Authorities: Whiting refinery to blame for widespread chemical odor after severe weather
A release from the BP Whiting refinery from severe weather is to blame for the pungent odor that spread across Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties on Sunday, according to the Porter County Emergency Management Agency. State officials are investigating the situation.
In a statement posted on Facebook at 12:23 a.m. Monday, the agency wrote that “due to severe weather conditions in the region today, BP’s Whiting refinery experienced an operational disruption that triggered unplanned flaring of gases from their facility.”
The statement noted that “BP advises they expect the situation to be resolved in the coming hours,” and “they further advise there is no danger to the community at this time.”
Lake County Emergency Management & Homeland Security deputy director Paul Petrie told the Post-Tribune that his office learned from BP Products that the refinery experienced a power outage.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is investigating the situation, according to department spokesman Barry Sneed. In a statement, Sneed wrote that “an Office of Air Quality inspector is scheduled to be on site today to obtain additional information on the reported loss of power over the weekend.”
The Porter County Emergency Management Agency said that his office is coordinating with IDEM and awaiting results from the Monday inspection, according to Lance Bella, that agency’s director.
“I also contacted Porter County’s health department to make sure that they could work in concert with IDEM, with anything that they needed as well,” Bella said.
The pungent, sulfur-like odor was reported across the region. In a Facebook post at 9:25 p.m. Sunday, the Porter Police Department wrote that the department’s phone lines were “flooded with Emergency and Non-Emergency calls in reference to an overwhelming ‘gas’ smell outside” and noted that the social media users had reported the odor from Portage “all the way up into Michigan.”
A BP Products spokesperson did not return a request for comment.
Portage Mayor Sue Lynch said in a statement that she had been in touch with Police Chief Mike Candiano and Fire Chief Randy Wilkening, as well as representatives from IDEM, Northern Indiana Public Service Company and local emergency management agencies to find out what happened.
“As mayor, I understand your concerns and have been equally frustrated with trying to get information on the cause of the suspicious odor,” she said, adding that the city “received no notifications on Sunday evening by any local industry of any chemical releases within our jurisdiction, but limited information was available at that time.”
Lynch said she is in contact with IDEM and would share the agency’s findings once the investigation is complete.
Environmental concerns surrounding the Whiting refinery have prompted recent legal action from environmental groups and the federal government.
In September, BP Products agreed to spend $2.75 million on penalties and environmental efforts in a settlement with the Environmental Integrity Project, who sued the company on behalf of the Sierra Club.
The lawsuit was filed in 2019 after nine tests of the refinery’s smokestack emissions between 2015 and 2018 showed that particulate pollution from the facility exceeded permitted levels.
In May, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with BP Products that required the company to install $197 million in pollution-prevention improvements at the facility and pay a $40 million fine.
