LANSING – State Representative Mary Valentine (D-Norton Shores) today sponsored a House resolution calling on the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take action on the recent approval of a permit to increase pollution by British Petroleum (BP) into the Great Lakes.
"Despite provisions in the federal Clean Water Act that prohibit degradation of water quality, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management approved, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency concurred with, a permit that allows the British Petroleum refinery in Whiting, Indiana, to increase the dumping of industrial pollutants into Lake Michigan," Valentine said. "These discharges threaten Lake Michigan water and are inconsistent with regional efforts to clean up the Great Lakes. Our water is part of our heritage and plays a large role in our state's economy. It's imperative that we do everything in our power to safeguard our water for future generations."
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management, with approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, issued a permit to allow the Whiting refinery to release 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge into Lake Michigan. The increased pollution output is the result of BP's $3 billion plan to upgrade the refinery in order to increase its production of gasoline and diesel by 15 percent.
The Whiting refinery is just outside Chicago. It is the second-largest among BP refineries worldwide and the fourth-largest refinery in the United States, according to an article in the Grand Haven Tribune on Aug. 8.
Congress recently voted 387-26 in favor of a resolution to urge the EPA to reconsider issuance of the permit.
"Tourism is one of Michigan's largest industries," Valentine said. "People come from all over to swim, boat and fish in our water. Michigan is surrounded by 20 percent of the world's freshwater. We cannot stand idly by while big corporations pollute our most precious natural resource – our water."