Northwest Indiana Discussion

From the article, you'd think $400 million was nothing more than pennies tossed into a fountain during a romantic weekend in some Italian hideaway.

BP, environmental groups announce $400 million settlement
By Bowdeya Tweh

BP has agreed to spend more than $400 million to upgrade environmental controls at its Whiting Refinery and pay $8 million in civil fines in a settlement announced Wednesday to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act and other rules.

The company entered into the settlement with federal and state agencies and several environmental groups.

The consent decree filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Hammond codifies what would be in BP's new air permit, which was challenged in July 2008 over issues including whether it accurately accounted for emissions of certain pollutants for the Whiting Refinery modernization project.

BP Products North America President Steve Cornell said in a statement the company was pleased to reach an agreement that protects jobs, consumers and the environment.

In a news release issued Wednesday, several environmental groups that joined the lawsuit said the settlement contains protections to reduce emissions and air quality protections for people in Northwest Indiana and the Chicago area.

However, many groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council are still concerned about pollution from refineries that process bitumen extracted from Canadian oil sands.

"The permit that BP and the state of Indiana drafted did not reflect reality," said Ann Alexander of the NRDC, who was lead attorney for the community and environmental groups fighting the permits.

"And as the country wakes up to the mess being made by tar sands all over the country, it will be harder and harder for them to keep trying to play these games."