Lisa Vallee, a Whiting resident and organizing director for Just Transition Northwest Indiana, said she was surprised to see BP’s Whiting Refinery included in a study with the nation’s top greenhouse gas polluters.
“That’s really kind of wild,” Vallee said. “But we see it with our own eyes. The folks that live here, we see the black smoke, we see the huge flames, we know that this is happening.”
The Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, on Tuesday, released its “Trends and Accountability in EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program Data” report. The study looks at greenhouse gas emissions as they’re reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s program.
According to the EPA’s website, on Sept. 12, 2025, the agency announced a proposal to permanently remove program obligations for 46 source categories in compliance with an executive order from President Donald Trump. EDGI claims the proposed rule effectively eliminates the program, which collects emissions data from more than 8,000 polluting facilities.
The greenhouse gas reporting program can be aggregated and broken down by state, congressional district, facility or corporation, one of the study authors said.
“It’s a really powerful feature of the greenhouse gas reporting program,” said Kimberly Barrett, EDGI analyst and professor of sociology, anthropology and criminology at Eastern Michigan University. “We thought that a report that broke this data down in this way could highlight the power and utility of the program, and also it could desensitize people to the volumes of emissions, some of which might be occurring in their backyards.”
According to the report, direct emissions fell to a record low in 2023, which is the last year with publicly available data, but projected emissions from suppliers of oil, gas and other fuels reached a record high.
Barrett said suppliers, which include BP, do not report direct emissions, but they report the quantity of greenhouse gases that would be emitted if their fuels and industrial greenhouse gases produced, imported or exported each year were combusted, released or oxidized.
“We do note that even though they move in different directions nationally, the United States is still one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gases globally,” Barrett said.
BP Whiting is eighth of 10 on the report’s largest suppliers list from 2010 to 2023. According to the report, about 655,454,810.8 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in supplier emissions originated from the Whiting refinery during that time frame.
A BP spokesperson responded to the report’s findings.
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“Whiting refinery is focused on maintaining safe and reliable operations in compliance with all state and local regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts,” the statement read.
Vallee has lived in Whiting for about eight years and in Lake County for about 20. She feels that BP has had frequent issues at its Whiting refinery.
“Just back in April, there were sirens going off at night for like five hours,” Vallee said. “I was scared. I honestly packed my cats in carriers and left the house because I was going to stay with my parents. … I didn’t even pull out of my driveway before I could see the orange in the sky.”
Once she got about a quarter of a mile down the road, Vallee said she saw thick and black smoke, which she said has been proven to have greenhouse gases.
“They could increase the risk of stroke, lung cancer and premature death,” she added. “Not only that, but it’s putting the workers at huge risks.”
According to the report, Indiana’s supplier emissions increased about two million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent between 2016 and 2023. Texas had the largest change, and Illinois followed in second.
The majority of top suppliers are Texas-based organizations, including San Antonio-based Valero Marketing and Supply Company ranked at the top with 1,124,845,670 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted from 2010 to 2023.
“My heart goes out to the people in Texas or anywhere dealing with these types of facilities,” Vallee said. “I’ve read a lot about how Texas is impacted by not just refineries but also gigantic data centers and other industrial giants.”
Vallee believes the work of Just Transition Northwest Indiana is increasingly important as people learn more about the environmental and public health impacts of the region’s industry.
“We’re hoping to do a lot of community education, conversations and town halls where elected officials come and engage with us on this information that we’re demanding,” Vallee said. “But also, those fenceline residents can voice their opinions on decisions made without their input. It just can’t go on like this.”