GARY | Call it "the BP effect."

Wednesday night's public meeting on the renewal of a long-lapsed wastewater permit for U.S. Steel Gary Works turned into a complaint session over environmental management in Indiana. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management's controversial wastewater permit change for the BP Whiting Refinery surfaced a few times.

"After BP, everybody is pretty ticked off at your organization," said Paula Peeples, of Miller.

Valparaiso lawyer Kim Ferraro cited a study that panned Indiana's environmental quality.

"We're 48th out of 50, and that really sucks," Ferraro said.

IDEM scheduled Wednesday night's meeting at the Gary Public Library to take comments and questions on the renewal of U.S. Steel's wastewater discharge permit. The new permit -- in its public comment period until Aug. 11 -- would cap mercury discharges, said Bruno Pigott, IDEM assistant commissioner.

The renewed permit also would tighten cyanide discharge limits in fall and spring, to account for the now-confirmed presence of steelhead and salmon in the Grand Calumet River in those months, Pigott said.

"This permit has limits that are more stringent than the last permit," Pigott said.

"On a number of fronts, this permit is more environmentally protective."

Most of about 75 attendees were skeptical of the permit and IDEM. Several assailed IDEM for allowing any pollution, while others attacked IDEM officials for allowing the permit to expire and sit for eight years.

The current permit was due for renewal in 1999, but was administratively extended until now, Pigott said. That permit's rules have stood under the extension. Pigott called the delay "too long."

Mary Ann Crayton, of Chesterton, agreed.

"If that one is eight years too late, how many others are too late?" she asked.

Residents asked for more time to consider their response to the permit change. State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, said he plans to write to IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly to ask him to extend the comment period.

A woman at the meeting organized another meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the W.E.B. Du Bois Public Library at 1835 Broadway in Gary.