Stop BP from bringing dirty tar sands to Ohio

From:  Credo

Across the country, activists are fighting to stop the Keystone XL pipeline from transporting dirty Canadian tar sands oil – the dirtiest kind of oil on Earth – across the United States.

But if BP and Canadian company Husky Energy get their way, dirty tar sands oil will soon be coming to Ohio. The companies are seeking permission from the Ohio EPA to modify their Oregon, Ohio refinery so it can process dirty tar sands oil.¹

Letting a company with BP's dismal environmental and safety record process highly toxic tar sands oil is the last thing Ohio should be doing, but that's exactly what the Ohio EPA is currently considering.

Tell the Ohio EPA: Keep dirty tar sands oil of out Ohio! Submit a public comment now.

Activists nationwide are fighting the Keystone XL pipeline and dirty tar sands development because they know that allowing dirty tar sands to be fully exploited will make it impossible to stop catastrophic climate change. Keystone XL’s proposed route doesn’t run through Ohio – but BP’s dangerous plan for refining tar sands oil does.

BP has repeatedly shown that it is an irresponsible company that can’t be trusted to protect people and the environment. We all remember BP’s central role in the largest oil spill in American history, in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, but the company has also had safety and pollution problems at the same Ohio refinery it is now hoping to retrofit for dirty tar sands.

In 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued BP 62 safety violations and fined the company nearly $3 million for “exposing workers to a variety of hazards” at its Oregon, Ohio refinery.² Then on March 10 of this year, the refinery malfunctioned and released extremely dangerous hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide pollution into the air.³

The Ohio EPA has the power to keep dirty tar sands oil out of Ohio, but it won’t do so unless Ohioans demand it.

With climate change wreaking havoc across the globe and greenhouse gas emissions at their highest level in human history, we can’t afford to continue investing in the dirty oil on the planet. We need strong grassroots pressure to convince the Ohio EPA to do its part by rejecting BP’s plan to refine tar sands oil in Ohio.

Tell the Ohio EPA: Keep dirty tar sands oil of out Ohio! Submit a public comment now.

1. "Ohio EPA Hosting Meeting about BP-Husky Air Permit," Ohio EPA, 5/22/13
2. "Ohio BP refinery facing fines of $3 million," Houston Chronicle, 3/9/10
3. "BP Reports Equipment Malfunction, Emissions at Toledo, Ohio, Refinery, Dow Jones Business News, 3/11/13