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I recently received the following letter from Carolyn Carlson of Burbank, SD about the Hyperion Refinery project. The project is back in the news.
As I have noted in the past, I have some familiarity with oil refineries, having worked and lived around them in Kansas. While I wouldn't want to live near an oil refinery, they provide good jobs and face it--we aren't giving up petroleum products any time soon.
On the other hand, Union County, SD seems like an odd spot to build the first new oil refinery in the USA in decades. Plus, throw in the facts that the Obama Administration is favoring "green" energy solutions, the poor economy and capital markets, and that Hyperion seems to be the gang that can't shoot straight and it is unlikely a refinery is coming to southeast South Dakota any time soon.
Carolyn raises a number of interesting points below. The two most interesting, in my opinion, are that there is virgin prairie smack dab in the middle of the proposed site and there are graves of our Native American and pioneer ancestors in the proposed refinery site.
When you start moving dead people, particularly native remains, you're in for a fight. There are laws to deal with as well as raw emotions.
Here's Carolyn's letter, which I've edited for clarity and added some headings to break it up a bit.
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Dear Todd:
I bookmarked your 'Thunewatch' site awhile back learning to use my son's laptop, found it on a blog related to Hyperion refinery comment. It's long ago enough I don't even remember the specifics but I do remember it stood out as worthy, that I wanted to follow up & contact you down the road.
As I have noted in the past, I have some familiarity with oil refineries, having worked and lived around them in Kansas. While I wouldn't want to live near an oil refinery, they provide good jobs and face it--we aren't giving up petroleum products any time soon.
On the other hand, Union County, SD seems like an odd spot to build the first new oil refinery in the USA in decades. Plus, throw in the facts that the Obama Administration is favoring "green" energy solutions, the poor economy and capital markets, and that Hyperion seems to be the gang that can't shoot straight and it is unlikely a refinery is coming to southeast South Dakota any time soon.
Carolyn raises a number of interesting points below. The two most interesting, in my opinion, are that there is virgin prairie smack dab in the middle of the proposed site and there are graves of our Native American and pioneer ancestors in the proposed refinery site.
When you start moving dead people, particularly native remains, you're in for a fight. There are laws to deal with as well as raw emotions.
Here's Carolyn's letter, which I've edited for clarity and added some headings to break it up a bit.
--
Dear Todd:
I bookmarked your 'Thunewatch' site awhile back learning to use my son's laptop, found it on a blog related to Hyperion refinery comment. It's long ago enough I don't even remember the specifics but I do remember it stood out as worthy, that I wanted to follow up & contact you down the road.
I live about 5 miles from where Huddleston's crew wants to build, know a few of those who aren't keen on the idea & also some who are for. I'm definitely not, tho maybe not for the vague reasons most have.
VIRGIN PRAIRIE
In the middle of the refinery site is a patch of virgin prairie, don't know how many acres, where I got married back in the early 80's. Never tilled, sprayed, grazed or even seen by that many. Kept secret & protected in fact, tho allowed to be studied by USD biology students brought there by Dr. Ted vanBruggen every semester for years, he used the data to write a couple of books.. The place is wild in the most amazing & beautiful way.
NATIVE AMERICAN GRAVES
Just south of that property is owned by a couple 'holding out', with nesting eagles, a hill used by Lewis & Clark's party to signal to their counterparts on Spirit Mound north of Vermillion. Brule Creek runs through both properties, Native American graves are known to be scattered along it on the west side, not sure about the east.
WATER CONCERNS
VIRGIN PRAIRIE
In the middle of the refinery site is a patch of virgin prairie, don't know how many acres, where I got married back in the early 80's. Never tilled, sprayed, grazed or even seen by that many. Kept secret & protected in fact, tho allowed to be studied by USD biology students brought there by Dr. Ted vanBruggen every semester for years, he used the data to write a couple of books.. The place is wild in the most amazing & beautiful way.
NATIVE AMERICAN GRAVES
Just south of that property is owned by a couple 'holding out', with nesting eagles, a hill used by Lewis & Clark's party to signal to their counterparts on Spirit Mound north of Vermillion. Brule Creek runs through both properties, Native American graves are known to be scattered along it on the west side, not sure about the east.
WATER CONCERNS
I don't believe in letting others figure everything out, when the 'open house' events were held last year I went to Elk Point High School, gathered a couple of copies of the shiny-papered handouts they had with projected figures. Looked around on the internet & made a couple calls & got in contact w/ a guy in Omaha at the regional office of the Corps of Engineers, turns out he's been part of the project to preserve & restore the Missouri River between the Yankton dam & Ponca Nebraska, I can see the treeline from my place in Burbank.
When I told this guy about the amount of water Hyperion told the public it wants to use daily, he got pretty excited not in a good way. Guess there's a couple of water permits they have to get from the Corps, & they don't seem to grasp how much water they're saying they want or how big a chunk of the Missouri that represents.
OTHER HUMAN REMAINS
When I told this guy about the amount of water Hyperion told the public it wants to use daily, he got pretty excited not in a good way. Guess there's a couple of water permits they have to get from the Corps, & they don't seem to grasp how much water they're saying they want or how big a chunk of the Missouri that represents.
OTHER HUMAN REMAINS
Years ago I was a student at USD, had a work study job w/ anthropology that was really cool, working with bones from the people who washed out of the river bank up by Crow Creek. They were studied, blessed & are now buried at Wounded Knee. From that contact I reacquainted w/ Dr. Larry Bradley who routinely deals w/ human remains. When things got going Bradley started to write a grant ap to get the money to fund finding & moving remains, but was cut off by the sd state history office (under Rounds).
I know where 2 little girls are buried, others 'inside the fence' know of other graves & Jay Vincent of the Forbes Magazine 'NIMBY Wars' article admitted to me the Geo Survey walkthrough crew had reported 3 small farm family cemeteries besides the bigger, well known Brule Creek cemetery. Then Vincent & I stood togerther & watched while Hyperion's Corky Frank told the local tv press there were no graves when they asked.... I even called Rounds' office, talked to his aids & told them.
WHAT'S REALLY GOING IN AT THE SITE?
I know where 2 little girls are buried, others 'inside the fence' know of other graves & Jay Vincent of the Forbes Magazine 'NIMBY Wars' article admitted to me the Geo Survey walkthrough crew had reported 3 small farm family cemeteries besides the bigger, well known Brule Creek cemetery. Then Vincent & I stood togerther & watched while Hyperion's Corky Frank told the local tv press there were no graves when they asked.... I even called Rounds' office, talked to his aids & told them.
WHAT'S REALLY GOING IN AT THE SITE?
Now it is coming out that more than a couple of the elderly farmers who signed purchase option contracts to sell their land are claiming they were mislead, told by Hyperion's real estate guy (last name White) the project was to be a car plant, these farmers claim they would never have signed the land over for a refinery but are afraid to spread out as they were told there is a penalty clause in the contract saying they'd be pursued legally if they do anything to jeopardize the project.
I don't know if it is true, but I was told by Jason Quam of the elkpointgorilla.com website that Huddleston has made money in landfills, in the south. Also don't know if the voted-for zoning changes would allow for the property to be used for that purpose too, tho Quam seems to believe the door is still open for it in case the refinery falls through. What I do know is that the seed money for this fiasco is from Huddleston's wife's family trust, they have sued him to get it back claiming he'd gotten it by 'false pretenses'.
Also know the same outfit that played us as featured in the 'NIMBY Wars' article mentioned above was part of the first swiftboat mess. Now Rounds is pushing for the public hearing for the air permit, on 15 & 16 April in Elk Point.
SEN. TIM JOHNSON OPPOSED?
Also know the same outfit that played us as featured in the 'NIMBY Wars' article mentioned above was part of the first swiftboat mess. Now Rounds is pushing for the public hearing for the air permit, on 15 & 16 April in Elk Point.
SEN. TIM JOHNSON OPPOSED?
When I had a chance to talk to Tim Johnson in Vermillion the night before the election last November I told him & an aide all I knew, most mentioned above. He was excellent & said 'I will not support federally backed funds for this project!' in a way that convinced me I didn't ever want to piss him off.
My fear is that Rounds will pull something as he's been conned into believing the country needs this refinery & that it is his legacy to the state. I've seen the look in his eyes when he's talked about it, like he thinks it'll save the world (to put it tactfully). I don't know if he ever had the sense to figure out there's some things money won't buy, but I get the impression you do have that sense from the little bit I've read from you online.
Not that I have any ideas of any great thing you could do, I honestly have no clue except I am trying to tell anyone I can think of, as this falls (in my mind) under the category of one of my favorite sayings, 'They're as sick as their secrets', & to me & a few others here in the Huddleston crosshairs it's pretty clear the ultimate goal here is for a few ol' boys to stuff their pockets full of cash.
DO THE REFINERY NUMBERS MAKE SENSE?
DO THE REFINERY NUMBERS MAKE SENSE?
The figures Hyperion released to the public were passed on to a retired refinery engineer who ran them by some of the small group of refinery industry insiders working in that industry today. Report is they were wildly inaccurate when compared with refineries operating now, of comparable size. Job figures based on including construction, but stated to suggest the numbers would be long term.
Wages based on an average that included executive salaries, skewing the number up to $20 to $30 per hour. Also it's been inferred that alot of people would be hired from the local population to run the place, the retired engineer explained (makes sense too) that no way would they have locals run a facility that; it would take experienced engineers & techs pulled in from other facilities who know what they're doing. Those who fabricate the components making up a refinery are reported to have heard of Corky Frank, but not in a good way. The orders for equipment that make up a refinery are placed years in advance, Hyperion isn't even on their radar.
Wages based on an average that included executive salaries, skewing the number up to $20 to $30 per hour. Also it's been inferred that alot of people would be hired from the local population to run the place, the retired engineer explained (makes sense too) that no way would they have locals run a facility that; it would take experienced engineers & techs pulled in from other facilities who know what they're doing. Those who fabricate the components making up a refinery are reported to have heard of Corky Frank, but not in a good way. The orders for equipment that make up a refinery are placed years in advance, Hyperion isn't even on their radar.
Sounds like a duck to me, or to quote Dr. Bradley, 'They've come to fleece the rubes!'
At least that's what it looks like. What a mess. I have pestered the DC legislators, people from Johnson's office & the USDA suggested I contact the Attorney General in DC so I did. Heard others have too. Have no idea if any one is looking at anything tho.
I've kept track of contacts & have permission to pass them on if anyone asked who might be in a position to look into the matter. Not that this is what I prefer to do with my time, they came here acting like a re-enactment of the 'music man', it amazes me so many are sucked in without even checking the people out first, especially Rounds, tho he does still hunt with Cheney & I'm told his finger might be in the pie too. I wouldn't be surprised.
You have my permission to pass this info on if you think it might help.
Carolyn Carlson
Burbank, SD
Carolyn Carlson
Burbank, SD
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