Opponents of refinery location take case to Supreme Court
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BISMARCK, N.D. — Two environmental groups who say North Dakota regulators should have intervened in the location of an oil refinery near the state’s top tourist attraction, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, are taking their case to the state Supreme Court.
The Public Service Commission last year declined to review whether the refinery could be built just 3 miles (5 kilometres) from the park in the western Badlands, the Bismarck Tribune reported. Regulators concluded the proposed $800 million Davis Refinery would be too small to warrant review under state law.
The Environmental Law and Policy Center and the Dakota Resource Council don’t believe developer Meridian Energy Group is being forthright about the refinery’s size and asked a state judge to force the commission to hold a hearing.
South Central District Judge Bruce Romanick in May refused, ruling that the PSC followed state law that requires only those oil refineries with a capacity of 50,000 or more barrels daily to obtain a site permit.
