Gov. Mitch Daniels, local officials, the region's legislative delegation and BP worldwide officials were among those cheering the September announcement of BP PLC's mammoth $3.8 billion investment in its Whiting Refinery.

Their cheers reverberated throughout the region, with the project hailed as a major boost to the area's economy, job base and fuel supply.

But the then-commended refinery expansion plan now is being condemned by a bandwagon of opponents citing concern for the environment.

On Sept. 20, the benefits of the three-year project -- the largest single investment ever made in Northwest Indiana -- were touted by Mike Hoffman, BP group vice president of global refining; Dan Sajkowski, Whiting Refinery business unit leader and vice president of BP Products North America; and Daniels, who called the event a "truly historic day."

The expansion should provide the region and the entire Midwest with a "reliable energy supply, jobs and other positive economic effects," Hoffman had said. And the additional fuel produced "should help the supply-demand balance," which could have a positive impact on fuel prices in the Midwest, according to Sajkowski.

The investment in the refinery is to include a new coking unit, a revamped crude oil distillation unit, coke handling facilities and other units that will be built on the company's property in Whiting, Hammond and East Chicago and require the refinery's reconfiguration.

Planning for the project already was under way and would continue through 2007, with the bulk of the construction work scheduled for the three-year period from 2008 to 2011,according to BP's September presentation.

Other than a reference to the need for regulatory approvals before the project could commence, there was no specific mention the refinery's expansion could add to water and air pollution, or the need for revised waste water and air quality permits.

The project easily won the support of area chambers of commerce, politicians, businesses, developers, local construction and building trades unions, and residents, who all looked for it to bring new jobs and greater prosperity to the region.

Bill Philips, president of United Steelworkers Local 7-1, which represents the refinery's 900 hourly workers, said the expansion would give workers "a future that's much brighter."

Dewey Pearman, executive director of the Construction Advancement Foundation, said it would provide "a substantial employment base for contractors and craftsman in Northwest Indiana."

A week before the project's official announcement last fall, the city of East Chicago approved a seven-year tax abatement for a $43 million BP crude oil coking facility that is part of the expansion.

The project didn't resurface in a public venue until March when the Indiana Department of Environmental Management published notices that was initiating the required 60-day public comment period for the state permit to allow BP to the release more of certain pollutants into Lake Michigan. The public comment period on the permit expired May 11.

On April 26, IDEM had a public hearing on the project at the Whiting City Hall, where only a few among the 20 to 30 people present voiced concerns about the permit, according to news reports. Dozens of others reportedly sent written comments to IDEM.

But, after a recent Chicago metropolitan newspaper claimed the permit would allow BP's refinery to add pollution and sludge to the water of Lake Michigan, a growing clamor began against BP and its expansion plan.

Environmentalists claim the permit violates Clean Water Act standards, which do not allow water quality to be negatively affected by the source of the pollution even though the pollution doesn't violate federal and state standards.

Indiana and Illinois politicians, even those representing areas that release thousand of gallons of waste into the Lake and pollute its beaches, quickly took up the cry and began demanding the EPA and IDEM reconsider the matter.

Although the permit, which now is in effect, allows BP to increase the amounts of ammonia and other pollutants the refinery can release, the additional discharges will remain well below federal standards when the discharges begin when the project is complete sometime in 2011, said refinery spokesman Tom Keilman.

The permit allows the refinery to release 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more total suspended solids into the lake daily, which means it could send an average 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of total suspended solids a day into the lake.

."The amount of ammonia is 50 percent below federal guidelines for ammonia that is determined safe for human and aquatic life," Keilman said. "We've reduced the amount of suspended solids over 40 percent during the last four years."

As part of the expansion, BP will spend $150 million on the water treatment system at the refinery, he said.

Plus, Keilman -- weary from a barrage of questions and criticism of the project -- said people need to understand suspended solids don't create sludge.

"The refinery removes all sludge and disposes of it as the law requires," he said.

It's a mantra he's repeated for days.

Since news crews began circling the refinery and detailing the woes of its expansion, Keilman and top BP officials have been inundated with criticism about the project from Great Lakes congressmen, legislators, local officials and voters.

Tuesday, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich threatened to pursue a federal lawsuit if IDEM does not rescind the waste water permit. Wednesday, by a vote of 387 to 26, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution that urges the state of Indiana to reconsider the waste discharge permit, plus it asks the EPA to not allow increased "dumping of chemicals and pollutants into the Great Lakes."

In response, BP officials have met with the politicians, heard their concerns and agreed to review the refinery's waste water treatment options. Although they promised to report the results of their review to lawmakers in September, BP isn't backing down.

"The permit was done administratively and legally correct," Keilman said. "We underscore the importance of this project to the Great Lakes region ... We have worked and are working with IDEM to minimize the impact of this protect on the environment and to ensure that the project meets state and federal water quality standards established to protect human health and aquatic life."