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EPA: BP permit must be rewritten
News Articles | Gitte Laasby | Gary Post-Tribune | October 20, 2009
Read the full article on the originating site
MERRILLVILLE — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is forcing the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to rewrite part of the air permit for BP’s Whiting refinery.
EPA says BP and IDEM left out or underestimated several sources of air pollution that need to be counted when determining what kind of air pollution control equipment is necessary
EPA has given IDEM 90 days to rewrite the permit, respond to questions and provide emission estimates for several polluting units that were left out of the permit.
EPA’s order came Monday — more than a year and two months after a coalition of environmental groups petitioned EPA to object to the permit.
EPA reviewed the permit before IDEM issued it on June 16, 2008. EPA worked with IDEM to address “several areas of concern” but, in response to the petition by environmental groups, took a closer look and concluded IDEM “did not adequately respond to public comment and that information on some of BP’s emissions may have been omitted.”
“Specifically, questions must be answered about emissions from flares, residual emissions from vessel depressurization, increased emissions from coking and coke drum depressurization, fugitive emissions from reduced sulfur compounds and emission factors to account for higher-sulfur crude,” EPA said in a news release.
The environmental coalition argued that all emissions had not been counted and if they were, BP would need a stricter air permit and be required to install more pollution control equipment. Emissions of sulfur dioxide can cause difficulty breathing and potentially be deadly, soot can cause asthma, and volatile organic compounds contribute to smog.
“All of those are pollutants where they could well be over the significance level if they do the math right,” said Ann Alexander, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the petitioners. “We think this is a very clear statement that BP and IDEM have just been wrong all along … They’ve been saying the emissions have been insignificant. EPA said they’re potentially very significant. BP and IDEM ought to do the right thing right now and go back and consider everything.”
EPA did not draw any conclusions about whether emission increases from BP’s expansion would trigger a stricter permit, but said IDEM must adjust the permit if it does.
“We just think the concerns raised had enough merit that Indiana needs to do an analysis and give us a full response,” said Jay Bortzer, chief of the air programs branch at EPA Region 5. “When that is done, it may get us back to where we were a year ago.”
Sam Portanova, an environmental engineer with EPA Region 5, acknowledged that a stricter permit would require major revisions, but said it’s premature to determine what will happen if BP’s emissions are, indeed, above the threshold for a stricter permit.
“At that point in time, there are additional requirements for major modification for construction sources. That could include additional pollution control equipment,” he said.
If revised emission estimates show a stricter air permit is necessary, a new construction permit may be necessary, too, which could halt construction.
BP spokesman Scott Dean said it’s too early to tell what, if any impact, EPA’s order would have on the three appeals pending in state court, but that construction on the refinery will continue.
“We have a valid construction permit, we have 2,000 people currently at work on this modernization project,” he said. “The construction is about one third complete and we intend to move forward with construction.”
He said company officials were “caught completely by surprise” by EPA’s order.
“They reviewed this permit last year and had no objections,” he said. “We haven’t been able to go through the details of their new questions, but we’ll of course go through it and work with them to address their concerns.”
IDEM has 90 days to revise the permit, but will not be required to hold another hearing or take public comments. Spokesman Rob Elstro said IDEM “will need that time to evaluate the available options and consider the appropriate response to the order.”
In addition to the NRDC, the environmental groups that petitioned are the Environmental Law & Policy Center, the Hoosier Environmental Council, Save the Dunes and Sierra Club and the Legal Environmental Aid Foundation.
Tagged with: epa, bp whiting, indiana department of environmental management
