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EPA objects to BP air permit
News Articles | NWI Times | October 20, 2009
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency backed some environmental groups’ concerns Monday by issuing an objection to the operating permit the state issued for a $3.8 billion upgrade of the BP Whiting Refinery.
With the move, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has 90 days to reconsider and, potentially, revise the air emissions permit it granted BP and submit a proposed permit to the EPA.
The EPA said IDEM didn’t adequately respond to public comment on the post-construction operating permit and that information on some of BP’s emissions may have been omitted.
BP spokesman Scott Dean said via e-mail the company was surprised by the announcement, given that the federal environmental agency previously reviewed the permit and had no objection.
“We are reviewing EPA’s decision and (are) working to understand the nature of EPA’s concern,” Dean said in a statement. “We will meet with EPA to discuss their concerns.”
According to the Environmental Law and Policy Center, BP’s permit application claimed the expansion would not increase air pollution because the company would offset increased emissions by shutting down older equipment. But the center argued the company failed to take into account many pollution sources, including flares — towers that burn excess gases.
“BP needs to come clean about what this expansion really will mean for clean air and public health.” said Meleah Geertsma, staff attorney for the Environmental Law and Policy Center, a Midwest advocacy group. “It doesn’t matter whether air pollution comes out of a vent or a flare or a smokestack, it’s all part of the problem, and it should all be part of the permit.”
Jesse Kharbanda, executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council, called the decision a “very positive step” in assuring Northwest Indiana residents share in economic development and improved environmental quality.
IDEM issued BP modified air permits May 1, 2008, and June 16, 2008, to allow construction at the refinery to begin and to serve as the operating permit for the expansion, respectively.
Construction began in May 2008 on BP’s modernization, which will enable the refinery to process more heavy crude oil extracted from Canadian tar sands. The project is on track to be completed in early 2012.
In August 2008, several environmental groups petitioned the EPA to object to the state’s modification of BP’s operating permit.
Pamela Blakley of EPA Region 5 in Chicago said the objection will not halt site construction and is not related to the minor modification permit BP received to do construction. Blakley, chief of the Chicago regional office’s air permit division, also said the EPA’s action is separate from permit appeal cases environmental groups filed with a state administrative court.
The EPA said that the additional emissions created from the expansion project did not trigger a more stringent air permit modification, which could have forced BP to install additional pollution control equipment or take other steps to curb emissions. However, the EPA said IDEM should respond to all the questions raised and re-evaluate emission calculations for the project.
The EPA also disagreed with other points raised by the environmental groups, which argued the state should have forced BP to adhere to a compliance schedule, further scrutinized the venting of uncontrolled pressure relief valves and taken a harder look at whether the refinery plans to use the best available pollution control technology.
An IDEM spokesman said the agency will use the 90-day period to evaluate its options and consider an appropriate response to EPA’s concerns.
To see the order the EPA sent the state concerning air pollution permits for the $3.8 billion expansion of the BP Whiting Refinery, go to epa.gov/region5/air/bptitlevorder20091016.pdf
Tagged with: epa, bp whiting, gary, indiana department of environmental management
