Commissioners hear pro, con of refinery
By Michele Linck Journal staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, March 04, 2008
ELK POINT, S.D. -- Seemingly every argument that could be made for or against the oil refinery proposed for southern Union County was heard Monday evening by the Union County Board of Commissioners.
It would belch cancer-causing chemicals. It would allow young people to get good jobs without leaving the area. The construction workers needed to build it would bring drug and other law enforcement problems. It would bring "cutting edge" economic development and help the country to be more energy independent.
The comments came at the commissioners' public hearing on the zoning application filed by Hyperion Resources in December. The Dallas-based company is asking that 3,882 acres of ag land be rezoned under a new designation, Energy Center Planned Development District, to accommodate the project.
The company is proposing to build a $10 billion, 400,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery, that would also use a refining byproduct to produce some electricity for its own use. Hyperion estimates the project would have a nearly $14 billion annual impact on the county and pump more than $30 million in tax revenues into Union County alone.
The hearing started with a 20-minute presentation by Hyperion executives followed by 10-minute presentations by spokesmen for two opposition groups. Those were followed by individual statements, which were restricted to three minutes apiece.
In its presentation Hyperion vice president and project executive Preston Phillips told the 500 or so people present that the company wants voters to approve the project. "If not, we'll move the project outside of South Dakota," he said.
In his remarks, Jason Quam, head of Citizens Opposed to Oil Production, said refining oil "is a very dirty process. There is no pixie dust Hyperion can sprinkle on the refinery to make it clearner." He called the zoning application "broad and vague" and said it "seems to renounce any local control over this area."
"May God give you the wisdom of Solomon in making this decision," Quam said in closing.
Ed Cable, co-chairman of the opposition group Save Union County Committee, was among many in urging the commissioners not to act quickly. He told them to: require Hyperion's pipeline route and other information as part of the application, require a completed environmental impact statement and to negotiate a development agreement before approving the application.
"We believe Hyperion is asking for a blank check," Cable said.
One woman who said she lives near the proposed refinery site, at "Ground Zero," said she feels despair over the project. "I look out the window every morning when I have coffee at the Loess Hills. I look out at night and see the Milky Way. That's going to be gone at Ground Zero."
Dan Wiegel, who said he saw the oil spill of the Exxon Valdez in person 17 years ago said a lawsuit against Exxon is still pending; he predicted the county could also end up facing long-running lawsuits defended by oil wealth.
Bernadette Hanson said the zoning application failed to take into account the requirement that the law protects the right of landowners' drainage.
Dr. Charles Yelverton of Vermillion, S.D., said a refineries' emissions are "a significant threat to our health and to the environment" that could lead to anything from skin rashes to kidney diseases. He also urged that the commissioners delay a vote on the application.
Refinery proponents were just as admant in their support.
Dennis Hultgren, 75, who has lived all his life on his family's 130-year-old farm, said he has 10 adult grandchildren who cannot get jobs in this area. He said the farms now are bigger and need fewer people.
"It just isn't in the cards to say 'let's keep it the way it is,'" he said of the local economy. "I support Hyperion wholeheartedly because I'm thinking of the future of our county and our state. I am thinking of the great benefits that will come as a result of this endeavor."
A former Gateway vice president said he had personally hired thousands of people as that company grew. He described how many came from $10-an-hour jobs to make double and more. He said young people came to the company for a career, not just a job. They were able to buy a house, marry and raise a family. The refinery jobs would provide the same benefits, he said.
A number of speakers came on behalf of their city governments. Representatives of North Sioux City, Beresford and Elk Point, S.D., and of Hawarden, Iowa, brought resolutions of support from their cities.
"We're going to be working with them and supporting them every step of the way," Ryan Pidde of the Governor's Office of Economic Devlopment, said. "This is just one step. Bottom line is, we will not leave you with a burden the county cannot handle."
State Sen. Ben Nesslehuff, D-Vermillion, said he attempted to put California's law governing refineries into law, but was defeated. He said South Dakota law restricts South Dakota's requirements for refineries to those of the federal standard. "I think there is reasonable ground," he said. "This is a negotiation." He urged the county to ask for more.
"Do not stop the process, but slow it down. Make sure, if possible, you make the right decision. You cannot afford to be wrong," Sam Hatton told the board.
Jeff Dooley, head of the Dakota Dunes Community Improvement District, told the commissioners that the planned development concept has worked well in the Dunes and could work well for Hyperion "under a specific set of guidelines." Dooley recounted the tremendous wealth that has grown out of the Dunes planned development.
Elk Point Mayor Isabel Trobough, who spoke of glowing comments from other mayors who have refineries in their cities, said she was getting calls from both sides. She urged commissioners to vote on it in time for the matter to be put on the June primary election ballot, something opponents have pledged to do.
Only if the commissioners voted against the application could the company force it onto the ballot, according to Kea Warne, elections officer for the secretary of state.
The public hearing followed a similar hearing held Dec. 16 by the county planning and zoning commission. The commissioners voted 4-1 that evening to send Hyperion's application to the county commissioners with a recommendation to approve it.
Because the application requires a change to an ordinance the county commissioners could not vote on it Monday, but must wait for a second meeting at which it is considered before voting.
It would belch cancer-causing chemicals. It would allow young people to get good jobs without leaving the area. The construction workers needed to build it would bring drug and other law enforcement problems. It would bring "cutting edge" economic development and help the country to be more energy independent.
The comments came at the commissioners' public hearing on the zoning application filed by Hyperion Resources in December. The Dallas-based company is asking that 3,882 acres of ag land be rezoned under a new designation, Energy Center Planned Development District, to accommodate the project.
The company is proposing to build a $10 billion, 400,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery, that would also use a refining byproduct to produce some electricity for its own use. Hyperion estimates the project would have a nearly $14 billion annual impact on the county and pump more than $30 million in tax revenues into Union County alone.
The hearing started with a 20-minute presentation by Hyperion executives followed by 10-minute presentations by spokesmen for two opposition groups. Those were followed by individual statements, which were restricted to three minutes apiece.
In its presentation Hyperion vice president and project executive Preston Phillips told the 500 or so people present that the company wants voters to approve the project. "If not, we'll move the project outside of South Dakota," he said.
In his remarks, Jason Quam, head of Citizens Opposed to Oil Production, said refining oil "is a very dirty process. There is no pixie dust Hyperion can sprinkle on the refinery to make it clearner." He called the zoning application "broad and vague" and said it "seems to renounce any local control over this area."
"May God give you the wisdom of Solomon in making this decision," Quam said in closing.
Ed Cable, co-chairman of the opposition group Save Union County Committee, was among many in urging the commissioners not to act quickly. He told them to: require Hyperion's pipeline route and other information as part of the application, require a completed environmental impact statement and to negotiate a development agreement before approving the application.
"We believe Hyperion is asking for a blank check," Cable said.
One woman who said she lives near the proposed refinery site, at "Ground Zero," said she feels despair over the project. "I look out the window every morning when I have coffee at the Loess Hills. I look out at night and see the Milky Way. That's going to be gone at Ground Zero."
Dan Wiegel, who said he saw the oil spill of the Exxon Valdez in person 17 years ago said a lawsuit against Exxon is still pending; he predicted the county could also end up facing long-running lawsuits defended by oil wealth.
Bernadette Hanson said the zoning application failed to take into account the requirement that the law protects the right of landowners' drainage.
Dr. Charles Yelverton of Vermillion, S.D., said a refineries' emissions are "a significant threat to our health and to the environment" that could lead to anything from skin rashes to kidney diseases. He also urged that the commissioners delay a vote on the application.
Refinery proponents were just as admant in their support.
Dennis Hultgren, 75, who has lived all his life on his family's 130-year-old farm, said he has 10 adult grandchildren who cannot get jobs in this area. He said the farms now are bigger and need fewer people.
"It just isn't in the cards to say 'let's keep it the way it is,'" he said of the local economy. "I support Hyperion wholeheartedly because I'm thinking of the future of our county and our state. I am thinking of the great benefits that will come as a result of this endeavor."
A former Gateway vice president said he had personally hired thousands of people as that company grew. He described how many came from $10-an-hour jobs to make double and more. He said young people came to the company for a career, not just a job. They were able to buy a house, marry and raise a family. The refinery jobs would provide the same benefits, he said.
A number of speakers came on behalf of their city governments. Representatives of North Sioux City, Beresford and Elk Point, S.D., and of Hawarden, Iowa, brought resolutions of support from their cities.
"We're going to be working with them and supporting them every step of the way," Ryan Pidde of the Governor's Office of Economic Devlopment, said. "This is just one step. Bottom line is, we will not leave you with a burden the county cannot handle."
State Sen. Ben Nesslehuff, D-Vermillion, said he attempted to put California's law governing refineries into law, but was defeated. He said South Dakota law restricts South Dakota's requirements for refineries to those of the federal standard. "I think there is reasonable ground," he said. "This is a negotiation." He urged the county to ask for more.
"Do not stop the process, but slow it down. Make sure, if possible, you make the right decision. You cannot afford to be wrong," Sam Hatton told the board.
Jeff Dooley, head of the Dakota Dunes Community Improvement District, told the commissioners that the planned development concept has worked well in the Dunes and could work well for Hyperion "under a specific set of guidelines." Dooley recounted the tremendous wealth that has grown out of the Dunes planned development.
Elk Point Mayor Isabel Trobough, who spoke of glowing comments from other mayors who have refineries in their cities, said she was getting calls from both sides. She urged commissioners to vote on it in time for the matter to be put on the June primary election ballot, something opponents have pledged to do.
Only if the commissioners voted against the application could the company force it onto the ballot, according to Kea Warne, elections officer for the secretary of state.
The public hearing followed a similar hearing held Dec. 16 by the county planning and zoning commission. The commissioners voted 4-1 that evening to send Hyperion's application to the county commissioners with a recommendation to approve it.
Because the application requires a change to an ordinance the county commissioners could not vote on it Monday, but must wait for a second meeting at which it is considered before voting.
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homesick in the city wrote on Mar 13, 2008 12:24 AM:
And how is it that no one is concerned about the loss of such a large acreage of the most productive soil for food production. Even the FFA students where I teach know of the area because of it's productivity. In a world where population continues to rise and farm lands shrink, how can we dismiss the importance of maintaining our best agricultural resources.
All in all, this makes me sad. In the years away, I've always made it home via the 'spink oil' (road). How ironic. "
Thorgood wrote on Mar 4, 2008 11:30 PM:
In Appendix G of the Air Permit, Hyperion says that only 32% of the jobs will go to people within a one hour radius and that most will be the lowest on the pay scale.
If we accept this, we accept higher gas prices for many years. The only way oil companies can profit from refining this crude oil (not sweet oil) is for gas prices to stay high.
Hyperion has said they will surpass CA standards, yet Hyperion is on the record as opposing the bill Nesselhoff proposed.
BACT (Best Available Control Technology) is actually not the best because the company only needs to pick the "best" that they are willing to pay for. LAER (Lowest Achievable Emission Rate) is actually the best.
We're not saying to not build a refinery. We're saying build it in an area that is already industrial.
"
jb wrote on Mar 4, 2008 9:13 PM:
Informed wrote on Mar 4, 2008 1:33 PM:
input wrote on Mar 4, 2008 11:54 AM:
If you are really against such facilities, turn off your furnace and lights and park your car. Humanity cannot survive without energy sources including oil and gas and other mined products taken from the earth. "