HAMMOND | While officials with BP Whiting Refinery have struggled with public perceptions about pollution, the company also has privately run afoul of city code inspectors.
Hammond officials say the company erected a five-acre complex of 21 structures and paved a parking lot for more than 300 cars without seeking a permit or presenting a single plan to the city.
Sometime between October 2006 and April 2007, BP installed the temporary buildings near 129th Street, behind a company warehouse.
City officials assessed more than a dozen code violations June 5. Fines for the violations vary but could add up to $300,000, Hammond Chief of Staff Marty Wielgos said.
BP spokesman Tom Keilman said the company is hoping to resolve the issue in coming days.
"I think we acknowledge that we did not go though the proper procedure to get approval through the Redevelopment Commission, and that's something we plan to address this week," Keilman said.
Hammond Zoning Administrator Don Novak said he discovered the hidden, sprawling complex after stumbling upon an unpermitted road near the BP warehouse.
"We got in a car and went out there to see what was at the end of the road. When we got to the end, we were basically shocked by what we found," Novak said.
The buildings, some of which encompass 6,000 square feet, were erected for a staff of more than 300 people who are designing the $3 billion plant that will allow the refinery to use far more Canadian crude petroleum.
Keilman said the buildings are temporary trailers that are commonly used in Whiting and East Chicago without permits. Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said the city must inspect and certify all buildings before they can be occupied.
"I'd like to think it was an oversight on their part, but then again, they've got lots of lawyers and they should know about the ordinances in the city," McDermott said.
McDermott said the code violations have strained the company's relationship with the city at a time when BP wants help in fast-tracking its new asphalt plant, which is being moved to Hammond to make way for new equipment being installed at the refinery in Whiting.
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