Small Town News

Tribal refinery idea has potential

---

No new oil refineries have been approved in the United States since 1976. But last week, three federal agencies issued a final environment impact statement for a 13,000-barrel per day clean fuels refinery proposed by the Three Affiliated Tribes for a site near Makoti. The proposed refinery would process pre-refined oil from Canadian tar sands into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and propane.

The Environmental Protection Agency, one of the federal agencies involved, prefers the refinery get a Clean Water Act discharge permit, which would need the construction of a wastewater treatment plant. The other agencies are the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of Interior. There's now a 30-day cqrn-ment period for the environmental impact statement.

Therels no guarantee a refinery will be built by the Three Tribes; given the history of the industry, the odds are against it. But the idea has already survived hefty choruses of naysayers. Never say never, the old line refrains.

The development of an oil refinery by the Three Tribes near the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation would offer good-paying jobs to an area where unemployment has been chronic. It would be the people of Fort Berthold taking hold of their own destiny. Already Fort Berthold Community College has started a two-year energy training program for potential refinery workers.

And while the proposed refinery is small in comparison with other refineries in the nation (the Tessoro refinery in Mandan processes 54,000 barrels of crude a day), its proximity to the Minot Air Force Base and preferential federal purchasing programs could establish a strong market for the refinery, especially in regard to aviation fuels.

The EPA environmental impact statement is just one among many the Fort Berthold refinery project must take. Estimates of the cost of such a oil refining operation, according to news stories, range from $ 100 million to $250 million. How such a project might be financed is a huge question, as well as what portion of that might be tax dollars. The money questions are frequently the most difficult to resolve.

The Three Tribes are not alone in North Dakota when it comes to visions of refinery construction. A Williston entrepreneur has been exploring the possibility of developing a refinery near there, and in last year's race for the governorship, Tim Mathern, the unsuccessful challenger, supported the development of a state oil refinery. Further, the U.S. Department of Energy is funding a study by the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives to determine how the state can increase its oil refining capacity.

The future of expanded crude oil refining in North Dakota is unclear. On the other hand, such an adventure has developed strong interest in the state. Officials on Fort Bethold and across the state need to proceed one step at a time and with caution, but, indeed, proceed.



Copyright 2009 Turtle Mountain Star, Rolla, North Dakota. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2009 Turtle Mountain Star Rolla, North Dakota. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

More from Turtle Mountain Star