Stay watchful on all environmental issues

On July 15, the media broke the story that BP was approved to increase the amount of hazardous materials they could dump in Lake Michigan. The next morning, I publicly called for a boycott of BP gas stations on my radio program on WRMN in Elgin. I was extremely pleased to see the public and political outrage that mounted a campaign to stop this additional dumping. BP has announced it will look for other alternatives.

We must be watchful that future efforts by BP and others do not increase pollutants in Lake Michigan. The reason for such watchfulness is the current administration in Washington.

On Aug. 24, the Interior Department announced proposed regulations that will do major damage in coal fields in the Appalachia area. It will legalize the removal of mountain tops to get at the coal. The residue of this removal will be dumped in valleys and streams, leading to their destruction.

The proposed regulations will further compound the problem. They are the third step in a consistent effort over the past six years by the administration to remove controls on such dumping.

Some members of Congress have introduced legislation to strengthen and reaffirm the Clean Air Act to further prohibit solid industrial wastes from being dumped into our waters. This bill has already picked up 60 co-sponsors in recent months. I encourage all members of Congress to join in support.

We must provide a different national role model than the one presented by the Interior Department of the current administration. Otherwise, we will continue to have the BPs of the corporate world proposing actions that will further damage our environment.

Royce M. Blackwell

Elgin