Indiana
Emissions, mishaps from Northwest Indiana BP refinery draw ire of residents and activists
WHITING, Ind. (CBS) — A series of mishaps at the BP Refinery in Whiting, Indiana brought hundreds of people to a contentious meeting with state regulators Thursday night.
This came as the company’s air permit is set to be renewed.
Residents and environmental activists have raised a number of concerns about the new permit. They want to know what will be done to prevent future incidents, and are calling for tighter emission limits.
Thick, dark smoke filled the skies above Whiting and beyond back on Thursday, Feb. 1 – as the refinery experienced a power outage. As a precaution, some employees were forced to evacuate, and fires typically seen shooting out of the refinery’s stacks were increased to burn off extra oil during the outage.
This was described by BP as a normal process.
In January, a leak at the refinery sent the smell of natural gas wafting across state lines into Illinois.
“The bad air from Indiana comes to Illinois on a regular basis,” said concerned resident Mary Griswald.
A group of Northwest Indiana residents gathered in Whiting Thursday night – fueled by health concerns and armed with signs.
“We are fighting for public health,” said Thomas Frank of East Chicago.
The majority spoke against the refinery and its emissions.
“How are we living in a first-world country where you can’t even provide clean air to us?” said Grace Tafoya of Gary.
“This is not fantasy,” said Ashley Williams of Michigan City. “This is life in the sacrifice zone of Northwest Indiana.”
Leaders with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management – or IDEM – are responsible for renewing BP’s air permit, which is set to expire.
“We are hoping that they will deny this permit,” said Susan Thomas. “I think these communities are very tired of being dumped on.”
Environmental justice advocates say the permit does not go far enough to protect the people of Northwest Indiana.
“We also want better fence-line monitoring for the facility, given the events that have happened the last two months,” said Ellis Walton, an associate attorney at the Environmental Law & Policy Center.
“How much longer can we continue like this?” said Thomas. “It’s unsustainable.”
Last year, BP was fined a record $40 million by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violating environmental regulations.
BP did not respond to a request for comment Thursday night, but has previously said they are interested in public input.
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LAFAYETTE, IN — Hopes for a white Christmas are fading quickly in Indiana.
“I know earlier in the month we were thinking we might have a higher chance of a white Christmas,” National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Moore said, “but unfortunately, I have some bad news for you. A lot of long-range guidance has been consistent showing a pattern on Christmas Day featuring much warmer than normal temperatures for the region and the chance for some rainfall.
“It does look like we’ll be above average, temperatures at least in the 40s, maybe 50s,” Moore said on Wednesday, just three days after subzero temperatures pummeled the area.
With still eight days until Christmas, the forecasts closer to Dec. 25 might bump the expected high temps up even into the 60s, Moore said.
Normal temperatures this time of year for Lafayette are 36 for a high and 22 for a low.
“It looks like you might be able to keep your heavy winter jackets in the closet for now,” Moore said.
How will a Christmas with temperatures in the 40s, 50s or even 60s compare to Christmases past?
In 1982, Lafayette’s record-warm Christmas was 64 degrees. Its record cold temperature was 12 below zero in 2000.
So now that the dreams of a white Christmas appear dashed, what about January or February?
The Climate Prediction Center published a three-month forecast in November, and an update is expected in the next couple of days.
But last month, center’s forecast for January, February and March was for Hoosiers to have an equal chance of above and/or below average temperatures.
“We’ll see how that translates with the storm track,” Moore said.
The Climate Prediction Center forecasts warmer than normal temperatures in the southern United States and below normal temperatures in the Northern Plains.
“That puts the storm track right through Indiana, which makes sense because the Climate Prediction Center has Indiana as a bullseye for a pattern favoring above-normal precipitation,” Moore said. Temperatures will decide whether that precipitation falls as rain or snow — or ice or freezing rain.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
Former UConn forward, NBC Sports broadcaster Donny Marshall knows a thing or two about talented UConn guards.
The former Husky played for legendary coach Jim Calhoun and was teammates with the fifth pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, 10-time NBA All-Star Ray Allen. Watching UConn play against Butler on Tuesday night, Marshall said he sees a lot of Allen in reigning Indiana Mr. Basketball Braylon Mullins.
Mullins made the second start of his career against the Bulldogs. The former Greenfield-Central star missed UConn’s first six games of the regular season with an injury, but the 6-foot-6 guard is quickly coming into his own and showing why he’s a projected lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Against Butler, Mullins showed off his sweet jump shot, going 2 for 5 from 3-point range. He finished with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.
“He’s a scorer,” Butler coach Thad Matta said of Mullins. “He’s got a scorer’s mentality. He gets his shot off quick. They move him around and create some angles for him. Obviously, he’s a heck of a player.”
Mullins did most of his damage in the first half, scoring eight of his 12 points before halftime. The former five-star recruit was the highest-ranked player in UConn’s 2025 class. Butler’s top-ranked recruit, Azavier “Stink” Robinson isn’t the NBA prospect Mullins is, but he held his own after a shaky start to the game.
Robinson has been thrust into the starting lineup with starter Jalen Jackson out for the season with an ankle injury. Robinson looked out of sorts at times in the first half, going scoreless with two assists and a turnover. In the second half, Matta moved him off the ball, giving him catch-and-shoot looks, and opportunities to drive to the basket without worrying about running the offense.
The former Lawrence North star responded with one of the better halves of his career, scoring 10 points on 3 for 6 shooting, including 2 for 5 from 3 to go along with two rebounds, one assist, one steal and one turnover.
Facing a veteran team like UConn, nothing comes easy. UConn’s guards harass ball handlers and getting into an offensive set is not easy. This time last year, Robinson was still in high school and, on most nights, the most athletic player on the court. Playing a UConn team where the goal is a national championship, Robinson was forced to grow, and he did not back down from the challenge in the second half.
“He’s coming along,” Matta said of Robinson. “That’s the first Big East road game of his career against maybe the best team in the country. It tells you how tough he is. He’s resilient. He keeps going.”
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