Elk Point Refinery -- Now We Can Hear All Sides

Love it or hate it, at least the Gorilla Project, the proposed oil refinery by Elk Point, is now out in the open so people can research and discuss it. Let the company and the governor whine about how we have to keep secrets to protect the business interests; we have a more compelling interest in giving our citizens all the information we can so they can participate in democratic decision-making about the future of their community.

That means hearing information about the project from people other than the project boosters. KELO reports that refinery opponents group "Save Union County" invited Refinery Reform Campaign representative Denny Larson to a public information meeting in Elk Point today. The meeting drew a hundred people for an hour and a half discussion of the impacts of an oil refinery on its neighbors -- pretty big crowd for the day after July 4th in a small town.

Among the contentions offered, Larson argues Elk Point is a bad site choice for a refinery specifically because of the town's small size and lack of other industry: "It should be located in an area that already has heavy industry. They have the infrastructure, hazardous materials division, the siren systems, all the bells and whistles you need if you're going to have an oil refinery in your community" [Ben Dunsmoor, "California Speaker Talks About Elk Point Refinery," KELOLand.com, 2007.07.05]. A new refinery would also pump tons of toxic emissions into the atmosphere every day. So much for being able to use our fresh prairie air as a selling point to potential tourists....

[Stats were gnawing at me overnight, so I did some checking: A second KELO report -- Ben Dunsmoor, "Residents Talk About Refinery Presentation," KELOLand.com, 2007.07.05 -- says "thousands" of tons per day, but that number may have been misquoted; the RRC's website cites reports counting volatile organic emissions from five San Francisco Bay Area as totaling 2 tons per day and total daily "flare emissions" at 8 tons. A 2001 BP document estimates sulfur dioxide emissions from its Mandan refinery in 1976 at 30 tons per day. Scorecard.org indicates that emission rate has been drastically reduced, down to perhap 2 tons a day, if I'm reading the stats right. Scorecard.org offers detailed breakdowns of emissions by type and site around the country. You can find out who's making air pollution in your hometown you can also learn that my alma mater, South Dakota State University, is one of the biggest air polluters in the state. Sounds like the next project after the wellness center had better be some solar panels on the physical plant!]

Now it's possible the RRC is just a bunch of California hippies standing in the way of progress with a bunch of eco-babble. It's possible Hyperion is completely sincere when it promises to be different from the rest of the oil industry and build a green refinery. It's also possible 1800 workers won't give a good gosh-darn about air pollution when they're pulling down $20-$30 an hour.

But it's also possible that there comes a point where we have to stop burning up more resources and instead try to do more with less. We can drive smaller cars (and scooters and bikes!) and save our big four-wheel-drive rigs for when it's actually snowing out. We can share rides. We can spend less time on roaring jet-skis and more time buffing up by paddling a canoe. We can convert to fluourescent bulbs. We can buy more local products and grow more of our own food. We can do myriad things that will be much more satisfying and less harmful than tearing up more land and burning up more oil. It's just a question of priorities. And now that the governor and Hyperion have decided to stop playing secret games, we can have an honest discussion about those priorities. Secrets are bad; open dialogue is good.

Do we really need more oil? If we decide we do, we have to remember that the price we pay will be much more than just the dollars at the pump.