i'm just underwhelmed

<$BlogMetaData$>I’m just UNDERWHELMED!


First of all, let me wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Cathy and me.

This has been a heck of a week for news on Hyperion. First there was an article in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader about Hyperion and their air permit. It seems that Hyperion ‘forgot’ to list the amount of pollutants from the refinery correctly. The amount of methane that will be emitted from the refinery was initially reported to be somewhere around 475 tons per year. While they were doing the math on the ‘revised’ permit it seems that they forgot to include the amount of methane that will be emitted by the power plant. (Oh dear me!) The amount of methane emitted each year will actually be somewhere around 900 tons. That figure is double of what was originally reported. What is even more amazing is that the DENR approved the first report which leads me to really and seriously doubt that DENR has a clue about this whole process. The problem now is – what is going to crop up next, and like a leak in the pipeline or the refinery, it isn’t a matter of IF but when.

This whole process is flawed and I lay the blame fully on the governor. He might have the rest of South Dakota fooled about the refinery, but I guarantee you he doesn’t have the concerns of the people around the refinery in his list of priorities. What baffles me the most is the media that jumps on this hype; prints it in the paper and then expects people to believe this tripe? Governor Rounds stated in his comments that the refinery is vital to the economy of South Dakota. It might be economy, but it is all for the Huddleston family and Hyperion. I call it ‘Judas’ money.

According to the Argus Article, Governor Rounds has been the shepherd of the proposed Hyperion project for roughly half of his 8 years in office and is passionate about what the project will mean for both South Dakota and the nation. (They don’t say that he has spent the last four years building his resume for Hyperion to look at).

“One of the reasons gas prices in South Dakota are often near the top of the national list is because the state is so far from gas production facilities and pipelines. By building an oil refinery in our neck of the woods, the Governor says prices in our region will fall and it will also allow South Dakota to avoid what has been a growing problem with fuel shortages in rural areas.”

What a load of crap (crap is not a swear word). If you think for one minute that any of the refined products from this refinery will stay in South Dakota, I have some ocean front property in Arizona for sale. I’ve said this over and over again from the beginning that there are not enough convenient stores in this state to accommodate 250,000 barrels of gas a day from the refinery. Why do you think they are going to build pipelines out of here? Why do you think they are going to build rail spurs for the trains to haul it out of here? Why do you think there are going to be over 100 trucks a day coming and going from the refinery? It sure isn’t for hauling dirt, corn or soybeans. This stuff is going straight to Cushing, Oklahoma. Cushing is the oil and gas distribution center for the central part of the United States. Guess where Keystone and Keystone XL are routed? That’s right, Cushing. If you look at the map, all roads lead to Cushing.

What do you think people are paying right at the refinery in El Segundo, California?

Lowest Gas Prices in El Segundo

prices last updated 12/17/2010 at 17:12 PM

Brand Address Regular Plus Premium

Diesel

Chevron 232 Main St

El Segundo, CA, 90245 $3.359 $3.439

$3.479

Lowest Price N/A

Chevron 101 S Sepulveda Blvd

El Segundo, CA, 90245 $3.359 $3.439 $3.499 N/A

76 770 N Sepulveda Blvd

El Segundo, CA, 90245 $3.359 $3.459 $3.559

$3.499

Lowest Price

76 603 N Sepulveda Blvd

El Segundo, CA, 90245 $3.359 N/A $3.559 N/A

Mobil 765 N Sepulveda Blvd

El Segundo, CA, 90245

$3.299

Lowest Price

$3.399

Lowest Price N/A N/A





Now don’t give me any crap (there’s that word again) about cheap prices at the refinery and Governor Rounds talking about high gas prices. I filled my truck last week and it was $2.80 a gallon. Look at what they are paying in California.



Gasoline is a commodity and it is going to be traded on the board to the highest bidder. Again, if you think for one minute that Hyperion would turn down a profit just to give cheap gas to South Dakota, you’ve got another think coming. You are going to pay the same price as everybody else.



Here is another beautiful statement by the governor.



Governor Rounds has been the shepherd of the proposed Hyperion project for roughly half of his 8 years in office and is passionate about what the project will mean for both South Dakota and the nation.

"Hyperion I think should be built. They've still got to do it themselves. They've still got to create their own finances. They have to put this together. But I think we should still be the home for an oil refinery cause we're gonna need more oil products in the upper Midwest."



If Governor Rounds doesn’t go to work for the oil industry (Hyperion) after he leaves office, I’ll kiss your behind right in the middle of Main Street. (To be continued)