Press Releases

Seals Promotes Practical Water Quality Policies through Comprehensive Planning

Kirk Fails to Come Clean on Oil Industry Connections

August 22, 2007

Wilmette, IL-- In light of the public hearing on BP’s wastewater permit held today at the Indiana Statehouse by the Indiana Administrative Rules Oversight Committee, a legislative study group, Dan Seals reaffirmed his call for a comprehensive plan to protect the Great Lakes and for Congressman Mark Kirk to come clean on his votes to help the oil industry.   

The state of Indiana recently signed off on a plan by British Petroleum to increase dumping in Lake Michigan.  BP’s plan calls for a 54% increase in ammonia and a 35% increase in solid waste containing dangerous heavy metals to be dumped into Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes account for 95% of the surface freshwater in the U.S. and provide drinking water for more than 30 million Americans, including the entire Chicago-metropolitan region.

“Any state on one of the Great Lakes has a vested interest in pollution in all of the Great Lakes,” stated Dan Seals.  “Our laws should be changed to reflect that fact. We need legislation that says that no state can increase their pollution levels in the lakes unless all states have agreed to it.”

Such legislation would:

• Develop a sense of shared responsibility commensurate with the shared benefit that we all derive from the Great Lakes.
• Require a comprehensive view of the current levels of pollution in the Great Lakes.
• Create strong controls for controlling future pollution in the Great Lakes.
• Increase environmental coordination in general among the states of the Great Lakes.

In his view, this is one key part of more comprehensive reforms that include renewing the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and ratifying the Great Lakes Water Resources Compact.

Congressman Kirk’s Record:  The more you know…

After earning a 39% ranking from the League of Conservation Voters in 2005 and facing a tough campaign in 2006, Representative Kirk has shifted his voting record and has been raising his profile on environmental issues. He has received over $95,000 in contributions from energy companies, including a $1,000 contribution from BP in October of 2002, and has made several votes that aid the oil industry (Federal Election Commission).

“Mark Kirk needs to come clean on the environment,” stated Seals.  “You can’t take money from big oil on the one hand and then say big oil is wrong on the other.”

On June 7, 2006, Representative Kirk voted for a bill that would have undermined public health and environmental permitting decisions by state and federal officials.  The bill would have given oil companies the right to sue public health officials in order to speed up refinery projects.   The bill, H.R. 5254, the Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act, passed the house in 2006 but the Senate did not approve a companion bill.

In addition, Representative Kirk voted to pay for lawsuits against refineries with taxpayer money.  The bill, H.R. 3893, House Vote 519, 10/7/05, required the president to designate federal sites for new oil refineries and allowed the federal government to pay new refineries for the costs of significant delays due to lawsuits and government regulations.

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