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<h1 style='text-align:justify'><b><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;font-weight:normal'>http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2008/07/10/news/top_news/docc57e66c68167295486257482000cd2bb.prt<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h1 style='text-align:justify'><b><font size=6 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>BP sued in federal court<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p style='text-align:justify'><strong><b><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>BY CHRISTINE KRALY</span></font></b></strong><b><font
size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black;font-weight:bold'><br>
<strong><b><font face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'><a
href="mailto:ckraly@nwitimes.com">ckraly@nwitimes.com</a></span></font></b></strong><br>
<strong><b><font face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>219.662.5335</span></font></b></strong></span></font></b><font
size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'> | Thursday, July 10, 2008<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>HAMMOND
| Environmentalists are taking another swing at BP's new Whiting plant air
permit, this time by suing the company in federal court.<br>
<br>
The Natural Resources Defense Council filed a suit Wednesday against BP in
federal court in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Hammond</st1:City></st1:place>
for violations of the Clean Air Act, according to the group.<br>
<br>
The group's lawsuit focuses primarily on three new flares -- the large torch
structures used to relieve pressure in the refinery -- planned as part of the
refinery's $3.8 billion expansion.<br>
<br>
The NRDC has alleged BP's air permit does not account for increased pollution
from the flares, and has criticized the Indiana Department of Environmental
Management for being too lax in BP's permitting.<br>
<br>
BP and IDEM have defended the permit as legal and protective of the
environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month upheld the
IDEM-backed permit, allowing BP to continue building its expansion.<br>
<br>
A BP spokeswoman said she could not comment on the lawsuit until the company
has fully reviewed it.<br>
<br>
"We care about <st1:place w:st="on">Lake Michigan</st1:place> and the
water and air our employees and neighbors drink and breathe, and we are
listening to people's concerns and working hard to minimize the environmental
impact of this project," BP spokeswoman Sarah Howell said.<br>
<br>
"This project has and will continue to undergo intense regulatory scrutiny
and will comply with state and federal regulations governing protection of
human health and the environment," Howell said.<br>
<br>
The lawsuit alleges that BP did not properly calculate emissions of some
pollutants and did not account for all emissions that would result from the
refinery's construction. In doing so, BP did not implement the best available
pollution prevention technology, a violation of the Clean Air Act, according to
the suit.<br>
<br>
Emissions expected under the new permit will cause severe public health and
environmental problems around the refinery, the suit alleges.<br>
<br>
NRDC's appeal comes on the heels of the group's victory appealing an air permit
for an expansion of the ConocoPhillips refinery in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Roxana</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Ill.</st1:State></st1:place>
An EPA appeal board upheld a challenge, led by the NRDC, arguing that
ConocoPhillips had not properly controlled its flare emissions.<br>
<br>
In a statement, NRDC senior attorney <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Ann Alexander</st1:PersonName>
said of the BP suit, "Flares are enormous sources of pollution. That
pollution may be a little harder to count than some other types of pollution,
but you still have to do it. It's not an option for BP and IDEM to stick their
heads in the sand and act like the problem does not exist."<br>
<br>
Alexander continued: "The failure of Indiana and BP to take the public
interest and the law seriously has forced the issue and required that this case
be brought before the federal courts."<br>
<br>
The NRDC is assisting other groups that have filed appeals of the air permit
with the Indiana Office of Environmental Adjudication. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;background:#EEEEEE'><b><font
size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black;font-weight:bold'>Copyright © 2008 nwi.com<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
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