Activists want to see BP update its water pollution control technology and monitor or set limits for dozens of toxic chemicals — things like PFAS, benzene and arsenic.
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Activists and northwest Indiana residents are asking the Indiana to reduce water pollution coming from BP’s Whiting Refinery. Its permit is up for renewal.
Activists say the Indiana Department of Environmental Management needs to do more to protect people who get their drinking water from Lake Michigan and visit its beaches.
Among other things, the Environmental Law and Policy Center said IDEM has allowed BP to release more mercury — through a special exemption — than what’s required by Lake Michigan water quality standards since 2012.
Rob Michaels is a managing attorney at ELPC. He said this was supposed to be a temporary pass while BP worked to reduce its mercury levels — but little progress has been made.
“And instead, this has just been a kick the can down the road indefinitely thing here — going on 20 years of excessive mercury discharges — and it's time for it to stop," Michaels said.
Exposure to mercury — like eating contaminated fish — can damage your brain and nervous system.
Activists also want to see BP update its water pollution control technology and monitor or set limits for dozens of toxic chemicals — things like PFAS, benzene and arsenic.
The ELPC said BP has either disclosed that these chemicals are present in the water released into Lake Michigan or chemicals the Environmental Protection Agency found to be common at refineries in a 2019 study.
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Michaels said likely either IDEM or BP felt that these pollutants weren't in high enough quantities to be monitored or limited.
"Well, we don't know that — they're not monitoring for these so, at a bare minimum, they ought to be monitoring for these pollutants. And it's huge list of pollutants. And then they ought to — depending on what the monitor shows — they need to have limits on these, and they don't have limits on these," he said.
Two years ago, BP paid out $40 million in a settlement for air and water violations at the refinery — including a record-high civil penalty for air pollution. It also had two tank leaks last year.
Lisa Vallee is with the group Just Transition Northwest Indiana and lives within a mile of the refinery. She said despite this, IDEM doesn’t plan to give BP a stricter water permit.
“It shows residents that it is more important for billion-dollar corporations like BP to be taken care of than it is for the community to be taken care of," she said.
IDEM said it will respond to comments when it issues the final permit.
In a statement, BP said it is “committed to safe and compliant operations” at the Whiting Refinery.
Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.
