Great Lakes Region Residents Express Fearful Thoughts

Great Lakes Region Residents Express Fearful Thoughts



Aug. 2007  - BP America today promised 
to operate its Whiting Refinery in northwest Indiana to meet the lower 
discharge limits contained in the refinery's previous wastewater treatment 
permit, even though the state has issued the refinery with a new permit 
that allows higher discharge limits. 
The company is taking notice of regional opposition to any increase in the 
discharge of pollutants into Lake Michigan from the giant refinery, 
located near Chicago. 
Politicians across the Great Lakes region say they are getting many calls 
from fearful residents, and a radio ad paid for by political funds from 
Senator Dick Durbin and Congressman Rahm Emanuel, both Illinois Democrats, 
criticizes BP's plan. 
Durbin and Emanuel praised today's decision by BP. "This is the news we 
have been waiting for - a watershed moment for Lake Michigan, the 
lawmakers said in a joint statement. "Today, BP America announced that 
they will not increase dumping in our lake. They realized a good business 
decision is a good environmental decision." 
"The people of Chicago and every person who spoke out against the dumping 
had their voices heard. We sent a message to BP that the pollution of one 
of our national treasures will not be tolerated," they said. "Together, we 
put pressure on a company to do what is right and they responded." 
"This is the source of drinking water for nearly eight million people here 
at the south end of Lake Michigan," says Lee Botts, founder of the Lake 
Michigan Federation. "The Great Lakes cannot be a sink for pollution and 
survive to be the source for drinking water and the habitat for life in 
the lake that we want it to be." 
BP has obtained regulatory approval to increase average daily discharge 
limits for ammonia from 1,030 to 1,584 pounds per day and for total 
suspended solids from 3,646 to 4,925 pounds per day to modernize the 
Whiting refinery and increase the amount of Canadian heavy crude oil it 
can process. 
The $3.8 billion refinery expansion is designed to increase the amount of 
Canadian heavy crude processed from 30 to 90 percent and also creates the 
capacity to increase production of clean fuels by 1.7 million gallons a 
day. 
"We have participated in an open and transparent permitting process with 
the state of Indiana and obtained a valid permit that meets all regulatory 
standards and is protective of water quality and human health. Even so, 
ongoing regional opposition to any increase in discharge permit limits for 
Lake Michigan creates an unacceptable level of business risk for this $3.8 
billion investment," said BP America Chairman and President Bob Malone. 
BP America notified the state of Indiana of its decision late yesterday 
afternoon and reiterated its dedication to the proposed refinery 
expansion. 
Malone said the company will seek new technology to allow the increase in 
capacity while maintaining the lower discharge limits. 
"We're not aware of any technology that will get us to those limits but 
we'll work to develop a project that allows us to do so," he said. "If 
necessary changes to the project result in a material impact to project 
viability, we could be forced to cancel it." 
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said, "BP made a difficult business 
decision, one that means this project may not happen or be moved to 
another state. I hope, along with everyone else, that someone discovers a 
new technology in the next year or so that enables BP to move ahead, 
meaning Hoosiers would get the benefits of this enormous investment - at 
the job site and the gas pump." 
BP has agreed to participate with the Purdue Calumet Water Institute and 
the Argonne National Laboratory in a joint effort to identify and evaluate 
emerging technologies with the potential to improve wastewater treatment 
across the Great Lakes. 
Malone announced today that BP will provide a $5 million grant to Purdue 
University to help underwrite the research effort. 
During the next 18 months, BP will continue to seek issuance of other 
permits, continue project design and explore options for operating within 
the lower discharge limits. 
"We are committed to this project. It is important for the nation, it is 
important for the Midwest, and it is important to BP and to the thousands 
of BP employees in the State of Indiana," Malone said. "We are going to 
work hard to make this project succeed." 

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