Response from Alliance For the Great Lakes
Dear Mr. Powers:
I’ll ask your readers three questions. First, is it OK to authorize increased pollution to Lake Michigan?
Thank you for asking us to respond to your open letter to the Alliance for the Great Lakes ( http://cdobs.com/our-columns/open-letter-to-the-alliance-for-the-great-lakes/, September 8), especially in light of some 233 million gallons of wastewater that discharged to Lake Michigan from recent heavy rains.
If your readers answered “no,” they’d get an A+ for the right answer to your question and the above question. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management gave BP’s Whiting refinery a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit allowing increases pollution levels of ammonia and Total Suspended Solids over the previous permit. When Congress passed the federal Clean Water Act in 1972, it was with one overriding goal in mind: to reduce pollution levels to the nation’s waterways over time. Reduce, not increase. And this is a goal ... Read More...
