Hyperion hope still alive in Kansas
Posted: Thursday, May 22, 2008
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A successful veto override by state legislators in Kansas could put the state back on the list of possible sites for the Hyperion oil refinery.
Texas-based Hyperion Resources has obtained a rezoning request to put the $10 billion plant near Elk Point in southeast South Dakota. A public vote on the 3,800-acre rezoning will be held June 3 in Union County.
Kansas was on an early list of possible locations for the refinery, but legislators there say the company crossed the state off the list after Sunflower Electric Power Corp. couldn't get an air permit to operate proposed coal-fired plants.
"(Hyperion) told us they were withdrawing due to regulatory uncertainty," Kansas State Rep. Richard Carlson told the Argus Leader of Sioux Falls.
The Legislature tried to overturn the Sunflower decision, but Gov. Kathleen Sebelius vetoed the efforts.
Lawmakers then inserted the issue into an economic stimulus package, hoping other provisions in the package would carry the bill. Sebelius vetoed it on May 16.
"Rather than working toward a compromise solution, legislative leaders recklessly chose to jeopardize important initiatives for businesses and communities across our state by combining them with energy legislation I have previously vetoed twice," Sebelius said in a statement.
Legislators might try to override the veto on May 29.
Carlson said Kansas could secure the $10 billion Hyperion energy center if all goes well.
"Over time, I have kept contact with (Hyperion) every few weeks," he said. "They still have an interest."
Hyperion Executive Preston Phillips has said if Union County voters do not approve the rezoning, the company will abandon efforts to build in South Dakota.
Hyperion spokesman Eric Williams did not confirm or deny to the Argus Leader that the company had continued interest in Kansas or in Iowa and Nebraska, two other states Hyperion acknowledged it was considering in a questionnaire submitted to Kansas officials in early 2007.
"We've been in the process of locating and vetting potential sites for the Hyperion Energy Center for more than three years now," Williams said Tuesday.
"As we have said from the beginning, we are continuing to examine numerous sites in several states throughout the Midwest, and that detailed and systematic approach to siting the center continues today.
"For obvious business reasons, prior to engaging in the permitting process, we do not discuss details of prospective sites."
Texas-based Hyperion Resources has obtained a rezoning request to put the $10 billion plant near Elk Point in southeast South Dakota. A public vote on the 3,800-acre rezoning will be held June 3 in Union County.
Kansas was on an early list of possible locations for the refinery, but legislators there say the company crossed the state off the list after Sunflower Electric Power Corp. couldn't get an air permit to operate proposed coal-fired plants.
"(Hyperion) told us they were withdrawing due to regulatory uncertainty," Kansas State Rep. Richard Carlson told the Argus Leader of Sioux Falls.
The Legislature tried to overturn the Sunflower decision, but Gov. Kathleen Sebelius vetoed the efforts.
Lawmakers then inserted the issue into an economic stimulus package, hoping other provisions in the package would carry the bill. Sebelius vetoed it on May 16.
"Rather than working toward a compromise solution, legislative leaders recklessly chose to jeopardize important initiatives for businesses and communities across our state by combining them with energy legislation I have previously vetoed twice," Sebelius said in a statement.
Legislators might try to override the veto on May 29.
Carlson said Kansas could secure the $10 billion Hyperion energy center if all goes well.
"Over time, I have kept contact with (Hyperion) every few weeks," he said. "They still have an interest."
Hyperion Executive Preston Phillips has said if Union County voters do not approve the rezoning, the company will abandon efforts to build in South Dakota.
Hyperion spokesman Eric Williams did not confirm or deny to the Argus Leader that the company had continued interest in Kansas or in Iowa and Nebraska, two other states Hyperion acknowledged it was considering in a questionnaire submitted to Kansas officials in early 2007.
"We've been in the process of locating and vetting potential sites for the Hyperion Energy Center for more than three years now," Williams said Tuesday.
"As we have said from the beginning, we are continuing to examine numerous sites in several states throughout the Midwest, and that detailed and systematic approach to siting the center continues today.
"For obvious business reasons, prior to engaging in the permitting process, we do not discuss details of prospective sites."
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fact checker wrote on May 22, 2008 2:58 PM:
IowaBoy wrote on May 22, 2008 10:31 AM:
wrote on May 22, 2008 7:36 AM:
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