The demand for gasoline is leading oil companies to expand refineries around the
Great Lakes region. But those expansions are leading to howls of protests from citizens,
politicians and environmentalists. Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
The demand for gasoline is leading oil companies to expand refineries around the
Great Lakes region. But those expansions are leading to howls of protests from citizens,
politicians and environmentalists. Lester Graham reports:
British Petroleum went through all the proper channels, public hearings and
permitting processes to expand its refinery in Whiting, Indiana, not too far from
Chicago. The permit allows BP’s refinery to increase the amount of ammonia and
total suspended solids discharged into Lake Michigan.
But when word got out that it would be increasing the amount of pollution released
into the lake, suddenly citizens, Members of Congress, the Mayor of Chicago and
environmental groups lashed out.
BP has now suspended its expansion plans until the first of September. It’s looking over
suggestions on how to reduce the amount of additional pollution into the Great
Lakes.
Meanwhile, another refinery – this one in Detroit – is looking at expanding, which
likely would cause additional pollution. That Marathon plant sits on the River Rouge, a short
distance from the Detroit River which connects the upper Great Lakes to Lake Erie.
For the Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.