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Sunday, March 09, 2008

Environment - Complaints that public isn't being given enough time to review BP draft air permit

On March 1, Gitte Laasby, environmental reporter for the Gary Post Tribune, wrote:

WHITING -- Environmentalists are frustrated and disappointed with Indiana Department of Environmental Management Commissioner Tom Easterly, who has refused to give them the time they say they need to review BP Whiting's proposed air permit.

A coalition of 12 environmental groups had requested a two-month extension of the deadline for public comment but were given two weeks. They say that's not nearly enough time to review the 1,351 pages of the permit itself -- or the 6,410-page total that includes appendices and compliance records.

"If someone were to spend just five minutes looking at each document, just that initial review would require more than 500 hours. And this is not even the complete set of documents," wrote Ann Alexander, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council in a letter to Easterly. "We encourage you to avoid the problems that attended issuance of BP's (wastewater) permit, which resulted in much public concern and anger over the perceived lack of transparency and opportunity for public participation."

In response, Easterly rescheduled the informational meeting and the public hearing to March 14. The coalition had asked for the meeting and hearing to be held on separate days. * * *

In response to the public's request, IDEM has rescheduled the date of the public informational meeting and the public hearing about BP Whiting's draft air permits to Friday, March 14," Easterly wrote. "This will provide the public additional time to analyze the permit and prepare comments. Other details of the meeting will remain the same."

In a story today, Laasby reports:
WHITING -- Approval of an air permit for BP is moving along faster than environmentalists would like -- and faster than IDEM's normal standards -- with BP standing to gain.

Environmentalists say IDEM's rushing undermines the public's opportunity to comment and that it happens at the expense of public health.

"This time frame is extremely rushed. It really is not a meaningful opportunity for public comment. Just to read the documents is more time than they've given us," Ann Alexander, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said.

When the Indiana Department of Environmental Management rescheduled the Feb. 25 public hearing on BP's air permit, it wasn't so much out of consideration for a coalition of environmental groups that asked for more time to review the thousands of pages in the permit -- although that's what IDEM has stated in a news release.

It was because IDEM failed to comply with state law when the agency first publicized the hearing. State law requires a minimum of 30 days' notice. IDEM provided only 20 days. If IDEM had not re-noticed the hearing, the permit could have been successfully challenged at the state or federal level.

The story also notes:
Time is of the essence in issuing the permit: BP relies on so-called emission credits to avoid stricter requirements about reducing certain types of pollution, including soot. But the credits expire on June 1.

That means if IDEM had given environmental groups the two months extra they requested, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were to take the 45 days it is allowed to review the permit to make sure it meets Clean Air Act standards, the credits would expire before the permit is issued.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 9, 2008 03:01 PM
Posted to Environment