Latest news with #Vallee
Chicago Tribune
02-07-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
BP refinery sets off flares Tuesday night
At about 10 p.m. Tuesday, Lisa Vallee noticed flares coming from BP's Whiting refinery. 'Obviously, we're used to seeing smokestacks with the flames on it,' the Whiting resident said, 'but this was a very, very large flame with huge plumes of black smoke coming from it.' 'The BP Whiting refinery is currently experiencing conditions that require materials to be burned in its flares,' the email said. 'We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our neighbors.' Nearby residents received an identical message through the Lake County alert system. Normal operations had resumed at the refinery Wednesday morning, according to a BP Facebook post at about 8:30 a.m. 'The Whiting Refinery has returned to normal operations following a short flaring event,' the Facebook post said. 'We apologize for any inconvenience.' Vallee lives close enough to the refinery that she was worried she might have to evacuate the area if it was dangerous. She and her partner prepared to evacuate but never did. Vallee said she lives about a mile away from the refinery. 'From where we live, we can't normally see the flames unless they're really high,' Vallee said. 'You could just see, looking out our apartment window, the whole sky was going orange from flames shooting at the facility.' Vallee listened to a police scanner to try to get more information, and she heard people from around Lake County calling about the flares. She also saw Whiting Fire Department trucks drive toward the BP facility, which Vallee said was concerning. 'We know that when they're burning off products, that's still going in the air, and they're having to burn it off because something is going wrong,' she added. 'I've not heard anything today about what might have been the actual issue; usually it's something that's discovered days later.' Residents can't ignore the flares when they're that large, Vallee said Wednesday. 'You get this sense of dread and doom,' she added. In mid-November, BP started and finished a planned flare at the Whiting refinery. Flares are a safety device used to help the refinery safely manage excess gases during maintenance or operational disruptions, BP previously said. In January 2024, the oil refinery was hit by a power outage that required the company to shut down the facility and evacuate workers, according to the Associated Press, which led BP to flare its stacks. A BP spokesperson did not comment on the reason behind Tuesday's flare or if employees had to evacuate. The Whiting refinery has more than 1,300 employees and 1,400 contractors, according to BP's website. The refinery provides gas to Midwestern states and can produce enough fuel each day to support the average daily travel of more than 7 million cars.
Chicago Tribune
13-06-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
BP postpones carbon pipeline project indefinitely
As a Whiting resident, Lisa Vallee is happy to no longer worry about BP's proposed carbon sequestration project. 'It seems, on the surface, like it's such a great idea,' said Vallee, who is also the organizing director for Just Transition Northwest Indiana. 'But it's been proven globally that these projects don't actually reduce carbon emissions, and then they're much more dangerous than they are worth.' BP has indefinitely paused its carbon sequestration project, which would have required a pipeline to run through hundreds of miles in six Indiana counties to store carbon emissions underground. 'BP is committed to remaining a critical driver of the economic engine that powers Northwest Indiana and the Midwest,' a company spokesperson said in a statement. 'While we are indefinitely pausing our low-carbon project in the region, our focus is on building a strong, economically competitive future for our Whiting Refinery.' The company said 'many factors' went into the decision, including uncertainty created by current economic conditions; focus on the company's core businesses; a slow-developing hydrogen market in the Midwest; lack of an identified carbon storage facility; and lack of certainty for long-term federal support for low carbon hydrogen. The decision only relates to BP's involvement in the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen hub and no other low-carbon project the company might develop nationally or globally, according to the spokesperson. U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, said in a statement that 'it's not lost' on him that the company made the decision during House passage of legislation that would end the clean hydrogen production tax credit. The decision makes it clear that the Trump Administration's actions cause a 'real and devastating impact' on workers and manufacturing nationwide, Mrvan said. 'I will continue to actively seek opportunities to collaborate in a bipartisan manner, with all levels of government, and with organized labor and all stakeholders to reverse this trend and create new opportunities for transformational economic growth, work, and wealth in Northwest Indiana,' Mrvan said. The Biden Administration allocated up to $1 billion in funding for the planned hub, but shifting priorities have led the Department of Energy to reevaluate the awards for the Midwest hub and three others in the Pacific Northwest, California and the Mid-Atlantic, according to Reuters. Just Transition Northwest Indiana learned the project was paused following a statement from the Benton County Board of Commissioners. Benton County was one of the Indiana counties that would've been affected by the project. 'We have been advised that in February BP indefinitely suspended all carbon sequestration and hydrogen gas exploration,' said the letter from Benton County commissioners. 'They're focusing back on their roots of oil exploration. They felt this is not the time or place with the feedback they received from Benton County.' Vallee was surprised to learn about the project's pause from Benton County and not BP. Just Transition Northwest Indiana members knew there was a possibility that it would be paused because tax credits might be taken away by the federal government, Vallee said. 'This pipeline was supposed to be part of the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen hub, and that has not gone away, at least yet,' Vallee said. 'So, we are accepting this victory and very excited, but also aware that there are a lot of other sneaky false solutions that are probably right around the corner.' Gary Advocates for Responsible Development was relieved to see BP put the pipeline project on pause, board member Carolyn McCrady said in a statement Thursday. 'However, pause does not mean gone, and we will remain vigilant about any future attempts to reinstate a pipeline,' McCrady said. 'And (we) will continue to insist that they initiate advanced and available technologies to reduce their heavily polluting tar sands emissions.'
Chicago Tribune
15-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
NWI environment advocates worry about BP permit application
Local community and environmental groups are worried about a proposed water pollution control permit for the BP Whiting refinery. Permit comments filed by the Environmental Law and Policy Center and Environmental Integrity Project say the permit will allow the facility to dump 'unhealthy levels of pollutants,' including mercury, into Lake Michigan, according to a news release. In a statement to the Post-Tribune, a spokesman for BP said a draft of the permit is available for public comment, but it has yet to be issued. The corporation's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit is subject to renewal every five years. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management held an April 22 public hearing as part of the renewal process, according to BP. '(BP) is committed to safe and compliant operations at the Whiting Refinery and across our global operations,' the company's statement said. 'We will continue working every day to keep this commitment and to ensure the refinery remains an important part of the Northwest Indiana economy for years to come.' Activists are asking IDEM to revise a draft permit for the plant to include stronger pollution limits for mercury, PFAs and other toxins, including arsenic, benzene and lead, according to the news release. Mercury is harmful to people of all ages, according to the news release, and it can cause brain damage to infants and poisons fish. PFAs are dangerous in very small 'parts per trillion' amounts and don't easily break down in the environment. 'The permit demonstrates BP's and the state of Indiana's disregard for the health of the people of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago area,' Kerri Gefeke, associate attorney at the Environmental Law and Policy Center, said in the news release. 'It's particularly egregious for the state to allow BP to discharge elevated levels of mercury, unknown amounts of 'forever chemicals' like PFAs, and numerous other chemicals into Lake Michigan mere feet from the beaches where people swim and fish, and a short distance from where the City of Hammond withdraws its drinking water.' Meg Parish, senior attorney at the Environmental Integrity Project, agreed with Gefeke, saying the state of Indiana shouldn't allow the permit. Various organizations sent a letter to IDEM asking the department to not renew the permit at the Whiting refinery. Carolyn McCrady, member of Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, said IDEM works for people and asked the agency to do a 'real analysis' before allowing the permit. Lisa Vallee, organizing director for Just Transition Northwest Indiana and a Whiting resident, said she was dumbfounded by the permit renewal application. The new permit contains more lax regulations, neglects to address more than 20 toxic chemicals and concerns about forever chemicals, Vallee said in a statement. 'We are not fools,' Vallee said. 'We know because we live here; every day, we smell it, see it and become ill. We will never stop fighting for the clean water, air and land we deserve.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
Pierce County mother of 5 was killed amid custody issues. Here's the punishment
A 43-year-old man found guilty of first-degree domestic-violence murder for fatally shooting the mother of his child in the midst of a custody dispute was sentenced Friday to 50 years in prison. Duane Dushon Moore was convicted by a jury in March of killing 40-year-old Kayla Vallee inside his University Place apartment. Vallee, a Bonney Lake resident, was a mother to five children and worked as a medical dispatcher at the University of Washington. She also worked at Walmart to make ends meet. At least four people gave victim-impact statements during Moore's sentencing hearing before Pierce County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Andrews, according to court records. Moore was not required to be present during the hearing. Relatives and family friends previously said Vallee enjoyed going to Seattle Kraken games with loved ones and doing river floats. She also liked helping out on her family's farm in Orting. Vallee and Moore shared custody of their 10-year-old son, according to court documents, and at the time of the murder the boy was temporarily living with Moore in University Place. On the morning of Dec. 9, 2023, Vallee borrowed her mother's car to drive to the apartment to pick up her son. According to charging documents, Vallee and Moore were supposed to discuss custody arrangements. Relatives previously told The News Tribune that Vallee, who was living with her mother in Orting, had recently gotten her own apartment. A few hours later, Moore showed up to Vallee's mother's home and left the boy and his belongings in the driveway. The Sheriff's Office was called to respond to Moore's apartment, and deputies found Vallee dead inside. The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office later determined Vallee died of multiple gunshot wounds. Deputies located Moore later that day on a trail south of Buckley after a 911 caller reported a suspicious vehicle. He was arrested after an hour-long standoff that ended with a stun-gun shot, according to the Sheriff's Office. Moore had no prior criminal convictions, according to court records. Man sentenced for fatal shooting outside Tacoma apartment complex A 27-year-old man accused of murder for a fatal shooting outside an apartment complex in Tacoma's South End has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to six years, six months in prison. Adrian Ramirez Martinez pleaded guilty May 7 to first-degree manslaughter for the July 27, 2024 killing of 28-year-old Ismael Merino-Ramirez. He was sentenced the same day, receiving a punishment at the low end of the standard sentencing range. In a victim-impact statement filed with the court, Merino-Ramirez's uncle wrote in Spanish that his nephew's wife and six children demand justice. He asked that Ramirez Martinez be sentenced to many years in prison. Prosecutors wrote in a court filing that part of the reason they asked the court to allow them to amend the defendant's charges from second-degree murder to first-degree manslaughter was that an eyewitness was reluctant to be involved in the case and feared retaliation. Deputy prosecuting attorney Kara Sanchez also wrote that the resolution was appropriate because Ramirez Martinez was taking responsibility for his actions, was pleading guilty to a Class A felony and lacked a significant criminal history. She said there were other potential evidence issues. It's unclear what led to the shooting. According to court documents, a witness told police he used to live in the same apartment complex as the victim and the defendant, and the three used to drink together on weekends. The witness drove around with Merino-Ramirez for food and drinks before the shooting. At about 1 a.m., Merino-Ramirez got a call from the defendant asking to meet up in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 9200 block of South Hosmer Street. No one else was in the parking lot, according to the witness. He later told police he thought he heard Ramirez Martinez and Merino-Ramirez arguing, but he said he also heard the defendant laugh a couple of times. The witness reported that he didn't hear what the two were talking about. 'When [the witness] ducked into the victim's car to grab a phone charger, he heard the shot fired,' prosecutors wrote in charging papers. 'He then stood up, looked around and saw the victim holding his chest while telling him to call the police.' Ramirez Martinez then drove away. Police responded and began life-saving measures on Merino-Ramirez until fire personnel arrived, but he died at the scene. The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office later found he died of a gunshot wound to the torso.
