Indiana relaxes rules for BP soot emissions

IBJ Staff

 BP won't have to cut emissions of soot at its Whiting oil refinery because the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has granted the petroleum giant an exemption from federal regulations, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The rules would have required the refinery to halve the amount of microscopic pollution the refinery emits. However, Indiana regulators sided with BP's contention that the change would not be technically or economically feasible.

Last week, attorneys for two environmental groups, the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois asked an Indiana judge to overturn the Indiana decision, saying BP hasn't shown why the problem couldn't be resolved through engineering.

It's the second dispute to swirl around the site in a month. BP late this summer abandoned plans to release more ammonia and suspended solids into Lake Michigan in order to allow more refining of Canadian oil. That decision was precipitated by a storm of criticism, primarily from Illinois.