Public Testimony of Hyperion at County Public Hearing
March 3, 2008
Transparency and Information Availability
In addition to the process required by the Zoning Ordinance, we have gone to great lengths to make certain that as much information as possible has been available to the public. Examples:
• Introductory presentation was provided at a public meeting of the County Commission on December 4th
• Three informational open houses hosted by Hyperion December 10th, 11th, and 12th
• All information concerning the zoning application – 1200 pages, including the application itself and all supplemental materials – have been regularly posted and updated on the Hyperion Website.
• Opened an office in Elk Point where the public can learn more about the project.
• In addition to Hyperion's efforts, the state has a website containing all of the environmental applications submitted by Hyperion and describing the status of those applications.
Hyperion is committed to submitting this Project to a vote by the residents of Union County, if our application is approved by the County Commissioners.
Highlights of the Project
30 sites in 7 states considered in the initial site-selection process. A handful of final sites still under consideration, with only publicly announced site in Union County.
The Hyperion Energy Center:
- State of the Art
- 400,000 BPD
- Highest level of environmental controls of any refinery in the United States.• Planned Development consists of approximately 3,800 acres generally located East of Interstate 29 between State Highways 50 and 48, and west of Brule Creek.
• The location is ideal – it provides convenient access to roads, rail, and is near an abundant source of water in the Missouri River.
• This will be the first greenfield refinery constructed in the United States since 1976, the first essential step in updating the country's aging refining infrastructure.
• This Project helps establish a more secure energy supply for the United States, which doesn’t have sufficient capacity to process the heavy Canadian crude oils coming onto market in the next decade. Every barrel of North American crude should stay in North America.
Maximizing Economic Impacts, Minimizing Environmental Impacts
Economic Impact
• Hyperion is seeking to bring a $10 billion facility to Union County.
• The project will directly create an average of approximately 4,500 jobs during the construction phase, peaking at over 8,000. The project will directly create over 1,800 jobs when fully operational.
• Hyperion will focus heavily on local hiring.
- We intend to have training programs to ensure we have a strong local supply of skilled workers
• In addition to local hiring, we will procure goods and services locally whenever and wherever possible.
• This project will be an economic engine for job growth and opportunity throughout the region, and is expected to result in direct and indirect economic activity totaling $13.7 billion annually.
• At current levy rates, the projected assessed valuation of the project will provide a net gain in state and local funding of $18.6 million annually to the Elk Point-Jefferson school district, and over $8 million annually for the County, township, and fire services. To put that in perspective, the taxes generated by this project for the County will exceed the County's current annual budget for operations and roads. There is no basis for the statements by the opposition that this project will increase taxes and be a drain on the resources of Union County.
Environmental Impact
• The Energy Center will be built as the cleanest refinery in the United States. The design and environmental controls for this project will raise the environmental standards for the entire industry.
Our Application and information presented to the Plan Commission demonstrate how the project will:
• Minimize water use by maximizing the reuse and recycling of water.
• Minimize off-site impacts from light.
• Ensure the public will not be negatively impacted by odor or noise from the Project. There is no basis for the claims that you will be able to smell this facility outside of the project's boundaries.
Last week, the County Board had the opportunity to hear from a representative from the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources. He described the extensive environmental permitting programs and environmental regulations that apply to the project.
To highlight a few additional points from the DENR presentation:
• The State is proposing to go beyond regulatory requirements to extensively monitor the air, surface water, and ground water quality in the area of the project. Hyperion welcomes this additional monitoring.
• With the addition of Hyperion's emissions, the total Union County emissions will be approximately 25% of the total emissions for Minnehaha County.
• The Control Technologies proposed by Hyperion will equal or better the current requirements in California.
In conclusion, this Project will be designed to raise the standard for the entire petroleum industry. With approval of the rezoning by the Commissioners and the voters, Hyperion will create jobs, fund local taxing districts and bolster the economy, all while meeting our pledge to protect the environment.
Other Items
Fire Protection
• We are working with the County, and provided information demonstrating our fire protection forces will be the best trained in the country. The Energy Center will be self-sufficient in firefighting capabilities. Hyperion is committed to working with and training the local fire protection forces to assist with this project. Our people and equipment will be available to compliment forces in nearby communities.
• We will look to establish joint training programs, and make sure there are open communication lines between Hyperion and all local fire protection districts.
Police Protection and Security
• We will have a complete, self-sustained in-house security force for the site. We have committed to work cooperatively with the law enforcement agencies in Union County and other nearby counties to address all security and police protection needs generated by our project.
Road Maintenance
• Since the Planning Commission hearing, Hyperion has worked with the County and State to put in place a Road Maintenance Agreement for the project. The South Dakota Department of Transportation has approved the final version of this agreement. The DOT has also recognized that funds will be made available for the maintenance of the roads.
• Under the Road Maintenance Agreement, the State will maintain the driving surface of the local roads leading from the State highways to the Project. In addition, the State will construct improvements to the local roads that are needed because of the type or volume of traffic usage. This agreement will remain in place until the County begins to receive sufficient tax payments from the project to take over road maintenance responsibilities.
• During the term of this agreement and afterward, Hyperion will work closely with the State and County to ensure acceptable levels of service and maintenance for all of the primary access roads for the project.
Our approach to all of these issues reflects our philosophy: We are here to work as a partner with the community.
Ordinance Protections and Conclusion
Protections in the Ordinance under consideration by the County include:
• First, the project layout required by the Ordinance minimizes impacts of the project on surrounding properties by buffering all heavy industrial uses from the perimeter of our property line.
• We go well beyond the County's requirements in terms of the open space provided for the site.
• We have agreed that any zoning approval that we receive from Union County will be contingent on our compliance with numerous United States and South Dakota approvals that we must obtain.
• The zoning ordinance also specifies all of the permitted uses for the project. As further clarified by State Attorney Miller's proposed revisions, no junkyard or sanitary landfill can be included within this project without an entirely separate County approval that is not provided for nor implied by the Ordinance you are considering. As we stated before the Planning Commission, this will not be a landfill.
• Finally, under the planned development requirements in the County's zoning ordinance, Hyperion must bring all final designs back to the County for review before the County issues a building permit. Nothing in the ordinance you are considering entitles Hyperion to take any action on the site until that process has concluded.