Tim Evans of the Indianapolis Star takes a look at yesterday's announcement by BP that they will put off plans to increase dumping in Lake Michigan.State Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, who chairs the Administrative Rules Oversight Committee that conducted a hearing Wednesday into the BP permit, called the company's decision "a victory for common sense."
"It is good to see a powerful company like BP willing to take a can-do attitude toward being a responsible corporate citizen," Pelath said in a statement. "Creating jobs is important to Indiana's future, but so is protecting our state's environment for future generations. I am glad that BP recognizes that they need to go about this project the right way."
Cameron Davis, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, which fought the new permit, said he appreciates BP's action but is disappointed that the debate is being framed as an either-or situation in terms of increasing capacity or holding the line on pollution.
"Where we need to go from here is to get an assurance in the permit that BP will not increase its discharges, not just rely on their statement, and then we need to shift the focus from simply maintaining the status quo to finding ways to reduce the amount of pollutants going into the lake," he said.
Davis added that BP should be able to increase capacity at Whiting and reduce pollution. Meanwhile, the Governor was forced to put on a happy face, despite the fact that his bitterness over that little thing called "the public will" was obvious. Still focusing on the out-of-state protests -- can you say fixated? -- the Governor said he hoped yesterday's announcement would remind us of Illinois' hypocrisy. I'm pretty sure it will remind a lot of people of the Governor's wholesale acceptance of the permit and defense of the increased dumping, but I guess I could be wrong.
Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Star approves: Many residents of the region, along with environmentalists, citizens and political leaders from Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and points far away, are suspicious about the need to allow a 54 percent increase in ammonia emissions and 35 percent in suspended solids. This, plus vague rules for mercury.
Illinois threatened to sue Indiana over the permit. The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed a resolution of opposition. Back home, in addition to Pelath's hearings, an independent review of the matter has been ordered by Daniels.
The governor repeatedly expressed his support for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and its handling of the permit process. But the pressure from outside IDEM, be it public scrutiny or formal entreaties to the federal government or the courts, has been intense.
Thanks to BP for having the wisdom to take the time to make certain an irreversible error wasn't made. As I've said earlier, the Governor pushed the claim that there was nothing that could be done to bring an increased capacity refinery and a reduction in the original plan's pollution output. Should a solution be found in the next few months, I think a lot of people will question why the Governor wasn't willing to use some of his magic "big and bold" powers on this project, instead of immediately falling into a defense of the corporate interest over the concerns of his constituents. |
