,500 pounds of ammonia and 5,000 pounds of suspended solids from treated sludge into Lake Michigan. The permit also gives BP until 2012 to meet strict federal limits for mercury discharges. Mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin.
August 6, 2007 7:37 AM | Category: Cleanup, Great Lakes