SIOUX CITY — City Councilman Aaron Rochester said today the city has a committee working to make sure the oil refinery/energy center Hyperion Refining is proposing to build near Elk Point, S.D., benefits Sioux City, if it comes to fruition.
Rochester sits on the Hyperion Committee along with Councilman Brent Hoffman. After his lunchtime talk for the local chapter of Quota Club International, Rochester said the committee has met once with Hyperion officials. They wanted to make the Texas-based company aware of Sioux City contractors who could do some of the construction work needed for the project, and of the available office space in the city. The city is also eyeing the job opportunities the $10 billion project will bring to the metropolitan area. “We’d love to turn this into an opportunity for people who live here as well as for the businesses,” Rochester said. “We’ll do whatever we can to facilitate this project.”
Despite rumors earlier this month that Hyperion was preparing to move its attorneys into downtown Sioux City office space, Rochester said the company has not committed to any space here. He said as the proposed project moves along, the committee will work to get the Siouxland Area Chamber of Commerce and other entities more involved in ensuring Sioux City is top of mind in meeting the company’s needs.
Hyperion Refining is in the process of obtaining its draft air quality permit from the South Dakota Department of of Natural and Environmental Resources, which it needs before it can begin construction. A public hearing could be set for as late as March.