INDIANAPOLIS | It will take at least a year to bring to trial three challenges by environmental activists to the air pollution permit state regulators last month granted for a $3.8 billion expansion of the BP Whiting Refinery.

The parties, including attorneys for the refinery and for the Save the Dunes Council, met Monday to present a proposed schedule for the appeals, which are before the Indiana Office of Environmental Adjudication.

All sides agreed it would take 12 months to gather all the information and schedule expert witnesses needed to conduct a trial that will decide the fate of the refinery expansion.

"I think all of the parties would like to have this case ready for trial by next June," BP attorney William Patberg said during the roughly 20-minute hearing. "It's unclear whether we're going to have one trial or three trials at this point."

Valparaiso attorney Kim Ferraro, who is representing Save the Dunes and the Hoosier Environmental Council, said the environmental groups challenging the air permit still are discussing whether to consolidate their appeals.

In the meantime, the appellants agreed to cancel three hearings scheduled for next month.

Mary Davidsen, the environmental law judge handling the case, said she will set aside two weeks for trial in June 2009 and another two weeks a couple of months later as a hedge against potential delays. The parties said they already have more than 9,000 pages of documents to parse.

Those challenging the air permit, including St. John resident Joe Hero and the Calumet Project, a Hammond-based environmental group, argue it is not stringent enough. They say state regulators failed to account for flare emissions and other pollution release points.

The challengers also contend that the Indiana Department of Environmental Management did not give the public ample time to comment on the complex permit before it was issued May 1. The proposed case management schedule submitted to Davidsen on Monday would give the challengers until July 16 to amend their complaints.