III 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 187 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JULY 26, 2007 
Received and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the dumping 
of industrial waste into the Great Lakes. 
Whereas the Great Lakes are the largest surface freshwater 
system on the planet; 
Whereas the Great Lakes account for 95 percent of the 
United States’ surface fresh water and about 21 percent 
of the world’s supply; 
Whereas the Great Lakes provide drinking water for more 
than 30 million Americans; 
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Whereas, on May 18, 2004, President George W. Bush said 
‘‘the Great Lakes are a national treasure’’; 
Whereas Congress has expressed its commitment to pro-
tecting the Great Lakes from pollutants and contami-
nants through the Clean Water Act and subsequent legis-
lation; 
Whereas the United States Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) and Environment Canada joined together in pro-
mulgating the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy to 
eliminate the presence of persistent toxic substances in 
the Great Lakes basin; 
Whereas the ‘‘mixing zones’’ that dilute toxic chemicals dis-
charged into the Great Lakes system have been con-
troversial as a possible threat to humans, fish and wild-
life; 
Whereas the Great Lakes are plagued by pollutants such as 
mercury, 
PCBs, 
ammonia, 
DDT, 
alkylated 
lead, 
hexachlorobenzene, TCDD, toxaphene, and others; 
Whereas high amounts of ammonia can cause algae blooms 
that threaten fish and water quality; 
Whereas the Indiana Department of Environmental Manage-
ment recently issued a permit to BP PLC to allow their 
facility in Whiting, IN, to release 54 percent more ammo-
nia and 35 percent more total suspended solids into Lake 
Michigan each day; 
Whereas the BP Whiting facility will now be allowed to dump 
an average of 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 
pounds of total suspended solids daily into Lake Michi-
gan; 
Whereas the Great Lakes already face myriad challenges 
from chemicals and pollutants, including a steep increase 
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in fish consumption warnings and record numbers of 
beach closures; and 
Whereas Congress has a clear role in protecting the Great 
Lakes as an entity that spans across State and inter-
national boundaries: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) Congress expresses its disapproval of the 
Indiana Department of Environmental Manage-
ment’s issuance of a permit allowing BP to increase 
their daily dumping of ammonia and total suspended 
solids into Lake Michigan; 
(2) Congress urges the State of Indiana to re-
consider issuance of a permit allowing BP to in-
crease their daily dumping of ammonia and total 
suspended solids into Lake Michigan; 
(3) Congress should take action to protect and 
restore the Great Lakes; 
(4) the United States Environmental Protection 
Agency’s actions in the Great Lakes basin should be 
consistent with the goal of preserving and restoring 
the Great Lakes; and 
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(5) the United States Environmental Protection 
Agency should not allow increased dumping of 
chemicals and pollutants into the Great Lakes. 
Passed the House of Representatives July 25, 2007. 
Attest: 
LORRAINE C. MILLER, 
Clerk. 
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