Sioux City Journal

Refinery: It's not a 'done deal'

Posted: Friday, May 30, 2008

VERMILLION, S.D. -- Union County officials violated the public trust when they voted to rezone county land to permit Hyperion to emit thousands of tons of pollutants each year.

Union County citizens should vote "no" on June 3 to reverse this decision. Like many others who live in Clay County, I’ve written letters, spoken to the Union County Commission, and phoned and visited citizens in Union County urging them to protect their quality of life. Some I have spoken with assume the refinery is a “done deal.” They seem to have given up on stopping the refinery because men in powerful positions are pushing it.

Hyperion represents the last gasp of the fossil fuel industry. Texans like Albert Huddleston, Corky Frank and Preston Phillips are addicted to oil. That’s what made them rich. We cannot rely on them to provide real opportunites for South Dakota youth for they are not interested in developing renewable energy whose resources and profits they cannot control. I think the majority of people in Union County have the wisdom to reject the rezoning, not only because they want to protect their prime farmland and air, but also because a recent poll showed that the citizens most opposed to the refinery are 18 to 24 years old. They don’t want the refinery jobs, and we should respect our young citizens’ right to a clean environment.

We can determine our energy future, and the people of Union County must begin at the ballot box by voting "no." -- Norma C. Wilson

Story Comments

Hyperion way ahead wrote on Jun 4, 2008 6:55 PM:

" Hyperion and potentially the folks of Siouxland could be on the forefront of the new "hot spot" for oil. Reminiscent of Houston in it's glory days. Right now it's refining sweet crude from Canada. Soon they will begin drilling for oil in the "huge deposits" underneath the Wheat fields, primarily in North Dakota, but across the midwest. The latest valid report states that their is more oil than Saudi Arabia. It is low sulfur or "Sweet Crude". Which is exactly what Hyeperion is set up for. They will drill, the environmentalists will not be able to stop this, watch what the will of the people take over and apply pressure to drilling for our own oil. IT WILL HAPPEN and you siouxland would have your next BOOM ecomonmy...whether it's in 3 years or 10 years. "

Vote NO wrote on May 30, 2008 8:04 PM:

" Keith, I haven't heard anyone say that we should immediately switch to alternative energy on an exclusive basis. However, scientists are busy developing methods to create ethanol from many plant sources, including some them presently go to waste. Renewable energy is our future, not fossil fuels.
Belushi - Tell your friend to quit smoking and I will vote no to ensure that we are doing everything possible to prevent cancer.
Mike - What would make a better terrorist target than an oil refinery? Think of the explosion, think of the smoke-filled air, think of the polluted water that would result. That's a valid concern, at least for those of us who live near the proposed site.
Jose - I care about my children and grandchildren's future. I want them to stay healthy so that they HAVE a future. "

Keith wrote on May 30, 2008 6:46 PM:

" Annie O- My mother made excellent apple pies and she was a flag waver. She could even make apple pies without apples from her experience running a restaurant in wartime. She also was pretty good at math and would have told you that replacing 23 million barrels of oil per day with "alternatives" like ethanol would leave us with no plant life left in the country in about 10 yrs. She was also fairly prolific with colloquialisms like "a bird in the hand is worth two extremist's pipedreams". There, I got in mom, apple pie and flag waving. Sorry, no fife and drum available. "

Tom T wrote on May 30, 2008 5:27 PM:

" Damn it, Keith, STOP IT!!! You're making me agree with you again!! "

Tom T wrote on May 30, 2008 5:26 PM:

" Norma, how exactly does a no vote "determine our energy future"? "