EDITORIAL: BP argument against permits shows amazing lack of logic

Times of Northwest Indiana

 The storm over the BP refinery at Whiting rages on.

Congress has adopted a resolution calling for withdrawal of the permit granted BP to increase its waste water discharge into Lake Michigan.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he will sue Indiana if the permit isn't withdrawn.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says BP meets legal requirements for the permit and he will not order it withdrawn.

A stalemate? Probably not. Someone will file a lawsuit and the hassle with continue.

What's amazing is the lack of logic applied to this issue.

Daniels is correct. The facts, as we outlined previously, support BP's getting the permit.

The facts do not point to massive increased pollution of Lake Michigan. There will be no sludge dumped. The discharge will be well below the government's established limits, something most environmentalists recognize.

Then, too, there is the matter of a $3 billion investment that is being made in Whiting and not Texas, as some had argued.

While nothing is worth ruin of our environment, Illinois politicians' rantings don't provide proof that BP is about to destroy Lake Michigan waters. And it is not reason to cause BP to relocate the project.

In fact, Chicago Mayor Daley and his political cohorts need to examine pollution levels in the Chicago River and along the Lake Michigan beaches in the Windy City before pointing a finger at an industry that is downstream.

If ever there was an issue clouded by media reporting, this is it.

It's time for the media and the politicians to get the facts straight and stop sensationalizing.

It's time for BP to get a fair shake.