Other BP Permits Slipping Under the Radar Screen

This week in the Great Lakes Town Hall – Carolyn A. Marsh

This week, the Great Lakes Town Hall is presenting Carolyn A. Marsh of Whiting, Indiana. A devoted birdwatcher, Carolyn played a pivotal role in blocking the construction of what would have been the nation's largest marina in a migratory hot spot in Hammond, IN. Carolyn is currently putting pressure on BP Amoco to increase public participation in their expansion plans in Indiana. Despite BP's promise to not invoke their controversial refinery wastewater permit, it looks like the fight isn't over yet:

"Local environmental watchdogs and national refinery experts have exposed a series of actions by BP officials and Indiana agencies to "piece-meal" the massive expansion of the Whiting refinery and mislead the public about the extent of the combined pollution to theregion's air and water. While protest has erupted over plans to increase dumping of wastewater to Lake Michigan as a result of the refinery's processing of heavily contaminated "tar sands oil", until now the public has been uninformed about BP's plans to build two more giant plants in the same area under separate permits."

Don't miss your chance to read and respond to Ms. Marsh's perspectives every day this week.

It's important to note that BP is not the only refinery expanding in the Great Lakes region. Marathon is planning and seeking approval for a major expansion in the Detroit area to also process Canadian "tar sands oil." This issue is not going to go away anytime soon, and it up to eco-freaks throughout the Midwest to get informed about this issue and it's ramifications for the Lakes. This is just the beginning of this fight.

The Detroit News published an editorial today in support of the Marathon expansion. If you know anything about the News, you know they have a right-wing conservative bias and they oppose any environmental group's activities. It is my opinion that the Detroit News would be better used as toilet paper than as a news source. Unfortunately they probably use some kind of toxic ink that won't flush well.



Thanks go to the Biodiversity Project in Madison, WI for the info on the Great Lakes Town Hall.