Nesselhuf Proposes Refinery Regs; Dykstra Shows Big Oil Stripes

KELO reports that Senator Ben Nesselhuf (D-17/Vermillion) has managed to get a refinery law onto the agenda in Pierre. Given all the excitement (positive and negative) about Hyperion's proposed refinery near Elk Point, it's surprising we haven't seen more efforts by lawmakers to put some rules in place to ensure that Hyperion plays by the rules if it comes here.

Or is that lack of legislation surprising? Enter Rep. Joel Dykstra (R-16/Canton):

Republican Representative Joel Dykstra of Canton says, "Mainly the state's interest is in environmental protection and we do have a lot of say about air emissions, we have a lot to say about water protection, and all of those kind of things are going to be a part of the DENR."

Republican Representative Joel Dykstra of Canton says South Dakota has enough environmental standards for oil refineries.

Dykstra says, "Here comes Hyperion with a very high standard for emissions and environmental protection and as long as they deliver on what they say they're going to do, I think that clearly what we have in place is working" [Ben Dunsmoor, "Bill Would Have Tougher Refinery Restrictions," KELOLand.com, 2008.02.09].

Now Dykstra doesn't trust doctors to give women good advice and would require them to offer women a look at sonograms of their fetuses and get any refusal in writing before performing an abortion. He doesn't trust our teachers and Department of Education to put together good math and education standards and calls for outside oversight. He doesn't trust pharmacists' judgment about anti-epileptic drugs and would further regulate that area. But when it comes to his friends in the oil industry, Dykstra has no doubt they will always live up to their words and their responsibilities and shouldn't be subjected to any onerous regulations.

Baloney. In SB 196, Senator Nesselhuf has proposed good legislation setting standards. It governs potential air and water pollution from refineries, limits "flaring" (the burning of waste gas), and amends South Dakota law to allow the state to place more stringent regulations than what the federal government might set if we see a need. Let's see if Dykstra and the Big Oil Republicans will accept local control on that issue.