Lake Affected

On BP and Lake Michigan: I would like to have more information before completely trashing BP.

1. What exactly would BP be allowed to dump in the Lake and how much?
2. What exactly would other companies be allowed to dump into the Lake? Shouldn't the EPA shut down every company that discharges pollutants into the Lake?
   
3. What feasible alternatives does BP have? Can they discharge waste in some other way?

As for questions 1 and 2, here we go:

According to the EPA, BP's 4,925 pounds of suspended solids allowed a day compares with 16,630 at International Steel Group's East Chicago plant and 121,861 at its Burns Harbor facility. Ispat Industries' East Chicago plant is allowed 130,453 pounds, about 27 times BP's limit. Chicago, of course, is on another planet, permitted 243,000 pounds, almost 50 times BP's. Maybe Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, who is threatening to sue BP, ought to sue himself. Except, I suppose that Chicago's discharges don't count because they aren't into the lake; they're just gifted to the Illinois river system.

The Chicago River is cleaner than it has been in the history of Chicago, but so is the Lake. Still, crap gets dumped into the Lake routinely:

Chicago officials reported Friday that bacteria levels in untreated lake water haven't changed since the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District began to release runoff and sewage into the lake the night before.

What?!? Why pollute the Lake just because we'd have some mild flooding around the Chicago and Des Plaines Rivers? Can't they do something else to prevent flooding? No? Too bad.

Even more ironic is that Chicago built the I&M Canal in the early 1900s just in time before the State of Missouri got a restraining order to stop the work. That project directed pollution away from Lake Michigan and towards the Mississippi River. So yeah. Chicago has a history for sending its messes elsewhere (yay?).

As for Derrick's claim that a few jobs isn't worth it, the problem is that these jobs ARE worth it. These are technical, high-paying scientific jobs. These are durable, blue-collar jobs. These are jobs that provide opportunity. I suppose Whiting can build a big casino, Lakewalk with restaurant and Wal-Mart, but retail and hospitality jobs are the type of work everyone laments America is stuck with. We're not condemned to this fate, but we need to allow industry progress. This refinery is going to take Canadian shale and refine it into gasoline. Right now, few refineries can process this stuff. Alberta is the Middle East of this stuff, and the day this refiniery can process this shale en masse will be a day we can tell some of our old OPEC friends to suck it.

As it is, BP is agreeing not to dump into the Lake. There is a catch, and it answers Question No. 3.

“We will not make use of the higher discharge limits in our new permit,” said BP America Chairman and President Bob Malone. “We’re not aware of any technology that will get us to those limits but we’ll work to develop a project that allows us to do so. If necessary changes to the project result in a material impact to project viability, we could be forced to cancel it.”

There it is. Whiting's BP plant will remain, but this project might be canceled. That doesn't mean BP won't have a refinery to process shale. They could do it in Hamilton, Ont., and pump water into Lake Ontario. Or they could build this thing in Houston and pump it into the Gulf, or they could build it in Indianapolis and dump waste into the White River, or they could go into Winnipeg and dump waste into Lake Manitoba. Then, you'll have an obsolete refiniery in Whiting which will shift down in production over the next 20 years. If you understand the economic impact BP has had and will continue to have in the Region, you'll know that the refiniery has added to the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of people in the area.

Why is Chicago showboating beyond cheap political points? Simple. When BP and Amoco merged nearly 10 years ago, it meant the end of Amoco's Chicago headquarters. The American suits moved to Warrenville, but the action is really in London. Don't think for one second that Mayor Daley has gotten over that.

Labels: BP, Chicago, economics, Indiana, The Lake

What a Grand (Beach) Setting: Just returned this weekend from a quick weekend in Grand Beach, Michigan for Derrick Gingery's bachelor party. Because Derrick wanted to be near Blue Chip Casino, we looked into staying at the hotel. They wanted $180/night per room plus tax. I instead went the cottage route. We'd have a central location, a larger "living area" and have more options in terms of cooking out, drinking, etc., etc.

And we wouldn't have to camp out at the casino! It worked out beautifully. First, let me plug Vacation Home Finders, the company through whom I booked this weekend. (I also looked at VRBO -- vacation rentals by owner) We had the Grand Beach Cottage, and it was magnificent. Short walk to the beach. Beautiful wooded lot. Perfect weather.

Often, I forget about what a resource the Lake is. It's sort of ironic for a guy who has owned (although rarely, it seems, posts) at a blog called Lake Affected. But we take so much that is practical about the lake (its moderating effect on temperatures, its drinking water, etc.) for granted. Sometimes we get so busy with life (at least I do), that we forget how magnificent the lakefront is. I've been blessed to have lived all of my life (save my college years) within 15 miles of Lake Michigan.

Labels: Michigan, The Lake, Travel