WHITING, Ind. — Attempt No. 2 at a public meeting over a power outage at a Northwest Indiana oil refinery that led to evacuations and environmental concerns came to fruition Thursday, with locals demanding for more protection from pollution at the refinery.
“We have a concentration of the largest, dirtiest, no good industries in human history,” said Thomas Frank, a local resident at the public meeting.
“This is not fantasy, this is life in the sacrifice zone of Northwest Indiana,” added Ashley Williams of Just Transition NWI.
The meeting, hosted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), was actually set to take questions on the permit renewal for BP’s air license at their Whiting Oil Refinery, but much of public comment took the form of an outcry from the public for IDEM to do more to prevent incidents like the recent power outage from happening again.
BP’s refinery in Whiting — the largest one of its kind in the Midwest — was hit by a power outage on Feb. 1 that led to BP shutting down the refinery, evacuating workers, closing nearby roads and, in a safety measure, burning off excess product from their oil stacks.
“On that day, my daughter was on her way to soccer practice, struggling to breathe,” said one resident during public comment.
BP released a statement to WGN News, which said:
“BP is committed to safe and compliant operations at the Whiting Refinery – and we’re also committed to being a good neighbor in Northwest Indiana…An air permit is essential to the refinery’s ability to continue operating, and renewing it will enable bp to continue to make investments in the site – and the region’s economy – for years to come.”
After the meeting on renewing BP’s air license, the Environmental Protection Agency will also have 45 days to review BP’s permit renewal.
Jenna Barnes
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