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Flood 2008: The Sponge That Saved Gurnee

2008-07-03T16:16:39Z

While reading coverage of the current Midwestern flood disaster, I was floored by this headline: 'Giant sponge' saved Gurnee from flooding.

Had the wise residents of this northern Illinois town erected a loofah levee?

Or rigged a mound of porous kitchen cleaners to fight off the rising Des Plaines River?

What was this amazingly absorbent technology that saved the town from the watery fate that has doomed so many other towns in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri of late?

The answer, it turned out, was much simpler.

While severe flooding plagued communities on nearby waterways, the Lake County News-Sun reported that Gurnee’s Mayor Kristina Kovarik credited her town’s dry streets to the natural protections afforded by nearby wetlands:

She attributed this to preventive flood mitigation measures that were initiated by county officials and municipalities more than a decade ago. She particularly praised the effectiveness of the Des Plaines Wetlands Demonstration Project upriver in the Wadsworth area.
"These wetlands serve as a giant sponge for us in controlling the flow of the Des Plaines River. They are an excellent shock absorber," Kovarik said.
The wetlands project dates back to the 1970s when the state commissioned a feasibility study to determine how wetland and river restoration can increase flood control, improve water quality, expand wildlife habitat and encourage recreational use, instead of just building more concrete dams. The 550-acre site along the Des Plaines River is owned by the Lake County Forest Preserve District and managed by Wetland Research Inc. The project has achieved many of its objectives and has saved millions of dollars by preventing flood damage.

As the mayor noted, streams and wetlands are natural flood protections. They act as a sponge to clean and hold water in heavy rain events. Unfortunately, we have ripped out roughly half of our wetlands in the lower 48 states.

Yesterday, I took part in a news conference to make the public aware of the fight over legislation that could make a difference in this area. The Clean Water Restoration act is an effort to clarify and reaffirm the original intentions of the Clean Water Act. In the light of Midwestern floods, the legislation is necessary to reinforce protections for our natural flood buffers---particularly since so few remain.

The federal government has recently released studies that show a likely increase in violent weather patterns, such as flooding. Instead of developing in oft-drenched flood plains, perhaps it is time to heed the lessons learned in Gurnee. A return of some land to the original flood-absorbing wetlands might make sense in many places. But let’s make sure that the few that remain are afforded the maximum legal protections.

After all, Gurnee is not the only sponge-worthy town around!

Farmer Wants a Wife? Farmer Wants a Crop!

2008-06-30T23:11:09Z

It is rare to find TV reality shows bumping heads with cutting edge science. But it happened last week with two unrelated releases…

The CW network played the finale of its dating reality show, “Farmer Wants a Wife.”

And The Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) released “Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate.”

What do they have in common? Well, the CCSP report showed that we will be seeing more and more violent weather events as a result of global warming. And the farmer? Well, he seems to be suffering from the sort of violent weather that the report focuses on---a dose of reality for reality TV…

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Matt Neustadt---the farmer who wants a wife---did not get a chance to watch his show’s finale because he was desperately trying to save his crops from impending flood waters:

"We were trying to cut wheat late that night because of the high water they were predicting," Neustadt said.

Forty percent of his family farm is under water right now and he will lose most of this year’s crops. His farm sits near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, so occasional floods are not a surprise:

"I'm not going to complain too much; that's just part of living in a flood plain," he said.

That’s a healthy response, but shouldn’t the CCSP report be setting off alarm bells here? More violent weather. More tornadoes. More hurricanes. More floods.

While the mantra remains that no specific weather event can be attributed to global warming, Newsweek reports on an Iowa State professor who claims that the floods in his area are directly tied to global warming.

So we are likely to hear the terms “500-year floods” and “storms of the century” bandied about more often.

We already use floodplain maps to determine limitations on where to build, flood insurance, and added environmental regulations. The impact of flooding is also noted in broader 100- and 500-year flood plains. (Contrary to the straight-forward naming, a 100-year flood is not the biggest storm in a century; it relates to the percent chance that waters will inundate an area in a 100 year time span.)

Given the potential for more frequent flooding, it might be time to re-map those flood plains. FEMA had already started the process---but they were focused on crumbling infrastructure. But the climate change news makes these discussions all the more important as those lines are redrawn and billions in flood relief dollars are dolled out after the waters recede.

Otherwise, down the line farmers like Matt might be looking for more than just a wife… They might be looking for new farms, farm houses, and farm land…

Farmer Wants a Wife? Farmer Wants a Crop!

2008-06-30T23:11:09Z

It is rare to find TV reality shows bumping heads with cutting edge science. But it happened last week with two unrelated releases…

The CW network played the finale of its dating reality show, “Farmer Wants a Wife.”

And The Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) released “Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate.”

"We were trying to cut wheat late that night because of the high water they were predicting," Neustadt said.

"I'm not going to complain too much; that's just part of living in a flood plain," he said.

That’s a healthy response, but shouldn’t the CCSP report be setting off alarm bells here? More violent weather. More tornadoes. More hurricanes. More floods.

So we are likely to hear the terms “500-year floods” and “storms of the century” bandied about more often.

Otherwise, down the line farmers like Matt might be looking for more than just a wife… They might be looking for new farms, farm houses, and farm land…

Want High Gas Prices? Invest in Tar Sands!

2008-06-18T21:32:46Z

Prices at the pump are hitting us all pretty hard. Everyone is looking for a quick fix. And everyone is looking for someone to blame.

NRDC’s recent win against the ConocoPhillips Wood River Refinery air permits gave a target to some folks with a troubling agenda.

Last week a U.S. EPA appeals board sided with NRDC and the American Bottom Conservancy, effectively rejecting permits that were too lax. The decision probably set a precedent that other refinery expansions will need to live up to from here on out to keep more dangerous pollutants out of the air in nearby communities. While we have a lot of problems with the stuff that this facility will be refining, the case was all about forcing this $4 billion expansion project to live up to the rule of law. At a time of record oil company profits, we really should not ask kids in East St. Louis to pay the refinery's environmental costs with asthma and the folks in Alton deserve the same environmental protections enjoyed by Californians. The law says best available technology is required---and that is where you will find it.

But some knee jerk reactionaries kept trying to link this to gas prices even though this refinery is years away from its planned completion. They said it was an effort to keep gas prices high… Or to make Americans drive ox carts to work… Huh?

Our challenges have done absolutely nothing to affect the current price of gas, but there certainly is a connection between prices at the pump and Midwestern refineries. Throughout the region, oil companies are undertaking huge expansion projects to refine more and more oil from Canadian tar sands. An investment in tar sands is an investment in high gas prices since the stuff is only profitable when a barrel of oil trades at the insanely high prices we have seen only recently. That is because tar sands oil is exactly what it sounds like, oil boiled from sand. Besides the frighteningly high environmental costs (in CO2 emitted, forests ripped to the ground, and water-intensive production), the stuff comes from one of the most expensive ways to extract oil there is…it ain’t cheap to squeeze goo from pebbles and sand.

Adding a dirty fuel source will hasten climate change, but it won’t fix the problem at the pump.

Tar sands will not make it easier for folks to fill their tanks right now. Unfortunately, very little will in the short term aside from tuning our engines, inflating our tires, and focusing on conservation. Only an embrace of efficient technologies can move us out of this hole---we cannot dig our way out of this mess.

NRDC is pushing for clean and renewable energy sources that will help stimulate the economy, create jobs, and help to ward of global disaster.

And the oil sands folks, what are they pushing for? I mean besides oil profits?

Global Warming: it could look a lot like Iowa

2008-06-17T19:18:32Z

“Call back later---we are busy sandbagging.”

That was all my worried sister-in-law heard from her former neighbors in Iowa City after calling to check up on them. The Iowa River runs through the leafy college town and after weeks of rain it has risen to 31.5 feet above flood stage, inundating much of the town and University of Iowa campus. Later, she had a chance to catch up with her drenched former neighbors and heard the same painful stories that are sadly common throughout the Midwest this week.

Both of her former homes had been affected by the rising river. Earlier in the week, police pounded on doors in the middle of the night to hurriedly evacuate the neighborhood and her old house was soon swamped by the flood. And the landmark apartment building she had lived in for a time had waters lapping at the top of the steps, despite sitting at the peak of a huge hill overlooking much of the now-submerged town.

The horrible damage is not limited to Iowa City. Most of the state is waterlogged, with the governor declaring 83 of 99 counties as disaster areas. Over 36,000 people are left homeless. And damage is already being estimated in the hundreds of millions to buildings and infrastructure---billions when you factor in this year's lost corn crop. And it will only get worse as the Mississippi is set to crestat levels not seen since the horrific floods of 1993.

My mother flew over the carnage from the 1993 flood in a National Guard helicopter to survey damage to Illinois historic sites. She came back shaken from the experience of seeing coffins that had been floated out of their graves making their way down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico amidst neon glowing water flush with myriad chemicals.

At the time, the 1993 flood was being described as the flood of the century.

Only fifteen years later, Iowa's governor described this year's weather as a "500-year storm."

Unfortunately, these events are likely to become more and more common. While no single weather event can be attributed to global warming, scientists agree that we are likely to see more and more in the way of violent weather patterns as a result of climate change.

We all saw the devastation in New Orleans. Expect the same slow, painful recovery in the flood zones of Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri. After the flood waters recede, the cameras will go away too. That is when the worst of the floods' damage will be revealed. My mom was astonished by the damage left in the wake of the ’93 flood:

Trees went into hibernation for years. There were objects of every kind hanging from the limbs—chicken coops, clothes, toys, window shutters –everything imaginable. And the filth and stench left behind by the toxic water was awful. I feel great empathy for the people in Iowa and the other flooded states. They have months, and maybe even years, of clean up and repairs ahead of them. It is a daunting and exhausting task to put your life back together after this kind of destruction and displacement.

We cannot stop the floods ravaging the Midwest right now, but we can take action to help prevent future grief and loss by actively moving ahead with efforts to address the climate change issue immediately. Certainly, any assertion that the increase in violent storms we have seen this year are directly related to climate change are anecdotal---but there is no denying that, as the New York Times’ Dot Earth blog pointed out today, global warming will result in more dangerous weather patterns. Hotter air holds more water. And hot air loaded with water vapor is the stuff of raging storms…

We must work to ensure that the devastation in Iowa is not a prelude to more common events in our future. If we continue to sandbag on climate change now, we are guaranteed to be a lot more desperate when we sandbag to protect our homes in the future…

Ill-informed in Indiana

2008-06-02T22:29:27Z

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels was in Benton County last week to kick off construction of a new wind farm with BP executives. That embrace of alternative energy is something to celebrate, right?

I was pretty excited by the news about the huge project in the Northwest Indiana Times…until I came to this section of the article:

Daniels also used the moment to comment on the larger theme of energy independence. And he thanked U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., for not joining those who oppose the expansion of BP's Whiting refinery.

"The ill-informed, I'll be charitable, who would stop, first of all, the biggest single investment, thousands of construction jobs and countless jobs beyond, but forget that, a refinery that will contribute to the end of $4 per gallon gas," Daniels said in a bold forecast and swipe at critics.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has said it plans to sue BP in federal court for alleged Clean Air Act violations at the refinery. Environmental groups also have challenged the state air permit for the expanded BP refinery.

Are you kidding me? Let’s review—that man speaking was the Governor of Indiana, not a BP spokesperson, right?

The expansion project that Daniels is heralding to end $4 gas is just the opposite---it is a sign that the oil companies are pretty confident that high prices are here to stay.

BP is making a $4 billion bet that high gas prices continue with that refinery. It will be the largest tar sands refining facility in the U.S. and tar sands can only be profitable when oil prices are high. To get the stuff out of the ground in Canada, they have to rip up the ancient carbon-eating forests, dig out sands by the ton, boil it to extract the bits of bitumen, and then go through additional refining processes just to get something like more typical petroleum products. With all of that, it was too expensive to use the stuff broadly until oil prices went through the roof. (Deron Lovaas has had some really strong postings about current gas prices.)

Besides, the refinery won’t be online until 2011, so it would have had no impact on current prices at the pump. The NRDC challenge to BP’s air and water permits will not stop this expansion---while we have real concerns about the environmental impact of tar sands, this is not an effort to stop the refinery. It is an effort to force the state to meet the standard of the law. Indiana’s regulators are not forcing BP to adequately protecting its citizens, Lake Michigan, or the surrounding communities...That is why we are fighting. I have no idea what the state is fighting for, though some in the local media have some thoughts (second item in link).

And as long as I am splitting hairs with the top dog in the Hoosier state, what is up with the “countless jobs” reference? He has been swapping talking points with BP on this project and knows very well how many jobs will be created---which is not many after the construction is complete. This is a $4 billion project that will create less than 100 permanent jobs. Yes, they are needed in northwest Indiana, but everyone in the region is going to be paying an inordinately high price for a handful of new positions if the state continues to stonewall NRDC’s efforts or the Illinois Congressional delegation does not convince the USEPA to fix the air permits.

Look, this is deep stuff. There are far better voices on this blog than me to talk about the energy crossroads we find ourselves at in this moment---but I am pretty comfortable pointing out that this was a wasted opportunity. Instead of tossing short-sighted blame-game-bombs, I wish the governor could have used the unique combination of windmills and oil execs to talk about big picture energy policies for the state of Indiana and the United States.

I could go on, but I think I’ll be charitable and hold off on pointing out the other ways that Governor Daniels is ill-informed.

Angered by lawsuit to save wolves, Stockgrowers offer lawsuit to kill buffalo

2008-05-30T20:55:45Z

Yup, it sounds like a headline from The Onion, but I suppose that is part of the wacky world of western wildlife…

The Montana Stockgrowers Association posted a statement on the Home page of their Web site denouncing efforts by NRDC and other conservation organizations that are challenging the federal endangered species delisting of gray wolves in court...

…then they sued to force the state of Montana to harass buffalo off of private property near Yellowstone National Park…

They fear transmission of the cattle disease brucellosis. This, despite the fact that there are no cattle on the geographically isolated peninsula in question to get the disease…and the fact that there have been no documented cases of buffalo to cow transmission…and of course the pesky property rights of the people who actually own the land in question and welcome the buffalo.

I don’t want to diminish the importance of working through the issues of buffalo/cattle conflict. We feel that the needs of both sides on this debate need to be heard---and acted upon soon in a fair and democratic manner to end the unnecessary slaughter and harassment of an iconic national treasure. But to decry our efforts in support of wolves, while using the same tactics in favor of their own efforts seems a bit disingenuine, no?

Slaughter in the Key of B

2008-05-25T02:00:53Z

There are plenty of things I could be writing about here…but for some reason the State of Montana keeps forcing me to write about the Yellowstone buffalo. Just weeks after Governor Schweitzer publicly pledged that no more buffalo would be sent to slaughter this season…they sent nine more buffalo to slaughter…

We’ve covered the gruesome death toll for America’s last free-roaming bison all over the place on Switchboard. We’ve talked about the loss of what is now almost two thirds of the buffalo in the Yellowstone herds. We’ve talked about the unnecessarily brutal tactics they are using to harass the animals (check out video). We talked about the ludicrous waste of tax payer money that this whole thing sucks up… But we have not talked a lot about the folks who agree with us.

There are lots of them.

NRDC’s e-activists sent more than 100,000 letters and emails to the Governor asking him to take action.

Just as compelling, a group of landowners filed suit this week against the state for trampling private property laws near the park. This is notable because private property rights are one of the two main arguments the state uses to explain their thuggish treatment of the animals.

The President of the Hebgen Lake Estates Homeowners Association has repeatedly challenged wildlife officials who are trespassing on the Association’s land to forcibly remove the buffalo. Their land sits in the Horse Butte area where NRDC has called for buffalo harassment to stop because no cattle are in the area, making disease transmission (the state’s other argument for hazing) impossible. The Association has repeatedly issued letters to anyone who would read them that defined the homeowners’ protective covenant to allow buffalo on their lands. But despite their wishes, wildlife officials keep coming illegally. And so the Association is asserting their rights in the courts. By doing so, they are joining NRDC and the chorus of concerned voices who are calling upon state and federal officials to take immediate action to update the Interdepartmental Bison Management Plan.

It is time for the Governor, APHIS, the Department of Livestock, the Park Service and the rest of the IBMP administrators to hear the music and work out a solution that will address everyone’s needs.

How much to fill up the helicopter? - Buffalo Part 2

2008-05-16T21:51:03Z

This week it cost me $40 to fill up my car with gas. That got me to thinking…how much does it cost to fuel up a helicopter?

Quite a leap, I know, but I have been reading press reports about the continued hazing of buffalo both inside and outside Yellowstone National Park this week. Wildlife officials are chasing down our last free-ranging herds with quite an array of conveyances. ATVs, horses, and even a helicopter. A helicopter? Really?

One of the saddest things about all this is how completely unnecessary it is---truly a boondoggle for tax payers (both state and federal). Right now, $3 million annually is spent on the Interdepartmental Bison Management Plan (IBMP). NRDC, Buffalo Field Campaign and Gallatin Wildlife Association called on Governor Schweitzer and IBMP managers not to waste time and taxpayers dollars harassing the buffalo west of the park. In many areas, there is just no reason. The issues that create conflicts with buffalo don’t exist in a lot of areas---no cattle and landowners who welcome them. So what’s the deal? Why are we spending all the cash?

In the coming weeks, you can expect to see some long-term solutions proposed to this national embarrassment by NRDC and our partners in the region. Just like other nagging wildlife problems in the area, the issues here are complicated and will require the needs of all parties to be sorted out. Let’s get out the maps and see if we can make the buffalo corridors that already exist work for everyone. Let’s take a fresh look at brucellosis and see if more reasonable policies can be hashed out. And let’s figure out how to lessen the burden on taxpayers---there are inexpensive solutions (like our proposal for Horse Butte which was FREE).

It is long past time for IBMD administrators to sit down and fulfill their obligation to truly manage one of America’s most iconic natural resources. If they won’t do it, we will lead the way.

Incidentally, AvGas goes for about $4.77/gallon in Montana and that chopper probably only gets a bit over three miles to the gallon… At 10 hours, for weeks at a time? Well, you do the math… To me, it adds up to a monumental waste.

War on buffalo takes to the air in Montana - Part 1

2008-05-16T21:04:47Z

As rites of spring go, this a depressing one…The state of Montana has begun hazing America’s last remaining free-ranging buffalo herds from their traditional calving grounds back into Yellowstone National Park.

I know, I know… Hazing. That doesn’t sound so bad, right?

It summons up images of college pranks and “Animal House.” But this is deadly serious business. Well, deadly for the buffalo. Their numbers have already been needlessly cut in half by state and federal authorities over a gruesome winter. This hazing is not being conducted by frat boys with wooden paddles. Take a look at this hazing video we posted on YouTube from a previous season---but be warned, some might find it disturbing.

The business of managing our buffalo involves dogged pursuit by a small fleet of ATVs, men on horseback, and even a helicopter. On Wednesday, this ragtag army chased the iconic animals and their calves for 10 hours. And the Park Service has put out a press release stating that this could continue for weeks. The buffalo are being driven as far as 30 miles which doesn’t sound like much until you consider that they are being moved from traditional calving grounds. That’s quite a trek for a newborn---and quite taxing on a population that has been so decimated over the winter.

The snow is just now melting in the park, so the lack of grass that forced the buffalo out of the park throughout the winter will probably force them back out in the coming weeks. Instead of going through this whole thing again and again and again, why not fix the problem?

NRDC made a reasonable proposal a few weeks back asking for an update the IBMP to reflect the conditions on the ground in this area and for the state to stop harassment of buffalo on the Horse Butte peninsula and areas west of the park where the issues of buffalo and cattle conflict do not exist. There are no cows there. There are no property rights issues. So why send a gang of folks to fix a nonexistent problem?

Wyoming Legislators Might Not Like Wolves…Or Foreigners…Or Tourists…

2008-05-09T20:46:06Z

NRDC has been shining a bright light on the ugliness in the Northern Rockies since grey wolves were delisted last month. To date the animals are being shot down at the rate of one a day in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. We are extremely concerned about how the actions of some in the region could quickly undo all one of the Endangered Species Act’s greatest success stories---Sylvia Fallon’s recent posting does a good job of explaining the science behind the need for relisting.

It has been fascinating to watch how the debate has played out in the media around the country---but especially in those states. The voices are vehement on both sides of the issue. Our members and e-activists have certainly been a part of that discussion, joining the chorus who have made their feelings known all over the place, including letters to state and federal legislators.

Some of the exchanges between wolf supporters and lawmakers have not been pretty. I wonder what the folks at Wyoming Travel and Tourism would think about this letter sent by state Senator Doug Samuelson to Dieter, a wolf watcher from Germany:

Thanks for staying in Germany, you stay there and I will stay here. Also stay out of our politics. You are very misinformed about wildlife management in our state and country. Everyone agreed that wolves would be delisted when the population was only 20% of what it is today. We were tricked by your ilk. We manage wildlife extremely well here, unlike your country which has no free ranging populations. Hunting of elk, moose and bighorn sheep is much more important to our small towns than casual tourists like you. Hunters spend real money and wolves have wiped out thousands of elk and moose. When wolves destroy ranches those ranches don't become parks, they become subdivisions where no wildlife lives. So quite frankly my constituents live in Wyoming and not in Germany so your comments have absolutely no influence on us, just as your politicians should care much more about you than they do about me. Sincerely,Doug Samuelson

Probably not the image the tourism folks are looking to project....but it does not stop there. Poor Dieter, he also got this insulting letter from a state representative:

Dieter:

No wolves are being killed in Yellowstone. The very few wolves (12) that have been killed have trespassed on private property and have been eating privately owned cattle and sheep. We have such a thing as private property rights here in Wyoming - what a concept for you Germans. You have gotten incorrect information.

Thank you very much for your promise to never visit here again. We have a very very serious surplus of tourists here it they are threating the ecological balance we have strived to maintain.

M. Madden
MICHAEL K. MADDEN Wyoming State Representative

Legislators in Wyoming must be getting sick of letters, because they aren’t just unloading on foreign nationals. A professor from Gonzaga University posted an ugly exchange she had with Representative Madden, that included this email:

In a follow up, he also implores her, “However, please don't overestimate you and your kind's your importance to our economy and future.”

Now, let me be clear. NRDC has not advocated for any sort of tourism boycott on this issue. We feel that a solution to the wolf issue in this region must take the needs of many into account; hunters and ranchers, as well as wildlife advocates. We believe that we can find new and creative ways to coexist with wildlife and achieve longterm recovery of the wolves of the Northern Rockies through an open and fair democratic process. But that process cannot move forward with this sort of charged and one-sided communication from the very folks who will need to help fix the problem. NRDC and the other environmental groups want to find a real solution to this issue---and we hope that other adults will come to the table to help work this thing out.

BP Could Learn A Lot from James Brown

2008-05-06T23:42:15Z

James Brown famously exclaimed “Give the drummer some…”

BP could learn a lot from the late, great, Godfather of Soul.

Last week was a very good one for the British oil giant. Tuesday, BP announced that they had brought in a jaw-dropping $6.59 BILLION profit in the last three months (that is more than many countries’ annual GDP).

And Thursday, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) surprised everyone by awarding BP an air pollution permit for expansion of its refinery in Whiting, IN. The fact that the permit was awarded was not the surprise---how could an agency charged with improving Hoosier’s household income stand in the way of a big project, no matter how dangerous or dirty? Instead, the move was shocking due to the speed of turning around the woefully inadequate permit, as well as IDEM’s willingness to completely ignore the significant concerns expressed by NRDC and a veritable cornucopia of other environmental and community groups. Ann Alexander, the lead attorney on the challenge likened it to “drive by permitting.”

The air permit gives BP the green light to move forward on an expansion project to make the already dirty refinery into the nation’s biggest tar sands oil processor. That’s right; one of the dirtiest facilities in the country has gotten permission to get dirtier. And they are spending billions of dollars to process the dirtiest oil around, spewing all the climate changing and disease-causing pollutants that come with it. More arsenic, lead, sulfur, and CO2 for everyone in densely packed northwest Indiana (and just 20 miles from Chicago).

What does that have to do with the “Hardest Working Man in Show Business?” Brown and his backing bands crisscrossed America putting on the same legendary high-energy live shows everywhere they stopped. He was always at the center of the show, but Soul Brother #1 knew that he needed to take care of his supporting cast, the audience, and everyone who made it all happen. Everyone in the band needed a little time in the spotlight…even the drummer, who always seems to be ignored and overlooked.

BP should follow that lead---take care of everyone impacted by the refinery. You’d think that being flush with cash would allow BP to invest in the best possible facilities to protect the folks living closest to the expanded refinery. “Can’t the drummer have some?”

But the Whiting Refinery still falls short of existing Clean Air Act regulations. The 100+ year old facility is behind similar facilities in the Bay area of California where simple structural improvements and best practices are being employed to minimize the impact on the surrounding populations and environment. Why do the people of San Francisco deserve stronger protections than the folks in Gary, Indiana?

In NRDC’s challenge to BP’s air permit a number of simple changes were suggested to prevent flaring---the use of those big torches that burn off excess gases and kick out massive volumes of pollution in the process. Looking out for the communities around the refinery is largely an issue of using good engineering design and practices to avoid unnecessary flaring. Adequate compressor capacity and backup compressors are essential to minimize flaring, and not very expensive to add. But BP chooses not to make the investment. Same goes for recycling some of the gases produced in the refinery, rather than simply sending them out the smokestack. No interest from BP. In fact, NRDC suggested an assortment of processes, work practices, and analyses that seem natural for an efficient business...but when you make a boatload of cash, I guess that sort of thing seems less important...

Instead of using those billions of dollars to protect communities like Chesterton, Hobart, Hammond, and Chicago’s south side, BP pushes for permit requirements that the cash-starved state government all too willingly applies. That leaves some of America’s hardest-working families paying for those profits with their health. As JB would say, the deal is “Super Bad.”