WHITING | Environmental groups may appeal BP Whiting's new air permit, a move that could compel the refinery to stop the weeklong construction efforts of its $3.8 billion expansion.

Concerned citizens and groups have about 10 days left to formally petition BP's controversial air permit construction approval.

BP wasted no time last week, starting foundation and piling work May 1, the same day it received its construction approval from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

IDEM approved the permit, which lets the refinery build or modify equipment, but which environmentalists say allows too many greenhouse gases and too little control of flare emissions.

Concerned citizens or groups can appeal the construction permit until May 19, or 18 days from when it was approved.

The Office of Environmental Adjudication's two environmental law judges review IDEM decisions.

Judge Mary Davidsen said her office has not yet received any appeals to BP's construction permit and that appeals are considered filed on the date they are mailed.

Although no one has stepped forward yet, some groups may be preparing to do so.

"We are carefully considering an appeal," said Howard Learner, president and executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center. "We, and our colleagues, are deciding whether and in what form to submit."

On the day the permit was approved, Ann Alexander, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said her group was "considering our options" in appealing.

The refinery may have to stop construction if a filed petition requests it be halted, Davidsen said. A hearing would likely be scheduled quickly to determine shuttering construction if such a request were made, she said.

If a permit appeal is successful, BP could be ordered to rip down what it has built, depending on its various environmental impacts, Davidsen added.

But Davidsen said breakdowns are rare, and facilities instead are ordered not to operate the equipment.