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Click Here: Article in the Akron HomeTowner from the Weigel Family |
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Sherry and Jerry Wivinis |
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Pam Kadous and Kevin Kelley Pam and I are both lifetime residents of eastern South Dakota and chose to live here for the clean air and wholesome rural environment. Thirty-three years ago I bought my small organic farm and when fire destroyed the existing house, friends in our community helped me build a new one. For the next thirty years, we invested our labor and all of our assets to build our home and business. We plan to retire right here. Now we find ourselves trapped 250 feet from the northern border of the proposed refinery in the shadow of the flare stacks. If the refinery is built, we will be driven out. Our home will be unsalable as a residence and a lifetime of labor and investment valueless. We will be forced to abandon our hopes and dreams and just walk away. It’s my hope that the voters understand that many of their neighbors are being unfairly sacrificed for this refinery and unless they can say with certainty, "This refinery will improve my quality of life", it is likely that it won’t.
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Patty and Norman Shedd I live on the farm where I was born 69 years ago. I never imagined I would have to leave. My farm is ¼ mile from where Hyperion has proposed to put their refinery. Both Patty and I were promised a proposal by Hyperion to buy our farm so we could go on with our lives. Patty and I do not feel that we should have to go into debt to move out of here so that rich Texas oilmen can get richer. |
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Ed and Diane Nesselhuf Our children are grown. Ed and I can and will move if the proposed oil refinery happens. It is not for us that we are writing this letter. It is for all the children within 30 miles who will find their air polluted and their safety compromised. We would like to be able to see these children roam the creeks and sleep under the stars and be able to remember their childhood as ideal. According to Dick White Hyperion Executive in the Sept 21, 2007 Vermilllion Plain Talk, “We know there’s going to be problems with our workers..good red-blooded American men are going to want a beer sometime and they are going to go to a tavern and they may over drink and do some things that you wouldn’t like them to do.” The arguments we hear for the refinery are mainly twofold. The US needs the oil and Union county needs the jobs. We would like to address both of these. A recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken’s massive reserves in Montana, North Dakota and parts of South Dakota. We now have access to billions of barrels of oil. This is light sweet oil and will cost Americans about $16.00 a barrel to recover. They are estimating that this could last for 41 years in the U. S. This is according to International Living and Energy and Capital. According to this report we can and will have accessible oil.. So why build a refinery that is using sour crude, This refinery may be obsolete before it is even completed. The second argument is that we need the jobs in Union County. In July 2007 Union County employment rate was 96.7%. Apparently we are finding jobs in the area. |
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Shelly and Ray Lopez We moved to this area 4 years ago from the east coast and we never expected heavy industry here. I think it is a great tragedy to see the demographics of a great area changed simply because of greed and ignorance. Where I came from I saw first hand how heavy industry destroys nice towns. I watched crime overtake an area. A lot of decent people were forced to leave their homes because it got so bad. When I traveled to work through north New Jersey (where many petroleum products are processed) you would not believe the stench and destruction. If you have never seen these things happen, I can say with all honesty that you would not wish this on your worst enemy. People in Union County better think long and hard about this because I promise you it will be the worst mistake ever to let Hyperion in. |
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Daniel, Cathy, Seth (12), Anne (5) and Daniel (9) Petra We moved to our home just south of the proposed Hyperion Project just over four years ago from Pierre. Although we could have chosen to live in either Sioux Falls or Sioux City, we wanted a healthier environment in which to raise our children. Unfortunately, if we had known that an oil refinery was considering Union County we would never have purchased a home in this area. Since one of our children has a mild case of asthma and the Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and Global Environment has stated that petroleum refineries are major health hazards for human communities living near them, we are now |
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Cara, Jeff and Matthew (4) Norby Cara is the third generation to raise a family on this farm. We feel that Union County is a wholesome rural place that provides a high standard of living with clean air, low crime, uncrowded quality schools, a low unemployment rate and steady economic growth. We are strongly opposed to Hyperion and haven’t decided what we will do if it becomes a reality. We think SD should be focusing on renewable energy, protecting our quality of life and environmentally positive economic development. |
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Brian, Tracy and Erin (2 weeks) Smith We moved here in December of 2000 from Sioux City because we wanted to get into a more rural area where we could have our horses and yet still be within a good distance of North Sioux City and Sioux City where we work. Both of us really enjoy living and working in the area that we do, but we will not hesitate to move and look for other opportunities if Hyperion does indeed build their proposed refinery. Particularly since it is to be within one half mile of our property. The only thing I can say to my neighbors is that I am saddened that no one comes to talk to those of us in the direct area to get input regarding this project. I hope that we can get a voice out to those in North Sioux City and the Dunes who care about the environment and quality of life, because that is where this battle will be won or lost. I know many of you feel like my wife and I do in that we cannot live and raise a family in the shadow of this refinery. We would all regret having to leave the area, but the health hazards, environmental damage, and social problems that this project will create are not worth the dollar signs blinding our politicians and civic leaders. |
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Tricia and Colin (14) Smith |
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Harlan, Arlinda, Cecil (9) and Ashley (13) Gylfe I am truly sick of this. It is tearing everyone apart. It is truly stupid to even think about having this. I will have the worker’s camp close to my home. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if my brother Cecil or I were abducted, killed or assaulted. My main concern is for my brother; a nine year old who shouldn’t have to worry about putting on a gas mask or think about moving. IT’S NOT RIGHT! I’m sick of Hyperion! One night one of my friends called me crying. She said she didn’t know what would happen if I died because she knew it would be Hyperion’s fault. She was devastated that night. I wake up a lot at night worrying about this, and it’s not good for me being up all night worrying. I couldn’t imagine life anywhere else, it wouldn’t work for me. Thank you, Ashley Gylfe (13) |
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Mick, Linda, Amy, Manny, Emma (5), Alex (3) and Jake (3) Scarmon We have seen refineries and chemical industrial zones and the gross environmental damage that they inevitably bring. We know that no other place in the United States has allowed the degradation of the environment and the destruction of the value of homes by permitting the construction of a new refinery in the last thirty years. We certainly don’t trust the vague and completely unrealistic promises that Hyperion’s front men have made to convince our neighbors to abandon their good lives for hopes of population explosion and the desire for material wealth. This is one choice that has a direct and permanent effect on the quality of all our lives. Unless you need a job in a heavy industrial setting, you should think long and hard about giving away one of the best, and last, places in the United States for people of normal means to live and raise a family. |
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GT, Carrie, Ashlee (14) & Kacie (5) Stepp Coming from much larger cities, we realized we wanted more of the "simple things in life" & chose to build our home in rural Elk Point, SD. We've come to love the "country life"; being able to enjoy our front porch sitting, going for nature hikes, cooking dinner around the campfire, fun with friends & family on our property while knowing that our children are always in a safe environment. We love the school system with the first class teachers, the low student to teacher ratio's, unlimited opportunities for our daughters & knowing the parents of our children's friends. Please be informed... anything that takes this long to re-zone & receive permits for cannot be a good thing. We hope for all our friends & family to be able to continue to enjoy the "simple things in life" as well. Optioned land owners have already been deceived and lied to...don't sell yourself short in this lure of broken promises. |
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Jim Cody My mother used to say, the devil you know is a lot better than the devil you don't. |
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Malyn and Shirley Eidem
Thirty-two years ago, we moved to the farm Malyn was raised on. Our children loved growing up here and our grandchildren love to visit . . . our daughter and daughter-in-law even wrote a song called 'Coming Home.' As we entered retirement, we were looking forward to doing our 'sprucing up' projects. But now our land borders the proposed site and our front door is only 660 feet from the boundary. This is a picture of a view from our front door; the road at the fence-line would be the main road out of the refinery. We don't know how anyone can trust a company that would even think of building an industrial area this close to people's homes. Yes, we could have optioned our land, but we didn't because of our love for this area and our great concern for our neighbors. We have nice people, good land, clean water, and clean air. Oops, is that why Hyperion wants to be here? We would welcome wind energy. After all, if you live in South Dakota you know we have plenty of wind to turn into energy. |
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Norma Wilson I think the majority of people in Union County have the wisdom to reject the re-zoning, 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. |
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Belinda Johnson I've taken a drive to the Hyperion site and this is what I see; little girls and boys playing with pets in the yard, farmers working their land putting in a crop, livestock grazing in their pastures. I see the neighbors we once united to protect, being sold out. Their lives about to be drastically altered and their little peace of heaven assaulted in the name of "progress". I believe Union County voters need to take a drive to the site and imagine for one moment your pets, your home, your children and your grandchildren right there, under a big cloud of smoke and stench for miles around. If you can live with that, maybe someone there would be willing to trade you homes. Have we "come so far" that we have forgotten the most important things in life are not things at all? |
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Malyn Eidem How many times have you heard "this will be the first refinery built in 30 years"? To quote Red Cavaney, President of the American Petroleum Institute: "Our industry is making record investments in U.S. refineries. Current expansion plans will boost domestic refining capacity by one million barrels per day between now and 2012, the equivalent of 5 new refineries. The United States does not need a brand new refinery built on agricultural land. We need a refinery here in order to get lower gas prices". On April 24, Hyperion's Preston Philips was asked whether or not South Dakotans would actually be using the oil this refinery produces. The short answer is "NO" unless South Dakota offers the best price. For a full transcript, go to sdpb.org. "Jobs trump all". First of all, Union County has an employment rate of 96.7%. Secondly, many of the jobs Hyperion would bring are not "good jobs." OSHA lists refineries as the most dangerous industry for employees in the Highly Hazardous Chemical Sector. Thirdly, Hyperion's own statistics show that only 32% of the jobs will go to residents within a sixty-mile radius. Of those, the highest percentage are the lower paying hourly jobs; 80-90% of the good, high-paying jobs will go to people they bring in (see Appendix A of the Air Permit). We can get better companies with better jobs to come here for our "economic development.". |
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Barbara Anderson I also am a lifelong resident. I was born and raised here, as was my father and his father, I raised my family here and have plans to retire on my family farm some day. My dreams came crashing down the day I heard of the horrible possibility of an oil refinery 1 mile away from my retirement home. I look back at all the hard work my family has done working the farm and preserving it for the future, and to think it could all be wiped away by an ugly dirty industry such as an oil refinery. There are many many stories out there just like this one. My heart bleeds for each and everyone of the residents who will be affected. |
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Glennda Thompson For a very long time we've heard about the "Gorilla Project" even before we knew who "The Gorilla" was. As I grew up just south of the proposed land that's being threatened, I loved growing up on a farm. I loved living close to my cousins and playing with them as a child. Since moving to the Twin Cities in the '70's, I've loved coming back to my home and the memories of a lifetime. My sense of history is one I cherish. To think that those people who for, I suppose, various reasons sold their land to Hyperion, who also grew up on their family farms, and also have cherished memories of early life on their farms would come to such a point in their lives, to my way of thinking, where they would blindly sell to the highest (or only) bidder. I've been reading what many people have said in opposition to the proposed refinery and I'm impressed. I've also read about the Elk Point city counsel's take, what some from surrounding communities are saying in support of this proposition and I have a question for them: What if your land and home were being threatened by takeover of a bully company who cannot live up to its promises? Another question: What if you lived adjacent to that bully, would you be so supportive then? A third question: Those of you who made the deal with Hyperion who have lived your whole life in Union County, S.D., if you could do it over again, would you? I pray you would answer to the affirmative, that you wouldn't trade a lifetime of history and memories, good and bad, to cash in. I'm certain you can't have known when you made the deal the upheaval you would cause. Too bad, ties have been severed, friends and neighbors have gone separate directions, so many lives divided. If it's not too late, repent of your actions, say "NO" to Hyperion and start mending relationships. Be thankful to God for His blessings to you and protect the wonderful, fertile farmland He created to be farmed. |
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Mark Avery ~ Dakota Dunes, SD The Hyperion oil refinery conflict is stressful to watch. It’s important to remain open to information on this complex issue and encourage all Siouxland citizens to do their own research, be respectful, and be well-informed. There seems to be three main camps in this fight: those who see the promised economic benefits, those who see dangers to the environment and quality of life, and those who are afraid to get involved, perhaps because they lack good information and fear conflict. One could challenge the capitalists to do some independent research on many serious environmental concerns, to hear the rest of the story, not just the dollar dimension. One could encourage the people genuinely looking at the environmental questions to look deeper at the issue of balance. Can we proactively support economic growth by promoting sustainable, renewable energy industries? One could support those afraid to get information to be empowered by the notion that they will live with the consequences of their indecision, apathy and fear. Most everyone wants this area to grow and prosper, to have good-paying jobs and a safe, high-quality way of life. This conflict seems to be about money versus the price our communities may pay with severe pollution causing serious health concerns, potentially increasing an already high cancer rate. This oil refinery will affect all of Siouxland, not just Union County residents. Get educated, get involved and remember our actions and inaction will profoundly affect future generations. |
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Laura L. Meyer ~ N. Sioux City, SD The movies "Erin Brockovich" and "A Civil Action" were based on actual events. Lets not be another uninformed small town sucked in by a big corporation dangling dollar bills over our heads and conceed to them for all the wrong reasons. We in this area will be the ones to pay for that decision for the rest of our lives, not Hyperion; the creator of the mess. They will be gone on "long" vacations to Europe, unable to be reached for "further comment". |
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Carolyn Hanson I am writing in regards to the Hyperion Oil Refinery proposed for Union County. My husband’s family settled in this area many years ago. Their great-grandfather helped organize the rural St. Paul Lutheran Church near the proposed refinery. The three children and their families continue to live and prosper in or near the area Hyperion proposes to condemn to an oil refinery. We love our clean air, lack of crime, friendly neighbors, and a healthy environment. Why don’t we hear any concern from our governor about that? Even if Hyperion is a “Clean, Green refinery,” it will not leave us with clean air and water quality as we have now. They cannot guarantee it, because it cannot happen. Even with the most modern methods, they will pollute our water, soil and air. Those of us that oppose the Hyperion refinery are people of South Dakota also, and the governor has forgotten we have rights also. He talks of economic gains, but he never addresses the losses: loss of clean air, clean water and soil and loss of an innocent community. Once lost, it can never be regained for future generations. He is supposed to guard all the people of South Dakota, not the big shots from Texas. Consider some of the health issues. All oil refineries emit hazardous chemicals into the air. We have none of this now. He does not address this issue. This will be a big political boost for the governor and disaster to our way of life. |
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Burdette Hanson ~ Elk Point, SD If Hyperion would have told our neighbors that it was a dirty oil refinery that they wanted to build on our very green productive agricultural land, they never would have been able to acquire the options on enough land to even attempt to rezone. If the twelve million gallons of water every day they use is cleaner going out of the plant that going in, then where is all the poison in the dirty tar stands oil going? It has to be into the air where we will breathe it and into our land from which we will drink the poisoned water and which will no longer grow our food. They will take our clean air, clean water and clean land and develop it into concrete, asphalt and steel! No one in a position of authority has insisted that this be done in an orderly and planned fashion with the proper evaluation of the effects on our infrastructure of environment, and they have not forced them to have a restoration plan and/or protection for the neighbors if damage for miles adjacent to the plant that will inevitably happen occurs similar to what recently occurred in Texas. I realize money is worth more than your health to some, but not to all. We like to live where the air, water, and land is clean! Money cannot buy or restore that once it is lost! |
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Darmon Staum ~ Elk Point, SD My wife and I just returned from a trip to the Los Angeles area in California where we visited our daughter and her family as well as three local oil refineries. We also had the opportunity to visit with several people who live a few blocks from a refinery and some who live several miles away. All of whom we visited with said that if the wind was right, there was definitely an unpleasant odor from the refinery, and they also made a point of saying that we definitely would not want a refinery in our community! Coincidently, there was an article in one of their local newspapers, The Daily Breeze which reported that people were having nasal and throat irritation from the nearby refineries. After letting them know the size of our community, they did tell us that it would change our community and not for the better! Several people from the Elk Point area apparently went to California and visited a refinery in Long Beach. This refinery only processes 26,000 barrels per day. The proposed refinery in Union County will be over 400,000 barrels per day. That is like comparing fumes from a candle to a huge smokestack. The largest refinery presently in California only processes 260,000 barrels per day (barely half the size of the one proposed here). We saw that one and we could definitely smell it! Please help us save our farmland, homes, small town atmosphere and environment. |
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Larry Theobald I wonder what it would have been like to be a "fly on the wall" at the Hyperion executive meeting where they discussed site selection for their new oil refinery project.
I figure it went something like this...
Hyperion Exec to site selection research committee: "OK men, your goal is to find the best place in the U.S. for us to build our new refinery. We need -- a) a state with lax environmental regulations run by easily influenced politicians.
b) an economically depressed area where the population might be so desperate and gullible that even an oil refinery would sound good to them.
c) a core group of citizen leaders who are smart enough to know the terrible environmental effects of oil refineries but are too greedy to care." A few weeks later the search committee returned with: "We've found the perfect place - Union County, South Dakota!" |
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Candice Ross I just want to let the people of Elk Point know why my daughter and I chose to live here in your city. Back some five years ago when looking for a small community to live in, we visited many of the surrounding area communities. We never found one that was as friendly and warm to strangers as the people of Elk Point. We not only found home again, we made friends with those who are there for us and are not afraid to help out when the need arises. This small town has a lot to offer others who are looking for a place to call home. This area of the country is clean, good agricultural land that should not be changed. It will be a terrible day for us all if this Hyperion thing comes in and ruins not only the health and welfare of our lives and that of our children, but ruin the friendships we, as a community, have with each other. Economically the idea is good for South Dakota, but will it be as good for the people of Union County? is it worth jeopardizing our health with the waste that cannot be taken care of properly? We can't buy good health, can we? But we can do our best to avoid those dangers. |
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John Newman We all should be concerned about the environmental impact of the Hyperion refinery. Ten million gallons of water a day, week after week, month after month, year after year through normal and dry years. Ten million gallons of water a day.
Hyperion says it will come from shallow wells but technically that is not Missouri River water. I believe that comes from our underground aquifer we are fortunate to be sitting on. Pump that lake too low and farmers up and down the river valley may have trouble irrigating crops and wells could dry up.
We don't even want to think about polluting our ground water any more than it already is. Refineries typically are major polluters and use many known cancer-causing chemicals. |
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Robert Baker The golden-calf today calls itself “Hyperion." It demands all we have, promising a few dollars of spoils. Short-term thinking governs politicians, and developers are anxious to control shared resources, as tax breaks and incentives are obligingly doled out.
This "god" will create endless increases in the cost of living, as demands on every community resource and service escalate. We’ll sacrifice our lands, resources, water and air, as we embrace pollution, taxes-fees, crime, traffic, stress, and unemployment. (Each new job brings multiple applicants. Some live off of their income, some want to steal it, and some collect welfare.) |
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Doug Maurstad ~ Alcester, SD
1) Section 603. Schedule of Fees, Charges and Expenses. The Board (County Commissioners) will not establish any fees, charges, or expenses applicable to the ECPD District or uses or structures within the ECPD District in an amount or nature greater or otherwise more extensive than those applicable to other properties, uses, or structures within the County. The Board will not establish any fees, charges, or expenses that apply, or have the effect of applying only to uses or classifications of uses that are planned for, or located within, the ECPD District, but not other properties, within the County.
2) Section 704. Required Subdivision Improvements. - Last sentence. The foregoing Project systems shall not be subject to the review and approval of the Board, and shall remain under the control of the Applicant. 3) Section 804. Repeal of Conflicting Ordinances. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent necessary to give this Ordinance full force and effect. Are you comfortable with these demands being made by "Our Friendly Neighbor?"
Would this work in your town?
Do you like being dictated to?
Are we being taken advantage of? |
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Dr. Charles C. Yelverton The Hyperion oil refinery issue is becoming more interesting.
In Pierre on Feb. 11, Senate Bill 196 was discussed at the Senate State Affairs Committee. This bill was killed 5-4. It would have placed restrictions on oil refineries above and beyond the national standards in the area of air quality, flare management and leaks. The bill sought to equal the highest level of protection that is available in our country today. It would not have prohibited Hyperion from pursuing its ultimate goal of building a refinery. One now wonders about the sincerity and transparency of Hyperion. This certainly raises doubts about the true quantity of the cancer-causing emissions both in the air and in discharged water forced upon us. |
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Clark Wright Ever since this "Gorilla" fantasy turned into Hyperion, I have doubts about their intents and, consequently, their performance. I want to know who (and I have asked lots of people) can tell me why it is better for us to have the refinery at Elk Point than at the point of drilling the petroleum -- that is, Canada itself. Why could not Hyperion suck up the gooey mess where the drills are and build their refinery next door to it? Here we are, months down the road and now we have learned that Hyperion is trying to get the U.S. government to provide financing for their project(s). I was led to believe, as were others, that financing was not a problem.
Hyperion has stated many, many times that if we don't want them, not to worry, other places will greet them with open arms (and in my opinion, closed eyes). Many of us feel they have little going in this regard and it is only a real estate ploy to convince the locals to sell at Hyperion price or they will go elsewhere. |
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Gordon Krogh The proposed location of the new Hyperion plant would be in extreme Southeast South Dakota, just north of Elk Point and near the borders of Nebraska and Iowa. In view of the above testimony, I strongly feel that a refinery of this magnitude should only be built in a more remote area at least 50 miles away from any metropolitan area. |
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Catherine Beem South Dakotans can be a humble people. Gracious and cordial, we are known for our kindness to strangers and as neighbors who help neighbors. Many of us don't have much to give, but we manage to give all the same.
Some of us have called South Dakota home all our lives, some have moved back to support our aging parents and to raise our families, and some have come for the peace offered by the prairie. We are known for our hard work and our ability to keep on going in the face of hardships that truly test us as individuals and as a community: drought and layoffs, floods and foreclosures, loss of schools and brain drain as our sons and daughters must seek to make ends meet hundreds of miles away from family and lifelong friends. And we endure. We wish our greatest generation farewell as our post-WWII baby boomers take their place in the natural passing of time. We carry on legacies of farming, industry, teaching and service and not because the work is particularly lucrative or glamorous.
It's a way of life, we explain. The sunsets, the fishing, cicadas at night and deer at dawn. It might not look like much from the outside, but we like it, and it is ours.
Our humility should not allow us to be taken advantage of, and our hard work deserves to be rewarded with opportunities that bring real prosperity while maintaining our cherished way of life. When our political and business leaders sell our labor and our land to the Hyperions of the world in exchange for dangerous, backbreaking jobs and filthy fields and rivers, they insult us all. Will they be the workers breathing in toxic fumes? Or the citizens raising children in the shadow of grey air, unsafe water and loud industrial noise? |
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Lana R. Svien As a former resident, I have a fondness for Sioux City. I implore you to become informed of the effects Hyperion will have on the Siouxland quality of life. Hyperion has chosen to build an oil refinery on pristine farmland in Union County in South Dakota. South Dakota residents have been told by Hyperion that the refinery will follow the environmental guidelines of the EPA, which are at the lowest threshold of protection. Refineries in green states, such as California, must follow the state environmental laws which are stricter than EPA and more protective of the environmental effects of the refining. South Dakota does not have any laws to protect the dumping of waste into the groundwater or the release of toxins in the air. With the prevailing northwest winds, Siouxland will receive much of the fallout. |
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Home | Share Your Story | Websites & Supporting Info | Environmental Presentation | Zoning Letters Save Union County | 31992 Highway 11 | Elk Point, SD 57025 |
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