Refinery passes first zoning test
Board votes 4-1 after 5-hour hearing
By Michele Linck Journal stafff writer | Posted: Thursday, January 17, 2008
ELK POINT, S.D. -- A proposed oil refinery in Union County cleared a hurdle late Wednesday night when the Union County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to send Hyperion Resources' zoning application on to the county board of commissioners.
The 4-1 vote came minutes after testimony ended in the five-hour hearing at the Elk Point-Jefferson High School.
The hearing ended at 11:43 p.m., and the board voted without discussion.
Board member Bob James cast the dissenting vote.
After the vote, Richard Benda of the Governor's Office of Economic Development said, "The questions asked here tonight will be answered in detail."
Corky Frank, project executive for Hyperion, said, "I thought it was a good hearing of the situation. I am very pleased the commission made the recommendation to take it to the county commission."
Ed Cable, co-chairman of the Save Union County Committee that has opposed the refinery, said after the vote that, "Obviously we are disappointed in the action taken tonight."
He complained the P&Z commission didn't follow its own guidelines for the meeting, and didn't look at the written comments that had been submitted to the commission. He said he was disappointed the vote was taken without discussion.
Cable said his group will fight the issue when Hyperion applies for air quality permits and at other levels.
"This was skirmish number one in what might be a hundred skirmishes. We're very confident our position will prevail," Cable said.
About 1,000 people filled the gymnasium at Elk Point-Jefferson High School Wednesday night to voice their opinions on Hyperion's request to rezone 3,882 acres for an oil refinery.
Hyperion Resources of Dallas began the meeting with a half-hour presentation on the environmental, economic and labor shed impacts of its proposed 400,000-barrel-per day refinery.
In strictly monitored 3-minute increments, person after person came to the microphone to state opposition or support for the roughly $10 billion project.
Each had a different take, but many themes were repeated.
Opponents cited health concerns, pollution, traffic, unruly construction workers, crowded schools and the loss of fertile farmland among reasons the commissioners should vote against Hyperion's zoning application.
Supporters cited jobs, opportunities for their children and increased tax revenues the project will bring to the area.
One man spoke of taking his acreage out of crop production when he bought it a number of years ago and planting 14,000 trees, an area he enjoys. "I am for the proposed refinery and energy center," he said, citing the jobs it will create. He said his two sons are already asking about the possibility of moving back when the project is completed.
Another man, who said he was born on his family's farm 79 years ago, also supported the project. "Everyone who sold was a willing seller," he said of those who sold purchase options on their land before they knew what the project was. "I believe this is a tremendous opportunity," he said. "I hope this board has the courage and the vision to approve this zoning change.
A Vermillion, S.D., physician expressed concerns about the refinery's emissions. He said 500 tons of voluable organic compounds would be released into the air and would include benzene, which he said is a known cancer-causing agent.
"They've never said anything about an evacuation plan," said another speaker who said he lives close to the site. "What if we have a fire, thick black smoke?" he asked. "An eighth of a mile ... you'd have no time."
"We need so much more research," said a woman who said she spoke as a concerned mother and grandmother.
"Cancer incidents seem to be higher in this region already," she said, adding that when her daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, the doctor asked whether she had been exposed to benzene. "I respectfully ask that you deny Hyperion's application."
Elk Point Mayor Isabel Trobaugh said she had spoken with officials in the towns of Three Rivers, Texas, and El Dorado, Ark., both of which have refineries.
She said those officials said there is virtually no air pollution because the scrubbers and other controls mandated by the government take care of it. She said there is no smell or excessive noise, except when the refirnery is restarted after it has been shut down. Trobaugh said El Dorado, Ark., has monitored air quality 24 hours a day for several years.
On the other hand, Dan Weigel, who said he lives three miles downwind from the proposed refinery site, said Dr. Richard Smith, an environmental ecologist from Minneapolis, told him that people living 25 miles or more away from the refinery can possibly be more affected than those next to refinery because the giant stacks are designed to disperse the pollutants away from the refinery zone.
A retired professor of physics said his family sold options on its land near Spink, S.D., to Hyperion. "The opportunity like this for economic development comes to South Dakota so rarely," he said. "We are proud to be part of it. A refinery this close should guarantee (petroleum) products at a good price," something he said is needed to maintain a "quality community." He also praised Hyperion's "very attractive payroll."
Chris McGowan of the Siouxland Initiative, stressed the job creation impact of the project on the entire region, which he said will include high-paying jobs for both the blue- and white-collar workers.
He said about 2,000 jobs would be created by the refinery, but 5,000 others would be created by peripheral businesses. It will allow our children to remain in, and return to Siouxland and Union County to raise their families."
Sioux Falls attorney Todd Meierhenry, who is working for Hyperion, sought to assure residents that the company would not cut off access to any of the rural cemeteries within the area and, in fact, is willing to maintain them.
Project executive Preston Phillips said, "This will not be a landfill," a response to opposition group Citizen Opposed to Oil Pollution allegations made on Tuesday. He also sought to assure peolpe that no water would be taken from Brule Creek and no wastewater would be dumped into it, among other assurances.
After a break at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, testimony was expected to take another two hours.
Michele Linck can be reached at michelelinck@siouxcityjournal.com or at 712/293-4227
The 4-1 vote came minutes after testimony ended in the five-hour hearing at the Elk Point-Jefferson High School.
The hearing ended at 11:43 p.m., and the board voted without discussion.
Board member Bob James cast the dissenting vote.
After the vote, Richard Benda of the Governor's Office of Economic Development said, "The questions asked here tonight will be answered in detail."
Corky Frank, project executive for Hyperion, said, "I thought it was a good hearing of the situation. I am very pleased the commission made the recommendation to take it to the county commission."
Ed Cable, co-chairman of the Save Union County Committee that has opposed the refinery, said after the vote that, "Obviously we are disappointed in the action taken tonight."
He complained the P&Z commission didn't follow its own guidelines for the meeting, and didn't look at the written comments that had been submitted to the commission. He said he was disappointed the vote was taken without discussion.
Cable said his group will fight the issue when Hyperion applies for air quality permits and at other levels.
"This was skirmish number one in what might be a hundred skirmishes. We're very confident our position will prevail," Cable said.
About 1,000 people filled the gymnasium at Elk Point-Jefferson High School Wednesday night to voice their opinions on Hyperion's request to rezone 3,882 acres for an oil refinery.
Hyperion Resources of Dallas began the meeting with a half-hour presentation on the environmental, economic and labor shed impacts of its proposed 400,000-barrel-per day refinery.
In strictly monitored 3-minute increments, person after person came to the microphone to state opposition or support for the roughly $10 billion project.
Each had a different take, but many themes were repeated.
Opponents cited health concerns, pollution, traffic, unruly construction workers, crowded schools and the loss of fertile farmland among reasons the commissioners should vote against Hyperion's zoning application.
Supporters cited jobs, opportunities for their children and increased tax revenues the project will bring to the area.
One man spoke of taking his acreage out of crop production when he bought it a number of years ago and planting 14,000 trees, an area he enjoys. "I am for the proposed refinery and energy center," he said, citing the jobs it will create. He said his two sons are already asking about the possibility of moving back when the project is completed.
Another man, who said he was born on his family's farm 79 years ago, also supported the project. "Everyone who sold was a willing seller," he said of those who sold purchase options on their land before they knew what the project was. "I believe this is a tremendous opportunity," he said. "I hope this board has the courage and the vision to approve this zoning change.
A Vermillion, S.D., physician expressed concerns about the refinery's emissions. He said 500 tons of voluable organic compounds would be released into the air and would include benzene, which he said is a known cancer-causing agent.
"They've never said anything about an evacuation plan," said another speaker who said he lives close to the site. "What if we have a fire, thick black smoke?" he asked. "An eighth of a mile ... you'd have no time."
"We need so much more research," said a woman who said she spoke as a concerned mother and grandmother.
"Cancer incidents seem to be higher in this region already," she said, adding that when her daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, the doctor asked whether she had been exposed to benzene. "I respectfully ask that you deny Hyperion's application."
Elk Point Mayor Isabel Trobaugh said she had spoken with officials in the towns of Three Rivers, Texas, and El Dorado, Ark., both of which have refineries.
She said those officials said there is virtually no air pollution because the scrubbers and other controls mandated by the government take care of it. She said there is no smell or excessive noise, except when the refirnery is restarted after it has been shut down. Trobaugh said El Dorado, Ark., has monitored air quality 24 hours a day for several years.
On the other hand, Dan Weigel, who said he lives three miles downwind from the proposed refinery site, said Dr. Richard Smith, an environmental ecologist from Minneapolis, told him that people living 25 miles or more away from the refinery can possibly be more affected than those next to refinery because the giant stacks are designed to disperse the pollutants away from the refinery zone.
A retired professor of physics said his family sold options on its land near Spink, S.D., to Hyperion. "The opportunity like this for economic development comes to South Dakota so rarely," he said. "We are proud to be part of it. A refinery this close should guarantee (petroleum) products at a good price," something he said is needed to maintain a "quality community." He also praised Hyperion's "very attractive payroll."
Chris McGowan of the Siouxland Initiative, stressed the job creation impact of the project on the entire region, which he said will include high-paying jobs for both the blue- and white-collar workers.
He said about 2,000 jobs would be created by the refinery, but 5,000 others would be created by peripheral businesses. It will allow our children to remain in, and return to Siouxland and Union County to raise their families."
Sioux Falls attorney Todd Meierhenry, who is working for Hyperion, sought to assure residents that the company would not cut off access to any of the rural cemeteries within the area and, in fact, is willing to maintain them.
Project executive Preston Phillips said, "This will not be a landfill," a response to opposition group Citizen Opposed to Oil Pollution allegations made on Tuesday. He also sought to assure peolpe that no water would be taken from Brule Creek and no wastewater would be dumped into it, among other assurances.
After a break at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, testimony was expected to take another two hours.
Michele Linck can be reached at michelelinck@siouxcityjournal.com or at 712/293-4227
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Positive thinker wrote on Jan 22, 2008 4:25 PM:
Possitive Thinker wrote on Jan 22, 2008 4:23 PM:
Frustrated... wrote on Jan 22, 2008 3:34 PM:
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Elk Point Resident wrote on Jan 21, 2008 7:12 PM: