BP Backs Down On Permitted Pollution

A BP official says in Chicago today that the company will not add new permitte levels of pollutants to Lake Michigan, perhaps ending, for now, the fight over the pollution created at its Lake Michigan refinery at Whiting, near the Illinois border.

If true, hats off to the citizens and officials who really pressured BP and Indiana - - including Mayors like Chicago's Richard Daley and Milwaukee's Tom Barrett.

And to organizations like WisconsinEnvironment.org.

We'll see how this plays out: if BP were really, really smart, it would reduce the levels of pollutants it has been dumping by installing affordable treatment equipment.