Angry residents sounded off during a public meeting with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Wednesday night at River Rogue High School.
Marathon Oil has applied for a permit to allow for an increase pollutants, as they try to meet new federal guidelines for fuel standards for cars and trucks. Marathon wants to install new equipment at the refinery along I-75 in southwest Detroit that would remove sulfur from the gas it makes.
Emissions would increase from at least eight pollutants, including 22 more tons of sulfur dioxide in the air every year.
Detroit's Health Director and state lawmakers tell us they don't want a repeat of what happened in Flint with that city's water system. The area in question is already considered the most polluted area in Michigan. A continuous line of folks talked about their health issues.
One woman just kept repeating, " You're killing us. You're killing us. You're killing us."
More informational meetings are planned for the next few weeks, and the public comment period will extend to Jan. 29.
The DEQ will eventually decide whether to approve, deny, or change the permit.
