Lake Michigan gets dirtier
The us state of Illinois has reproached environment regulators in Indiana for permitting a bp refinery near the Illinois-Indiana border to dump more ammonia and industrial sludge into Lake Michigan.
bp refinery has been exempted from Indiana environmental laws to clear the way for a us $3.8 billion expansion, which involves the processing of 54 per cent more ammonia and 35 per cent more sludge into Lake Michigan each day. Ammonia promotes algae blooms that can kill fish, while sludge is full of concentrated heavy metals.
Congress members from Illinois, Indiana and Michigan have also taken to task the us Environmental Protection Agency for not taking action against Indiana environment regulators who approved bp's proposal.State officials claim the project will create more jobs and "increase the diversity and security of oil supplies to midwestern us'.
Meanwhile, bp markets itself as an environmental-friendly company.