IDEM to extend comment period and reschedule public hearing on BP Whiting Refinery pollution after school superintendent locked out the public and press - The Times of Northwest Indiana

IDEM to extend comment period and reschedule public hearing on BP Whiting Refinery pollution after school superintendent locked out the public and press

Marktown resident Kimberly Rodriguez said it hurt to breathe when excessive flaring at the BP Whiting Refinery blackened the air over her neighborhood.

She had questions she hoped to get answered at an Indiana Department of Environmental Management public hearing on BP's air permit renewal. But after East Chicago Central High School locked the public and press out of the meeting, she had even more unanswered questions.

"I've lived there 65 years," she said. "I'm a very concerned resident, not only for myself but for my children, my grandchildren and the community, all the other children."

Concerned residents and environmentalists want answers and a chance to be heard after the school abruptly and unexpectedly shut down the publicly advertised meeting against IDEM's wishes Thursday, locking out around 100 people and television news crews from Chicago. Rodriguez wanted to ask IDEM and BP what was being done to protect surrounding communities, like Marktown in East Chicago.

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"If there's an explosion, we're in trouble," she said. "When does it stop? We're not moving. They've tried to put us out. They thought they were going to come in and buy us all out. The residents that care and have lived there forever, we don't want to sell and we don't want to move. But are we safe? We need to know we're safe."

Both IDEM and the East Chicago Police Department blamed the East Chicago schools for calling off the meeting because they didn't want the media present at a public meeting at a public, taxpayer-funded building.

"Prior to the meeting starting, we were contacted by School City of East Chicago security staff. They advised us that the Superintendent did not want the media at the public meeting. We advised them that it was a public meeting and that they could not deny the media entry. We further advised them that if they continued with the meeting, the media would be allowed entry," East Chicago Police Department Chief Jose L. Rivera Jr. said in a statement posted to social media. "School City of East Chicago security staff was then advised to contact their law department before taking any action to cancel or go on with the meeting. A short time later, it was decided by the School City of East Chicago to cancel the meeting."

Rivera said the police were present for the public hearing because they had been requested by IDEM.

"They advised us that they were expecting a large crowd to attend the meeting and they wanted us to be present," Rivera said. "We advised IDEM that we would send an officer to park outside to keep the peace. We understand that a lot of people are upset about the cancelation of the meeting, but we don't have the answers to why the media was not wanted there. Those questions should be referred to the School City of East Chicago."

East Chicago school officials declined to accompany an IDEM representative to face the crowd that gathered outside the high school trying to get into the public meeting Thursday.

On Friday, the school city issued a statement claiming cancelation of the hearing was "due to the failure of IDEM to obtain an appropriate security commitment and the unruly behavior of some members of the public who had gathered for the meeting."

School officials said the police presence was not robust enough to ensure security at the meeting and a basketball game being played at the high school at the same time.

School officials said they would be willing to host an IDEM meeting in the future. The statement made no reference to the issue of media attendance at the hearing, which both IDEM and East Chicago police said was the reason school officials told them the hearing was being canceled.

IDEM said it's had public meetings at the high school auditorium to accommodate large crowds as recently as last month but the school district expressed concerns about the media being present moments before the meeting was supposed to start. IDEM said it talked with Superintendent Marlon Mitchell about the need for media access but the discussions were unproductive.

The state agency said the superintendent chose to deny both the media and the public access to the auditorium and cancel the already rescheduled public hearing, which generated more interest after two leaks and an evacuation of the BP Whiting Refinery over the last few weeks.

"IDEM permitting staff came to East Chicago prepared to engage with the public and answer questions about BP's permit renewal application. We are disappointed that this opportunity was not provided last night," said IDEM Commissioner Brian Rockensuess. "Community involvement and transparency is a vital component of the governmental process and IDEM is committed to providing opportunities for engagement that include the public and the media."

IDEM plans to reschedule the meeting at another venue. It's also extending the public comment period.

People in the community are scared and worried, Rodriguez said.

"We could have been evacuated because there could have been an explosion," she said. "The air quality was horrible. You couldn't breathe. My throat burned. One of the other residents went to the doctor. Her eyes were burning. Our health is at stake here. Our health and our livelihood. We thought we'd get answers here. We need some type of protection."

Rodriguez can't believe E.C. Central shut the doors on scores of residents, saying she's never seen anything like it.

"We need answers," she said. "What is wrong? They can't tell us anything. Why did they not open the doors?"

Rodriguez is concerned that the plant is expected to be down for weeks and hoped to get some answers.

"It's very alarming," she said. "Why does their plant close after their disaster? We're sitting there. Is it harmful for us? Are our lives at stake now?"

BP is in the process of starting back units at the BP Whiting Refinery. The process is expected to take weeks. The restart is expected to be phased in as units go online.

"BP has controls and work processes in place aimed at maintaining compliance with environmental regulations," a company spokesperson said. "We also evaluate and implement options to improve our environmental control equipment across the plant."

Whiting resident Bonnie Gallegos was recently diagnosed with asthma, which she believes is the result of the air quality.

"My wife recently developed breathing issues," her husband Mario Gallegos said. "The air quality has always been bad but it's making big headlines now and people are really aware of the bad air quality out there. We want BP to acknowledge what they're doing and if they have to put special filters on their refinery smokestacks they have the funds for it. They have the money. Make it safer for all the families. Make it safer for the public."

He believes people were purposefully shut out of the meeting so BP wouldn't have to face questions from the public.

"They have a group of people out here and they don't want to hear the problems," he said. "They don't want to hear what's going on. It's made national headlines and we want to find out what's going to be done about it. Are they going to hide it? Is it going to be swept under the rug? Are they going to say, hey, it's taken care of? Is the problem going to be hushed or are they going to do something to address the problem for good?"

Bonnie Gallegos never had asthma before but is waking up with coughing fits and wheezing at 1 a.m., 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.

"Sometimes during the day I'm coughing," she said. "I work from home so I'm always there in Whiting."

The air quality has been getting worse lately, she said.

"I smelled it outside. It's really bad. I think it just exacerbated my condition," she said. "It smells bad sometimes and you can see the clouds of smoke. You could see the clouds of smoke a few days ago. Some people think it's clouds. But it's not clouds. It's pollution and it's going everywhere."

The school should have realized the issue would draw such a large crowd and the media and not cancel it at the last minute, she said.

"It's very unprofessional," she said. "It's just wrong."

To check to see when the meeting will be rescheduled, check idem.IN.gov/public-notices.

To submit public comments on the BP Whiting Refinery air permit renewal, contact Doug Logan at IDEM, Office of Air Quality, 100 North Senate Avenue, MC 61-53 IGCN 1003, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2251, email dalogan@idem.IN.gov or fax (317) 232-6749, Attn: Doug Logan.

For more information call (800) 451-6027 or (317) 234-7460.

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