Emanuel, Ehlers Introduce Resolution to Express Congress' Disapproval of Dumping in Great Lakes

Press Release

Today, U.S. Representatives Rahm Emanuel (IL-5) and Vernon J. Ehlers (MI-3) introduced a concurrent resolution expressing Congress' disapproval of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's issuance of a permit allowing BP to increase their daily dumping of ammonia and sludge into Lake Michigan.

"The Great Lakes are the largest surface freshwater system on the planet, and they provide drinking water for more than 30 million Americans per year. As President Bush has said, the Great Lakes are truly a ‘national treasure,'" said Emanuel. "Thanks to the hard work of citizens, environmentalists, and elected officials, the health of the Great Lakes is improving. But their health is still in danger from pollution and allowing BP to dramatically increase the amount of industrial runoff they dump in Lake Michigan will only further endanger the ecological web and threaten the beauty of our shores."

"The permit for increased dumping of harmful pollutants is totally inconsistent with the goals of cleaning up the Great Lakes," said Ehlers. "I strongly support expanding refinery capacity in the United States, which will help to lower gas prices; but I want to be sure we do not pollute the Great Lakes in the process. It is entirely possible to expand refinery capacity without polluting the lakes, and those ways of getting rid of the dumping of waste materials should be developed instead of allowing dumping into the lakes."

The Great Lakes are plagued by pollutants such as mercury, PCBs, ammonia, DDT, alkylated lead, hexachlorobenzene, TCDD, toxaphene, and others. High amounts of ammonia can cause algae blooms that threaten fish and water quality. Under the new permit issued by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, BP's Whiting, Indiana facility will be allowed to dump an average of 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of sludge daily into Lake Michigan. Emanuel and Ehlers are introducing a resolution to express a sense of Congress that:

1. Congress expresses its disapproval of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's issuance of a permit allowing BP to increase their daily dumping of ammonia and sludge into Lake Michigan;

2. Congress urges the State of Indiana to reconsider issuance of a permit allowing BP to increase their daily dumping of ammonia and sludge into Lake Michigan;

3. Congress should take action to protect and restore the Great Lakes;

4. the United States Environmental Protection Agency's actions in the Great Lakes basin should be consistent with the goal of preserving and restoring the Great Lakes; and

5. the United States Environmental Protection Agency should not allow increased dumping of chemicals and pollutants into the Great Lakes.

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