WHITING | BP Whiting Refinery has been granted state and federal permits that allow it to release more ammonia and sludge into Lake Michigan, action that comes to the chagrin of local environmentalists.

BP received permission from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be exempt from environmental laws that cap the amount of toxins discharged into the lake.

"We asked for and were granted a new permit that provides a broader window for us to operate," said BP spokesman Scott Dean.

The refinery needs the exemption to proceed with its $3.8 billion expansion that will allow it to process heavy crude oil from Canada. The refinery's discharges, which are expected to include 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge daily, will remain within federal and state pollution water standards. The permit is effective for three years, once the expansion is operational.

"It's a massive upgrading project that ensures the economic future of the Whiting refinery," Dean said, adding not getting the permits would hinder the project's feasibility.

The expansion, which is expected to add 80 jobs at the refinery, is on track to be completed by 2011, he said. An air permit still is required before work can proceed.

The refinery will build a new diffuser apparatus that will reduce the concentration of pollutants in the water by mixing them with clean water 200 feet from the shore. However, the refinery doesn't have adequate real estate to build a larger waste water treatment plant, Dean said.

"The Whiting refinery has a state-of-the-art waste water treatment plant that's equipped with primary, secondary and tertiary treatment: multi-state waste treatment that's in full compliance," he said Monday. "We use the best waste water treatment technology. Both state and feral environmental bodies reviewed our data and didn't see any risk with us having the new permit."

But Lee Botts, a Gary environmentalist and founder of the Great Lakes Alliance, said she and others think BP should try harder to protect the environment.

"The waste water treatment plant is built on lake fill," she said. "We find it hard to think they couldn't find more room, given the size of the facility."

She and Tom Anderson, executive director of Save the Dunes Council, spoke at an April public hearing in Whiting concerning the permit plan.

"We raised a lot of issues, and we've been in an extensive exchange of information on it," said Botts, who said she's not surprised the permits were granted. "From an economic and social perspective, it's an enormously important project for the area and for the country. We're not objecting to them being able to operate; we just think they should do the maximum possible to protect the environment."

Although remaining within pollution limits, environmentalists have said the permit violates meet Clean Water Act standards, which prohibit water quality from being adversely affected by the source of pollution, even if the pollution doesn't violate federal and state standards.

"We're disappointed by the decision," Botts said. "The aim of the Clean Water Act, which is impossible to meet perfectly, was to stop of discharge of pollution into waterways. That's very unrealistic, but we've been making progress."