Times of Northwest Indiana staff and wire reports
CHICAGO | The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will neither oppose BP's permit to increase its dumping into Lake Michigan nor condemn Indiana for issuing the permit, the agency's lead official said Tuesday.
"In this case, it's my understanding that Indiana issued a permit that is fully compliant with the Clean Water Act. As an agency we need to honor that permit," U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson told the Chicago Tribune after a speech in Chicago on Tuesday.
BP spokesman Tom Keilman told The Times late Tuesday that Johnson's statements are consistent with what BP has already said -- that it is compliant with regulatory standards and it has followed the necessary steps in obtaining its permits.
"Federal regulators have said the permit change stood within guidelines, Keilman said.
BP officials say the plant needs the discharge permit loosened for a $3 billion plant expansion. The permit will allow the refinery to release 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more suspended solids, silty materials left over from treated and filtered wastewater. The increased discharges will still slide beneath federal limits. The plant expansion will open 80 more permanent refinery jobs and more than 2,000 temporary construction jobs, BP and state officials say.
"We want to work collaboratively with companies, including BP and others, to do what we can to continue to improve the condition of the Great Lakes," Johnson told the Chicago newspaper.
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 387-26 to approve a resolution urging Indiana to reconsider the permit. Furthermore, a panel of lawmakers has asked BP to return in September with changes to its plan. BP has said it intends to continue with its plan.
Additionally, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich urged Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels to rescind the permit, and Blagojevich threatened to pursue legal action if the increased pollution allowances remain in place.
"The (EPA) administrator's comments aren't surprising, but they are unacceptable," Durbin was quoted as saying Tuesday.
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