Several opponents of the proposed Hyperion Refinery seem to be mentioning frequently the fact that the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources allowed Hyperion to use air quality data for Sioux Falls when figuring the composite amount of pollution the refinery’s emissions would mean for the air in Southeastern South Dakota.

They argue that Sioux City is twice as close to the site just north of Elk Point, S.D., as is Sioux Falls. And, and since the atomoshpere doesn’t respect state lines, it is Sioux City’s (much dirtier) air quality that should be included in the formula. The total projected pollution would likely prohibit construction of the refinery here, they say, due to federal limits.

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 So here it is, the paragraph correcting my error in Sunday’s preview of what is anticipated to happen this week at the contested case hearing on Hyperion Refining’s preconstruction air quality air permit application. The hearing is set to re-convene Tuesday in Pierre before the DENR’s Board of Minerals and Environment. That’s the board that will grant, or not grant, the required permit for the proposed oil refinery/energy center:The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources has not made changes to the air-quality permit being sought by Hyperion Refining since the start of a contested case hearing in May and did not meet with a Hyperion consultant earlier this month. The meeting took place June 14-15, 2008. A story headlned “Battle Over Hyperion Air Permit to Resume” on Page A1 of the Journal’s June 21 edition contained incorrect information. (more…)

Refinery opponent Doug Maurstad said this week he’s taking a break from the fight.

“I’m burned out,” he wrote in an e-mail. “Been on this subject for over two years and I’m convinced it will never happen, and if it does, I can’t control it anyway.”

Maurstad said he regretted that his argument was reaching such a small audience, but remained philosophical. “This refinery is never going to happen,” he wrote, “and look how many lives are in turmoil because of it.”

He said the Journal should continue to ask where the oil is coming from – he doesn’t think the Alberta tar sands are a viable source; how refinery products will leave the refinery, and the literal money question – where is the $10 billion coming from.

For now,  Hyperion is sticking with the tar sands and has said it will both pipe and truck out finished products. As for financing, if any is in place the company is not revealing its source. The fact is, that none of those answers will matter if the company can’t get the pre-construction air quality permit it needs to move ahead on the project. It doesn’t make sense to pour more money into pipeline development or rights of way or preconstruction activity until that permit is locked in.

So, is Maurstad mistaking this lull — at least in what the public sees – as the project’s demise? Or is it the calm before the flurry of preparations to build?

DES MOINES — Ed Cable, leader of Save Union County’s campaign against Hyperion Refining’s proposed oil refinery — has waived his right to a hearing and given up his architect’s license in Iowa permanently after what the state claims is a failure to comply with the rules.

Cable signed a consent order on Dec. 12 in a disciplinary case brought against him by the Architectural Examining Board of the State of Iowa. The order follows a suspension of Cable’s license. In the order, the board reprimands Cable for practicing architecture with a suspended and lapsed registration and with violating a prior order imposing discipline. (more…)

James Heisinger, chairman of both the Living River Group and South Dakota chapters of the Sierra Club, sent out a press release this morning commenting on a couple letters from federal agencies that found a number of shortcomings in Hyperion Refining’s draft air quality permit and the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ handling of it. Its content is no surprise. A story detailing the lengthy (more…)

I wasn’t expecting to consider Langston Hughes or his famous poem, “Dream Deferred,”  when I went to the courthouse in Elk Point, S.D., this morning to cover a public hearing on the proposed make-over of the county’s zoning ordinance.

But that’s what happened.

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 If Hyperion Refining is nervous about Thursday’s Union County Circuit Court ruling on zoning for its proposed oil refinery, it’s not showing. Judge Steven Jensen’s ruling left Ed Cable the last plaintiff standing, but kept the lawsuit alive. Jensen disqualified four other individual plaintiffs and Save Union County LLC, all opponents of the project. (more…)

Gov. Mike Rounds, speaking to reporters this morning at Dakota Dunes Country Club, reiterated his pledge that South Dakota’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources would not take any shortcuts in reviewing the air quality and other permits Hyperion will need to build its proposed refinery.

 But, he warned, opponents who have vowed to disrupt and delay the permitting process through lawsuits and other tactics will be disappointed, at least in court. (more…)

ELK POINT, S.D. — All those cars parked at Ed Cable’s rural Elk Point home Tuesday night belonged to members of the Save Union County Committee.

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While the people have voted in favor of the special zoning for Hyperion’s proposed oil refinery, the lawsuit seeking to overturn the zoning is still pending Circuit Court.

That lawsit was filed on March 20 by refinery opponent Ed Cable and the Save Union County Committee. The county commissioners filed a response claiming the opponents cited the wrong law in suing them, and SUCC filed additonal documents, bolstering its case.

Now the Clerk of Courts office tells us that Circuit Court Judge Steven Jensen has had the file in his office for a few days. We’re taking that as a signal that he may be studying the case and planning to rule on the issues soon.

Stay tuned.