Parties in a legal fight regarding BP's air emissions have two weeks to submit their facts, the environmental law judge assigned to the case said Wednesday.
For the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, this could mean giving facts proving a petition challenging IDEM's approval of an air-pollution exemption for BP shouldn't have been allowed in the first place.
Judge Mary Davidsen, of the Office of Environmental Adjudication, said an amended petition filed last week contesting a variance to BP air emission limits is under review. Also under review, she said, is Davidsen's own decision allowing the petitioners to file their claim against IDEM.
In late July, Davidsen denied a request -- filed by groups including the city of Chicago and the Illinois attorney general -- for an extension to file an administrative review petition. Legally, she could not grant the request that was submitted as a letter and not a full petition, she said.
She did, however, find the letter sufficient to grant an amended petition, which the groups filed Aug. 24.
IDEM argues that Davidsen's initial denial should be the "end of story," she said.
The Illinois-based petitioners argue in the petition that IDEM didn't require BP to adequately prove it deserved an exception to federal rules requiring a reduction in air emission limits of particulate matter.
Davidsen expects to make a decision in the matter by the end of September.
© Copyright 2024, nwitimes.com, Munster, IN