BP Media rep responds to column referencing BP's dumping of wastes into Lake Michigan

In fairness to BP ...

Dear Ray,

We have read with interest your article/column entitled, “The ‘Zambranos’ of our American Lives,” which was posted as part of the September 6, 2007 online edition of the Southwest Herald News.

We would like to provide clarification on some details in the column and provide you with additional information on the environmental efforts at BP’s Whiting Refinery. In your column, you stated, “We beat up on BP when they tried to dump more hazardous waste toxins into the already over-polluted Lake Michigan.”

BP’s Whiting Refinery does not and will not dump hazardous waste toxins into Lake Michigan. The water that BP returns to Lake Michigan is just that – water. It has been treated and is more than 99.9 percent ordinary water.

BP recognizes that it is a steward of the lake, and we are committed to meeting the growing energy needs of the community while minimizing the environmental impact of our operations.
We are balancing the challenge of meeting the increasing demand for energy with our environmental responsibilities - and we believe it is possible to achieve both goals.

BP is making investments in the U.S. to provide heat, light and mobility – all which are critical to sustaining the standard of living we have come to expect. For example, in addition to the refinery modernization, which will increase Whiting’s motor fuel production by as much as 620 million gallons per year, BP is investing billions of dollars in alternatives like solar, wind and biofuels.

In order to provide information on the Whiting refinery modernization to the media and the general public, we have developed a website on the project. We hope that you will access this site at http://whiting.bp.com. You can also learn more about BP’s commitment to the environment by visiting www.bp.com.

Best,

Jason Dananay

Jason Dananay
Account Supervisor, GolinHarris
Chicago

[HANANIA RESPONDS: I invited BP to put a rep on my radio show next week to talk about it.]