INDIANAPOLIS | The debate over BP Whiting Refinery's new, more lenient, state wastewater permit moves to the Statehouse on Wednesday.

The Administrative Rules Oversight Committee of the General Assembly will take up the topic at 8:30 a.m. CDT, in Room 404 of the Statehouse. Watch online at: http://mediaserver.ihets.org/waysandmeans/

State Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, scheduled the hearing in response to public opposition of the new permit, which will allow the Whiting refinery to release 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more suspended solids into Lake Michigan.

While significantly greater than current levels, the increased discharges still fall within federal limits. And BP officials, as well as Indiana Department of Environmental Management regulators, have staunchly defended the more lenient permit.

IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly is expected to testify at Wednesday's hearing, as is a representative from BP. Pelath said the public still has many questions about the permit.

"Decisions like these deserve the full focus of the public's eye, simply because the new permit has implications not just for those who live and work along Lake Michigan, but for the image of our entire state," Pelath said in a statement last week. "I believe what the public demands in this instance is some accountability and a chance to understand the reasoning behind this decision, which has caused so many to rise to the defense of their lake."