Stricherz: Hyperion Bad for South Dakota

And now for some guest Republican commentary from District 8 House candidate Patricia Stricherz. My post on the neighbors' deforestation project sparked a conversation about trees, the environment, and, ultimately, candidate Stricherz's opinion of the proposed Hyperion refinery at Elk Point. Don't expect this opinion to win her a fat campaign donation from the usual suspects on the GOP/petro-plutocracy side of the aisle:

...I do not agree with our Governor here. Like anyone, I am horrified by the high prices of fuel and feel that there is something stinky in Denmark pertaining to this situation. I believe that there are other alternatives and would like for our country to use these other alternatives and worry more about our citizens comfort and not the pockets of big business.

Living my teen years in Cheyenne, Wyoming with Frontier Oil ( it's now Husky Oil) and watching an entire family one by one die from cancer, as well as to many others ( one being my own Father) smelling the stench of the air ( there were days when we literally could not inhale) witnessing first hand the landscape around the factory being completely bare of plant life, it makes me just cringe to even imagine anything like that happening to our state.

I wonder just exactly what or how Hyperion plans on doing to make their plant "green" because if this is at all possible then why hasn't it been made mandatory for all existing plants to convert to this process. For Hyperion to make the claim that one in every 70 years will be diagnosed with cancer, is just insane. It's as if they are saying that it's okay to take the chance of losing one human life...after all its only one. No...it's more than just one, because that one life touches so many other lives and it's not right to make human life disposable.

...I am rather passionate about life and hate to see it disregarded for money, power or greed. I may be mistaken, but I believe that these three things were in Candide's seventh level of hell.

[Patricia Stricherz, e-mail, 2008.06.21]

Oh my -- did I just hear a pro-life philosophy applied consistently to the energy business?

Stricherz offers a few more interesting points on Hyperion of which I hope she will remind voters during the fall campaign. She believes that given the enormous impact the proposed refinery would have on the entire state, the project should be put to a statewide vote. If the refinery does become reality, she favors more stringent environmental regulations to hold Hyperion to its "green" word. (By the way, Mrs. Madville Times and I are watching There Will Be Blood, so forgive us if we feel extra suspicious of any oilman's "word" this weekend.)

Stricherz also says the talk of a refinery bringing down gas prices in South Dakota is exaggeration at best:

I just did a little research and found that we would only be saving pennies on the dollar. Cheyenne's gas prices are not that much different from ours. So I feel as if Hyperion is trying to decieve the people in order to get their way. Not good! Again I say...our environment and our citizens health is worth a lot more than a few pennies [Stricherz, e-mail, 2008.06.22].

Check prices for yourself: GasBuddy.com tonight reports an average price per gallon of gasoline in Cheyenne of $3.920. Average price in Sioux Falls: $4.016. Our drive to town this p.m. showed an average price in Madison for E-10 of $3.899.

I asked Stricherz if she would support increased taxes to fund environmental protection. No go there: Stricherz says we should focus on education first, get people to recognize their "responsibility [for] taking care of our environment." Whether education will work on Hyperion's oilmen remains to be seen.

Stricherz says she treasures the open prairie, native grasses, livestock, and trees here and doesn't want to see us give in to economic development that turns us into a "concrete state" like New York or California.

In our e-mail exchange, I again suggested that with talk like that on Hyperion and the environment, Stricherz mind find herself stretching the seams of the Republican tent a little far and that she might find herself more comfortable on my side of the political aisle. No go there, either... although Stricherz strikes a bipartisan—or is it nonpartisan?— note:

I am a child of God first and foremost and do not wish to be identified as much by my political affilations as much as my opinions, beliefs, and ideas [Stricherz, e-mail, 2008.06.22].

So, just how many joint campaign appearances will the GOP's Jerry Johnson and Russell Olson of Madison be making with Stricherz on the campaign trail? Stay tuned... (and hey, Jerry, e-mail me your platform!).