The Alliance for the Great Lakes has filed a petition to force the state of Indiana to suspend a permit issued to British Petroleum (BP) that allows the company to increase the amount of pollution that the company is allowed to discharge into Lake Michigan at a refinery in Whiting, Indiana. Under the new permit, BP would be allowed to discharge nearly 1,500 pounds of ammonia and 5,000 pounds of "suspended solids" from treated sludge into Lake Michigan. This represents an increase of 54% and 35% while also giving BP until 2012 to adhere to federal limits on mercury discharge.

According to the Alliance's petition--filed with Indiana's Office of Environmental Adjudication--the permit process lacked transparency and shut out groups critical of the plan. Organizations who had submitted comments on the draft permit were not notified that the final copy of the permit had been made available for review, nor were groups informed of the appeal process. The Alliance for the Great Lakes asserts that the "final" permit draft permit was placed online without notice and without indication that it was the "final" permit. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management now claims that the appeal process is closed, as interested parties only have 15 days to appeal a permit once the final copy is posted.

The Alliance for Great Lakes petition is asking that permit be suspended and that the appeal process be reopened.