HR0620enr 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0620 Enrolled LRB095 12794 CMK 38209 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION 620

WHEREAS, The British Petroleum oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana is planning an expansion that would increase the refinery's discharges into Lake Michigan significantly, including 54% more ammonia (for a total discharge of 1,584 pounds of ammonia per day) and 35% more total suspended solids (for a total discharge of 4,925 pounds of total suspended solids per day) on a daily basis, running contrary to years of efforts to clean up the Great Lakes; and

WHEREAS, The beaches of Lake Michigan provide a significant source of recreation, tourism, and drinking water for the State of Illinois and other states bordering the Lake; and

WHEREAS, Last year, 81% of Illinois beaches were declared unsafe due to algae and other pollution problems; and

WHEREAS, Ammonia promotes algae blooms that can kill fish in the Lake; and

WHEREAS, The increased discharge into the Lake runs counter to a provision of the federal Clean Water Act that prohibits any downgrade in water quality near a pollution source, such as the British Petroleum refinery; and

WHEREAS, Indiana State regulators are allowing British Petroleum to install equipment that mixes its toxic waste with clean lake water about 200 feet offshore, and actively diluting pollution in Lake Michigan in this way is banned under Indiana law; and

WHEREAS, Environmental regulators remain unsure about the ecological effects of the relatively new refining process that British Petroleum plans to use and the increased discharge into Lake Michigan; and

WHEREAS, The United States Environmental Protection Agency has not objected to the State of Indiana's decision to allow the increased discharge by British Petroleum; and

WHEREAS, States rely on the federal government to enforce interstate water quality, the federal Clean Water Act has assisted states in cleaning up polluted waters and protecting unpolluted waters, and states need new tools in addition to the existing Clean Water Act to help protect ground and surface waters from out-of-state pollution sources; and

WHEREAS, The federal Clean Air Act requires states to take certain actions when permitting new sources of air pollution that may increase pollution in nearby states and provides remedies for states to address air pollution coming from out-of-state sources; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge British Petroleum to review and reconsider the wastewater treatment facilities proposed to serve the expansion and reconfiguration of its Whiting Refinery with the specific intent to supplement or enhance treatment efficiencies to eliminate or reduce the projected increases of ammonia nitrogen and total suspended solids discharged into Lake Michigan; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we strongly urge the United States Environmental Protection Agency to follow a strict interpretation of the federal Clean Water Act to minimize any additional pollution into Lake Michigan; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Environmental Protection Agency to prohibit the Whiting, Indiana British Petroleum refinery from increasing the refinery's current discharges of ammonia and total suspended solids into Lake Michigan until the ecological and environmental impact of the increased discharges is fully understood by federal and state environmental regulators; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois delegation to the United States Congress to take legislative action against any planned increase in the discharge of pollution into Lake Michigan that is contrary to the federal Clean Water Act and threatens the health of the environment of this State; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Congress to enact Clean Water Act legislation requiring states to take certain actions when permitting new sources of water pollution that may increase pollution in nearby states and providing remedies for states to address water pollution coming from out-of-state sources; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen federal regulations to require each state that permits a new source of water pollution to provide written notice to all nearby states whose water quality may be degraded by the new source at least 60 days before the new source begins discharging pollution; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage the federal government to take action to give one state the right to bring an action in federal court against another state that is causing or contributing to water pollution that exceeds water quality standards or otherwise adversely impacts the drinking water or recreational uses of water in the first state; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Environmental Protection Agency to increase enforcement of existing clean water laws to protect state waters from out-of-state pollution sources, especially the Clean Water Act provision that prohibits any decline in water quality even if limits on pollution discharges are met; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Stephen L. Johnson, and to the Great Lakes National Program Manager for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Mary A. Gade, to each member of the Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin delegations to the United States Congress, and to the governors and state legislative leaders of Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.