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Your Action is Needed
Poisoning Lake Michigan
Milt Waltermire, Conservation
Director
It's not bad enough
that the oil companies have been reaping
record profits by camouflaging their
greed with phony "reasons" for the
exorbitant price of gasoline. Now, one
of their biggest companies is being
allowed to poison one of our greatest
natural resources right here in our own
backyard.
Indiana's Department of Environmental
Management (IDEM) has granted a permit
to BP's oil refinery in Whiting,
Indiana, just three miles from the south
suburbs of Chicago, to dump nearly 5000
pounds of toxic waste and 1500 pounds of
ammonia into Lake Michigan every day. As
you may know, ammonia is toxic by itself
in addition to promoting algae blooms
which deplete oxygen. The toxic sludge
contains mercury, selenium and other
toxic metals. In addition, the IDEM has
granted permission to BP to use a
process that is rightfully banned on
Lake Michigan which will create the
lake's first "mixing zone". This is a
bogus process that draws lake water in
from Lake Michigan, mixes it with the
sludge and ammonia, and then dumps it
back into the lake. BP calls it
"diluting" and "cleaning up". Listen, if
you take a glass of water, pour some of
the water into second glass, add poison
to the second glass, then put that
mixture back into the first glass, IT IS
ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENT THAN JUST
POURING THE POISON INTO THE ORIGINAL
FIRST GLASS!! DO THEY THINK WE'RE ALL A
BUNCH OF MORONS OUT HERE?!!
This is all occurring at a time when
Lake Michigan's southern waters are
still listed federally as an "Area of
Concern", recuperating from decades of
abuse by this refinery (the nation's
fourth largest), steel mills and a
chemical factory. Furthermore, it is at
a time when BP recently came up with its
apparent phony attempt to sell itself as
being environmentally friendly with its
flower logo and promises (lies) stating,
"no damage to the environment". Right.
If you believe that, then you'll also
believe their statement that they
haven't the space on their 1700 acre
refinery to build a 1/4 acre treatment
plant.
Most puzzling to me is how a state
agency, charged with protecting the
environment and the health of its
citizens, could ever even consider
issuing a permit which, essentially,
allows BP to violate laws by which all
other industry must abide. These laws
were put into place to clean up the
Great Lakes. There is absolutely no
reason BP should be exempt from these
laws. Could it be that BP is using some
of its tens of billions of dollars in
annual profits to "convince" those in
charge at IDEM that they will do "no
damage to the environment"?
WE MUST NOT ALLOW THIS OUTRAGEOUS
PRECEDENT TO BE SET! For the sake of the
citizens in the four states bordering
Lake Michigan and for the lake's fragile
ecosystem, the U.S. E.P.A. must overturn
this decision that gives BP a pass to
pollute. WE MUST CONTACT OUR
SENATORS/REPRESENTATIVES AND DEMAND THAT
THE CLEAN WATER ACT BE UPHELD AND STOP
BP FROM POISONING OUR LAKE. I don't
care if you've never done this before,
DO IT THIS TIME. Make a simple phone
call, write an e-mail or sign a
petition. Your little bit of effort,
when done in association with other IBFN
members, can make all the difference.
Visit
http://www.illinois.gov/government/gov_legislature.cfm
to find your state and federal senators
and representatives.
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