Williams County -- Heart of the Bakken -- Zoning Commission Recommends Approval of Proposed Diesel Refinery West of Trenton -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here. 

After tabling the matter on two earlier occasions, the Williams County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of a proposed diesel refinery west of Trenton during its meeting Thursday evening.

Dakota Oil Processing was requesting to rezone 160 acres in Buford Township from agricultural zoning to industrial along North Dakota Highway 1804, west of Trenton near what is called the Marley Crossing.

Data points:

• State permits have been acquired
• 20,000 bpd diesel refinery
• 93 acres of the 160-acre site would be used for the project
• Refinery to be located on 20 acres of the 160-acre site
• 73 acres to be for equipment as well as to provide a buffer zone

The vote was 5 - 2, one abstention, and one absent.

See first comment, regarding this link.

Dean Koch drove by the huge Magellan Midstream Partners fuel depot in Sioux Falls this week.

“There wasn’t a truck in the place,” said the energy division manager for Central Farmers Co-op. “No gas. No diesel.”

Indeed, no deliveries are expected before Monday.

Similar shortages at fuel terminals in Yankton, Mitchell, Watertown and Aberdeen and at terminals throughout much of North Dakota and Minnesota as well are squeezing farmers working to conclude an early harvest and launch into fall tillage.

“This is worse than 2007-08,” said Dawna Leitzke, director of the South Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association. “That was a supply nightmare. This is quickly escalating to a worse situation.”

On the heels of the last fuel crunch, in December 2007, Hyperion Refining sought permits for its proposed new refinery in Union County. Then Gov. Mike Rounds endorsed the new refinery, in large part, he said, because it would give South Dakota an additional fuel supply and prevent future shortages.

Lots of shovel-ready jobs if the government would just get out of the way, and let Americans get to work.

But this is just one more data point that tells me the administration is not serious about the job issue.