My letter to the editor appeared in the Sioux City Journal today, Wednesday, March 16

I am upset that the most telling detail was omitted. 

[[[ Union County Commission Chairman Doyle Karpen says: “Evidently they(Hyperion) lost my phone number after the election.”]]] omitted from the Journal Opinion letter.


 The Public needs to recognize that some local governments recognize the challenge, but the actual county where a zoning vote was taken has had no contact with the refinery developers for almost three years.     Jim Redmond


Another side to the Hyperion Project
Governor Branstad supports the oil refinery in South Dakota’s Union County. He criticized Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources for expressing concerns about the refinery. Be thankful that at least one Iowa agency raised questions about an industry like this regarding pollution and other complicated issues.
When the Gorilla from Texas starts moving dirt, will the Governor support Plymouth, Woodbury, and other local governments needing state help with huge new infrastructure costs? Are economic advisors telling Branstad about the downside of this project? Do they have plans for Iowa taxes to support the workforce and their families?
Last week, South Dakota’s Clay County Commission sent a pointed letter to that state’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Clay County is only three miles from the proposed site. They warned that their county will be significantly burdened by roads, schools, police, and other requirements necessitated if Hyperion is built. Yet that county cannot tax the refinery. The red flags raised by these commissioners should alert our governor: Hyperion will push many of its costs onto the surrounding governments while minimizing their own. 
Union County officials have no contact with Hyperion.

[[[ Union County Commission Chairman Doyle Karpen says: “Evidently they lost my phone number after the election.”]]] omitted from the Journal Opinion letter.

Hyperion’s apparent lack of interest regarding local governments reveals what opponents have said all along: Without an Environmental Impact Statement the public and local governments are at a complete disadvantage when trying to understand and anticipate the impacts of this massive industrial project.

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