CROWN POINT | The Lake County surveyor is writing BP for a full account of last week's crude oil spill into Lake Michigan.
Bill Emerson Jr., whose office oversees stormwater drainage in the county, said Wednesday he has sent the energy giant a letter, requiring it to forward "the amount and type of oil that was discharged into Lake Michigan last week along with the physical and chemical properties of the oil discharged and the source data and calculations used to determine the amount discharged.
"Also when completed, please forward my office a copy of your internal investigation and any external investigations into this matter including your detailed plans to avoid discharges in the future," Emerson wrote.
The surveyor expressed concern the spill was 2 miles from the Hammond Water Works intake, a main drinking water supplier in Northwest Indiana.
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"While I appreciate the good things your company does for our community, and I commend your immediate response, monitoring and cleanup following the spill, the fact that the spill happened is a serious problem," Emerson wrote.
Scott Dean, a spokesman for BP, stated in an e-mail, "We will respond to the surveyor directly, but it is important to note that the multiple assessments conducted by EPA and the Coast Guard found no evidence of oil outside the cove and therefore no risk to municipal water supplies."
BP's Whiting Refinery released up to 1,638 gallons of crude oil March 24 after a mechanical glitch sent cooling water tainted with crude oil into the lake.
