Return To Alert Page| From: Jeanette Neagu, Co-President Judith Johnston, Co-President Lake Michigan Interleague Organization 219-879-0431 Joanne Evers, President League of Women Voters of Indiana 317-241-8683 Date: August 23, 2007 |
The Lake Michigan Interleague Organization - representing sixty League of Women Voters Chapters in the Lake Michigan watershed - strongly opposed the permission Indiana Department of Environmental Management gave British Petroleum to increase toxic discharge to Lake Michigan from its Indiana Whiting Refinery.
The Lake Michigan Interleague is extremely pleased that BP has decided against increasing the release of more ammonia and suspended solids into Lake Michigan. The citizens and elected officials from many states spoke out to protect the Lake, one of the most important sources of fresh water in the world. While we are pleased with the company's decision we are still concerned that the Indiana Department of Environmental Management issued the permit to increase discharges. We request Indiana Dept of Environmental Management revoke the new permit for increased discharges and issue a new permit reflecting previous ammonia and suspended solids discharge limits to the discharge of into the Lake. Indiana is ranked first amongst the states as a discharger of toxic pollutants into the surface waters of the country. In many other areas EPA ranks Indiana first or as one of the top ten States that pollute the environment. We are concerned that twenty-two industries in Porter and Lake County continue to have permits to discharge millions of pounds of pollutants into Lake Michigan . The cumulative impact of these many discharges is not taken into consideration by IDEM when permission is given to continue or increase discharges. Many of the current permits have not been reviewed by the agency since the 1990's. We believe Indiana must do better in protecting the health of its people, the environment and the lake.
The following information
TRI On-site and Off-site Reported Disposed of or Otherwise Released (in pounds), for Indiana facilities in All Industries, for All Chemicals, By State, U.S., 2005 can be found at this EPA Web Site.
TRI EXPLORER DATA which reflects how IDEM is enforcing current rules and Regulations as well as the limitations Indiana has established for the discharging of pollutants into our environment
Jeanette Neagu, Co-President
Lake Michigan Interleague Organization
3739 Lexington Rd.
Michigan City, IN 36360
219-879-0431
Review the Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan, especially the section on Pollution Prevention and Toxics Reduction at this Link:
http://epa.gov/glnpo/lakemich/2006/index.html
also the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement that is being reviewed in 2008. Link to Joint Commission:
http://www.ijc.org/php/publications/biblio_library.php?language=english
©2007 Lake Michigan Interleague Organization
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