The much-anticipated draft air permits for BP's Whiting Refinery's $3.8 billion project to process Canadian heavy crude was released to the public Tuesday after months of agency review.

Like the wastewater permit the agency issued for the project in 2007, the air permits are expected to receive intense public and Environmental Protection Agency scrutiny.

BP submitted the draft construction and operations air permit application to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management on Oct. 31. The application "laid out BP's plans for reducing regulated air pollutants, while increasing fuel production through our Whiting Refinery modernization plan," said company spokesman Scott Dean.

"IDEM made minor suggestions," Dean said Tuesday. "The draft permit is very similar to our application."

.The draft is available at IDEM offices, the Whiting Public Library and on the IDEM's site (www.idem.IN.gov) in preparation for the public meeting on the air permit being held at 5:30 p.m. and public hearing following at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Hammond Civic Center, 5825 South Sohl Ave..

"The draft air permits have undergone a comprehensive technical regulatory review by IDEM, including consultation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency," Dean said. "The draft permits propose to regulate air emissions at the refinery to more stringent limits than is currently allowed."

Cheryl Newton, acting director of the air and radiation division of EPA Region 5, said her agency has reviewed portions of the permit as IDEM was developing it.

"Just like the public, we now have the official permit and we have the same 30 day comment opportunity," she said Tuesday.

The proposed stricter air permit limits follow a five-year trend of measurable decreases in air emissions from the Whiting Refinery, BP's Dean said in a statement. Criteria pollutants in 2006 were 68 percent lower than those in 2001 and these emissions will decrease an additional 7 percent by 2011, according to the London based oil company.

Although local environmentalists say they remain skeptical of BP's claims, they won't yet comment on the draft air permits.

Lee Botts, founder of the and board member of Alliance for the Great Lakes, said she is withholding comment until the Alliance and the experts, who helped it review BP's wastewater permit, "look at it carefully."

"We will look at it and see if there are any issues we want to raise with the company," Botts said Tuesday.

Environmentalist Carolyn Marsh, who is a member of BP's Whiting Citizen's Advisory Committee, also said she is reserving comment while she studies the draft permits. The fact that there are two permits, a source modification permit to add or change equipment at the facility and a permit modification that allows BP to operate the equipment, makes the issue "very complicated," she said.

"When they start breaking permits down, I think they're being evasive because it's confusing," Marsh said. "The permits need a thorough examination, as it is new construction for the refinery, not a modification. It is a major change and should have a new source review, which is much more thorough."

Marsh is objecting to the time table for the meeting, hearing and public comment period that she claims violates a promise made by IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly. She said the commissioner needs to explain why the public comment period is significantly less than the 60 days promised when environmentalists and the public objected to BP's wastewater permit last fall.

The public has until March 8 to submit comments to IDEM on the draft permits.

"They're going to have the meeting and the hearing on the same day and then except the public to comment within days, when he promised us a minimum of 60 days," Marsh said. "How can we do all this kind of research and have comments ready that soon. This is not helping the public at all."

IDEM spokesman Rob Elstro, said the agency "is still searching to see if IDEM made any commitment" to have a 60-day public comment time period.

"It's a 30-day period through March 8," Elstro said. "We're making sure people get the information as soon as possible so they have time to review it."