Refinery in Elk Point. (Sioux Falls, Buffalo: homes, allergies, income)

[MJ1986]

I support it...I guess I understand why the people living near it would oppose it. I haven't been to any of the meetings or open forums, but from what I've heard, it's a great thing for our state. The jobs, boost to the local economy...and if it lowers gas prices..somehow..then i'm all for it...

[Steve_W]

So how would it pollute the Missouri River exactly? Maybe I missed that part of the thread.

[egg man]

Hey,

I appreciate the discussion.

Yes, they will pay for a right of easement just like any other water or line that cuts through your property. You don't sell them the land, just the easement. They refuse to put in writing that they will pay for spillage. When you bring up this question, they get mad and have threatened people that "you better sign or we will just take it anyway by eminant domain"

You see, we're screwed and how can one person afford to hire the lawyer to protect himself. They have the blessing of those in high gov't positions.

And the water IS a real issue that affects more than just me and my neighbors. It's a huge consideration. Dry cycle??? We ain't seen nothing yet. In the thirties my mother-in-law who lived on the Missouri said you could wade across and not get your knees wet. What will we do when that comes again? We haven't seen drought yet. And 70 years ago they weren't pumping all of this water out of the river like now. People better wake up before we don't have any water.

I get my drinking water from the Big Mo. It's expensive but nice, I don't have to worry about the cistern running out on a Sunday morning and it's much cleaner than our rusty old well. It turned everything in the milk house orange, (something the milk inspector frowned upon)

I sure don't want to have to give up the water I get from Rural Water to this refinery. Too, this oil company will cross our rural water lines numerous times, endangering our drinking water and they don't plan to compensate our rural water districts either. It seems they think they can come in here, tronce all over the native South Dakotans while selling people who are untouched by it with the story of "all the oportunities and jobs it will create."

May God help us!

[DannyBanany]

I'm not so sure. There are refineries all over the place that have been open for years without any kind of problems whatsoever. In fact, I have a couple cousins who work at the one in Cheyenne, Wyoming. They supply oil to the Front Range, Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas.

[egg man]

I have daughter living in Wyoming. The oil companies there accept more responsiblity. Too, it is a different type of refinerey in CHeyenne than what this one will be. This in some way is an oil sand I am told and it will take an awful lot of water to "wash" the oil from the sand. Might not be a bad idea if we had the water, I'm just concerned we don't have enough water.

I never said it was going to pollute the Missouri. I don't believe, or at least hope it won't. It's just that all these downstream cities depend on the BIG MO for their water and if it all gets used up here in SD, what's left for Sioux City and the cities below. Heaven knows Sioux City can't rely on the Sioux River as Sioux Falls has about used all of it up by the time it flows past there. This is a semiarid county people seem to forget just because we've had a few overly wet years.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by egg man

I have daughter living in Wyoming. The oil companies there accept more responsiblity. Too, it is a different type of refinerey in CHeyenne than what this one will be. This in some way is an oil sand I am told and it will take an awful lot of water to "wash" the oil from the sand. Might not be a bad idea if we had the water, I'm just concerned we don't have enough water.

I never said it was going to pollute the Missouri. I don't believe, or at least hope it won't. It's just that all these downstream cities depend on the BIG MO for their water and if it all gets used up here in SD, what's left for Sioux City and the cities below. Heaven knows Sioux City can't rely on the Sioux River as Sioux Falls has about used all of it up by the time it flows past there. This is a semiarid county people seem to forget just because we've had a few overly wet years.

If this oil refinery is related to the processing of oil "tar sands" then it will be very energy intensive. I have seen pictures of these operations in Alberta Canada and it is almost like a continuous mining operation for tar sands there.

I think the oil refinery and the related water issues are HUGE. The Upper Missouri River is still in an eight year drought, and I believe it is at least partly a result of climate change. Oh, and North Dakota wants to divert some of the Missouri River water to the Red River valley where most of the population and irrigation demand is.

Downstream, Missouri is watching all this with close interest because the river levels are important for barge traffic as well as electric utilities.

In my opinion, the 21st century we will have to treasure water like we did oil for most of the 20th century. We already see evidence of water conflicts in the semi-arid west with increasing demands for water due to the rapidly increasing populations in urban areas.

[Chris19]

The water conerns relating to the refinery is a valid concern. I disagreed with initially eggman, but I do see where you are coming from and it spurred other ideas that may question the logic of the plant. If water is a huge issue and will become more of a valued resource, then I would rather have the water used for drinking and agriculture than for a refinery. I am hoping that the Chevy Volt electric car does well and catches on. I think that electric cars, with some tweaking and refining of technology, is a better way to go and can use wind, solar, and other forms of energy that are cleaner and more logical (when looking 20-50 years down the road) than pushing for a refinery (which may not be needed in 20-30 years when alternatives are created and are commercially widespread).

The refinery may sound good right now in the height of the high oil prices and way things are right now, but I have questions about it in the future and whether we want to feed our addiction to oil or go with alternatives (and not use up oil completely and save some of it for other products).

The economic impact is good and will provide opportunities but I have concerns about the sudden rise in home prices and some of the baggage that may be brought to the area. I think that if the refinery comes in, the state and local people need to make sure that their butts are covered if there are problems that may arise and make sure that the refienery is built right and modify its processes to reduce the amount of water it requires.

If the refinery company wants to ignore the concerns and modify its plans and processes to be more environmentally-friendly, then I think that the state and the area would be better suited by investing its resources in renewable energy and to strive to be a leader in research and production of it on a larger scale. This way, there would be less environmental harm. Research creates side industries and jobs (good paying and dependable) that benefit the community. The research can be expanded at University of South Dakota and an incubator of renewable energy businesses can be started there. USD has an excellent business school to complement its sciences. Just an idea.

Food for thought.

[DannyBanany]

Even though many people are skeptical of the global warming theory, I believe it is a blessing in disguise. It is getting more Americans to consider low emission vehicles and teetering us away from almighty oil.

[Chris19]

Electric cars are the way to go. I hope the Chevy Volt will spur interest in the electric car. It was a shame that GM disbanded the electric cars of the mid 1990s. If they experimented more on them instead of giving up around 2000, we would be on the verge of saying sianara to the gas guzzling and the Middle East. I think that it would be beneficial for us in SD and the demand for wind farms.

Good point, DannyBanany.

[oldfred]

Here are a few more things to consider in this discussion:

Noise - I live about a mile from a natural gas compressor station and found out after I moved in that there are very limited Federal laws dealing with noise pollution. You can read my rant on another thread.

Smell - I live about nine miles from a large petroleum storage facility and the smell is not to be believed when the wind is from the East. Drive through El Dorado, KS, where they have a large refinery, and your eyes will burn for 20 miles.

Health - There was a refinery in Sugar Creek in the Kansas City metro area and the cancer rates in that town are very high. This subject makes the local news on a regular basis.

Power - The amont of money and political power that will flow into Pierre will be staggering. Oil and Natural Gas run Kansas and they will run SD too.

Bottom Line - You will have more money but a lower quality of life.