Groups appeal state permit for BP oil refinery

Two watchdog groups are appealing a state air permit issued for the planned expansion of BP's oil refinery on Lake Michigan, contending that it doesn't adequately protect the health of low-income and minority ...

[JBS]

Yes! Way to go! We don't want more fuel supply. Hold up this project. Keep the price of gasoline in Chicagoland higher than the rest of the country.

[ralph]

Now you know why we can't get more refineries built to refine more oil to produce more fuel to lower the price. Big Oil has the money to build however the GREENS object!!!!!
We can't drill where the oil is as the GREENS object!!!! With all their hot air we now know what causes GLOBAL WARMING.

[Michael]

On the flip side, doing things on the cheap or quick fixes always cost more in the long run. It's not like technology doesn't exist to process oil shales at lower pollution levels, they just don't want to spring for it. That plant can crank out the same amount of gasoline with or without lower emissions standards. Bp would love to get things going now while these proposed pollution standards are locked in. When gas hits 6 bucks a gallon, they are gonna be earning a windfall. Even if they were forced to spring for equipment upgrades now, they should still earn a pretty penny on 6 buck gas and we'd all have cleaner air to boot. if one thinks all this extra supply for the Chicago area will affect overall gas prices they are fooling themselves. Any surplus to the world supply only awaits China and India slurping it up. We are stuck with high gas forever. The only thing one can do is make adjustments to their own consumption. Meantime why not reduce the amount of garbage into the air which ultimately finds it's way to the water supply and your kids tummy.

[TeddyK]

Now you wonder why our gasoline prices are so high? No capacity in the refining industry; new refineries or expanced can't be built because of idiotic laws and idiot "advocates" like these two jerky, hippy, "environmental" groups pushing time and money wasting law suits.
Environmental justice indeed...
Why don't you people go back to San Francisco where you belong with the rest of the hyper neo-liberal idiots.

[LOL]

Expand the refinery to your backyard, see how you like it.

[Mac]

I'm in favor of long term solutions too, but we have a short to medium term need for more refined gasoline right now. I'm tired of groups that don't want us to do anything until someone invents affordable fairy dust so we can just fly anywhere we want with no exhaust.

[Suburban Chicago resident]

There appears to be an alarming trend on the part of environmentalists - if you don't like the rules, change them by suing. Whiting has meet all the state and federal requirements. You can't change the rules simply because you don't like big bad evil oil companies. If you want stricter regulatory requirements then go through the process that everyone else has to abide by when trying to enact legislation. Environmentalists don't get a pass simply because they want it!