[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 127 (Friday, August 3, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S10883]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       BRITISH PETROLEUM REFINERY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I rise to speak about the proposed 
expansion of a British Petroleum refinery in Whiting, IN. BP Amoco has 
requested, and received, a permit to increase the pollution it dumps 
into Lake Michigan.
  Under this new permit, BP's expanded facility will release 54 percent 
more ammonia and 35 percent more suspended solids which contain heavy 
metals, including mercury, into Lake Michigan. Expanding refinery 
capacity is an important goal and a project with many benefits, but we 
shouldn't do this at the expense of one of our most precious natural 
resources.
  Congress passed the Clean Water Act to restore and maintain the 
integrity of our Nation's waters. The express goal of the law is to 
reduce the amount of pollutants entering the Nation's waterways. The 
Clean Water Act went so far as to set a very specific target of 
reaching zero pollutants going into the waters by 1985. Zero 
discharges. We certainly have not met that target.
  But we have been trying to move toward it. Now, BP wants to increase 
its pollution into Lake Michigan. BP has spent millions and millions of 
dollars to ``green'' its image. This company has effectively changed 
its name from ``British Petroleum'' to ``Beyond Petroleum.''
  Yet with this ``green'' image, BP turns around and asks for a permit 
to dramatically increase the amount of pollutants it dumps into Lake 
Michigan. BP has worked very hard to make the American public think 
that the company is an environmental steward, that it is a responsible 
and sustainable company. And it does have some very good initiatives, 
but BP stands to lose this image by insisting on dumping more pollution 
into Lake Michigan.
  A Chicago Sun Times article this week referred to BP as ``Big 
Polluters.'' I don't think that is what the company wants.
  The CEO of BP met with me last week. I asked him to take another look 
at the technology that is currently available to decrease the amount of 
ammonia and total suspended solids that will be introduced into Lake 
Michigan. I encouraged BP to find a better solution.
  I am calling on BP to live up the standard it has set for itself as a 
corporate steward of the environment and to stop any additional 
pollution from being discharged into Lake Michigan.
  The Great Lakes are a tremendous and valuable resource. The lakes are 
a largely closed ecosystem that has a very long water retention time. 
It takes 106 years for water to be completely flushed through Lake 
Michigan. Pollutants that are introduced into the lake are likely to 
stay there for a long time.
  The Great Lakes contain more than 20 percent of the Earth's surface 
fresh water and are a necessary drinking water source for nearly 40 
million Americans. Increasing pollution going into the Lakes should 
worry us all. Twenty-five percent of the U.S. and Canadian populations 
are within the watershed of the Great Lakes.
  Congress appreciates the value of this resource. More than 30 Federal 
laws have been enacted that specifically focused on restoring the Great 
Lakes basin.
  Government at all levels is working to prevent industrial pollution, 
sewage discharges, invasive species and water diversion. These efforts 
are to ensure that future generations will enjoy the beauty of our 
magnificent Great Lakes.
  Dumping more pollution into one of our most important sources of 
fresh water is a bad idea. The people in my State recognize that. They 
are willing to forgo the modest increase in refinery expansion to 
protect Lake Michigan.
  At a time when fresh water sources are threatened here and around the 
globe, we should demand more especially from corporate leaders who 
flash public relations campaigns about moving ``beyond petroleum.'' BP 
is not a struggling small business. In the past three years, BP 
Corporation has earned net profits of over $60 billion. If anyone has 
the resources to find alternatives, it is BP Amoco.
  We respectfully ask BP to live up to the image it has worked so hard 
to create and use some of the resources they have to prevent additional 
pollution from entering our drinking water. Please protect our natural 
resource, don't degrade it.

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