Full Text of HR0620 95th General Assembly
HR0620 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The British Petroleum oil refinery in Whiting, | 3 |
| Indiana is planning an expansion that would increase the | 4 |
| refinery's discharges into Lake Michigan significantly, | 5 |
| including 54% more ammonia (for a total discharge of 1,584 | 6 |
| pounds of ammonia per day) and 35% more sludge (for a total | 7 |
| discharge of 4,925 pounds of sludge per day) on a daily basis, | 8 |
| running contrary to years of efforts to clean up the Great | 9 |
| Lakes; and
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| WHEREAS, Ammonia promotes algae blooms that can kill fish | 11 |
| in the Lake and the sludge that will be discharged into the | 12 |
| Lake by British Petroleum is full of concentrated heavy metals; | 13 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, The increased discharge into the Lake runs counter | 15 |
| to a provision of the federal Clean Water Act that prohibits | 16 |
| any downgrade in water quality near a pollution source, such as | 17 |
| the British Petroleum refinery; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, Indiana State regulators are allowing British | 19 |
| Petroleum to install equipment that mixes its toxic waste with | 20 |
| clean lake water about 200 feet offshore, and actively diluting | 21 |
| pollution in Lake Michigan in this way is banned under Indiana | 22 |
| law; and |
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| WHEREAS, The Indiana Department of Environmental | 2 |
| Management granted British Petroleum the first-ever exemption | 3 |
| to allow the pollution "mixing zone" in Lake Michigan; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, Environmental regulators remain unsure about the | 5 |
| ecological effects of the relatively new refining process that | 6 |
| British Petroleum plans to use and the increased discharge into | 7 |
| Lake Michigan; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, The United States Environmental Protection Agency | 9 |
| has not objected to the State of Indiana's decision to allow | 10 |
| the increased discharge by British Petroleum; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, States rely on the federal government to enforce | 12 |
| interstate water quality, the federal Clean Water Act has | 13 |
| assisted states in cleaning up polluted waters and protecting | 14 |
| unpolluted waters, and states need new tools in addition to the | 15 |
| existing Clean Water Act to help protect ground and surface | 16 |
| waters from out-of-state pollution sources; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, The federal Clean Air Act requires states to take | 18 |
| certain actions when permitting new sources of air pollution | 19 |
| that may increase pollution in nearby states and provides | 20 |
| remedies for states to address air pollution coming from | 21 |
| out-of-state sources; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 2 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 3 |
| strongly urge the United States Environmental Protection | 4 |
| Agency to follow a strict interpretation of the federal Clean | 5 |
| Water Act to minimize any additional pollution into Lake | 6 |
| Michigan; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Environmental | 8 |
| Protection Agency to prohibit the Whiting, Indiana British | 9 |
| Petroleum refinery from increasing the refinery's current | 10 |
| discharges of ammonia and sludge into Lake Michigan until the | 11 |
| ecological and environmental impact of the increased | 12 |
| discharges is fully understood by federal and state | 13 |
| environmental regulators; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois delegation to the | 15 |
| United States Congress to take legislative action against any | 16 |
| planned increase in the discharge of pollution into Lake | 17 |
| Michigan that is contrary to the federal Clean Water Act and | 18 |
| threatens the health of the environment of this State; and be | 19 |
| it further | 20 |
| RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Congress to enact | 21 |
| Clean Water Act legislation requiring states to take certain | 22 |
| actions when permitting new sources of water pollution that may |
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HR0620 |
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| increase pollution in nearby states and providing remedies for | 2 |
| states to address water pollution coming from out-of-state | 3 |
| sources; and be it further | 4 |
| RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Environmental | 5 |
| Protection Agency to strengthen federal regulations to require | 6 |
| each state that permits a new source of water pollution to | 7 |
| provide written notice to all nearby states whose water quality | 8 |
| may be degraded by the new source at least 60 days before the | 9 |
| new source begins discharging pollution; and be it further | 10 |
| RESOLVED, That we encourage the federal government to take | 11 |
| action to give one state the right to bring an action in | 12 |
| federal court against another state that is causing or | 13 |
| contributing to water pollution that exceeds water quality | 14 |
| standards or otherwise adversely impacts the drinking water or | 15 |
| recreational uses of water in the first state; and be it | 16 |
| further | 17 |
| RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Environmental | 18 |
| Protection Agency to increase enforcement of existing clean | 19 |
| water laws to protect state waters from out-of-state pollution | 20 |
| sources, especially the Clean Water Act provision that | 21 |
| prohibits any decline in water quality even if limits on | 22 |
| pollution discharges are met; and be it further |
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 |
| delivered to the administrator of the United States | 3 |
| Environmental Protection Agency, Stephen L. Johnson, and to the | 4 |
| Great Lakes National Program Manager for the United States | 5 |
| Environmental Protection Agency, Mary A. Gade, to each member | 6 |
| of the Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin delegations | 7 |
| to the United States Congress, and to the governors and state | 8 |
| legislative leaders of Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
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