Representative Lipinski Meets with BP Officials and Calls for a Change in Dumping Plans
House Passes Resolution Calling for Reconsideration of Plan to Increase Pollution in Lake Michigan

WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Dan Lipinski (IL-3) joined a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives to help pass H.Con.Res. 187, a resolution expressing congressional disapproval of British Petroleum's (BP) plan to significantly increase their daily dumping of ammonia and total suspended solids into Lake Michigan when they expand their refinery in Whiting, Indiana.  This follows a meeting yesterday in which Chicago area members of Congress expressed their concerns about the environmental impact of the plan to representatives of BP.

"I am deeply troubled by BP's efforts to move ahead with their plan to significantly increase their dumping of pollutants into Lake Michigan," stated Lipinski.  "Through federal regulations and state and local cooperation, we have made great strides in cleaning up the Great Lakes.  While I am pleased that the expansion of this refinery could help increase America's energy security and create new jobs, this cannot come at the expense of public health and the quality of our environment."

At the conclusion of the meeting, BP executives -- including the company's American president, Bob Malone -- pledged to re-evaluate their expansion plans and look for ways to better clean up emissions.  BP is scheduled to report back to the congressional delegation at the beginning of September.

"I am very hopeful that BP will come back to us with a plan for moving forward with the expansion without increasing the pollution of Lake Michigan," said Lipinski.  "It is critical that we protect this natural treasure."

As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Lipinski has been a leader on clean water issues such as dumping into the Great Lakes.  Last week, Reps. Dan Lipinski and Mark Kirk (IL-10) were the first to bring attention to this issue by calling on BP Chief Executive Dr. Tony Hayward to reconsider the plan.  Last month both Reps. Lipinski and Kirk jointly introduced the Great Lakes Water Protection Act (H.R. 2907), a bill which establishes a federal deadline to end sewage dumping in the Great Lakes and imposes fines on municipalities who violate the Act.