County Approves Zoning Change for Refinery Near TRNP

After 4.5 hours of presentations, public and commission questions, and comments from the public, the Billings County Commission moved unanimously on July 6, 2016 to approve a zoning change for the proposed Meridian Davis Refinery.  Comments from the public were evenly divided between those who favored and those who opposed approval of the proposed location and zoning change.  Neither the county commission nor the company showed any interest in seeking an alternative location which might satisfy concerns with industrial siting next to the National Park as well as provide jobs and county tax revenue desired by area communities.

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Earth Day 2016

Today is Earth Day 2016.

A Fargo Forum editorial questions North Dakota's dedication to our environment. Meridian Energy's application for a zoning change in Billings County to allow for a greenfield refinery just off the southeast boundary of Theodore Roosevelt National Park is recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Board. Meanwhile, Theodore Roosevelt National Park itself is one of 16 National Parks honored by the US Postal Service in its new stamp celebration of the 2016 National Park Service Centennial.

Go figure.

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Jan SwensonTRNP, Stamp
National Park Traveler on Meridian Refinery

The Billings County Planning and Zoning Committee will be considering Meridian's zoning change application - from agricultural to industrial - this Thursday, April 21, at 1 PM MT.  BCA staff will be in attendance and members living in the near vicinity are encouraged to attend and raise concerns about impacts to the Park.

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Jan SwensonTRNP, Meridian
Interested Party Hearing #3

For those of you interested, audio from the Oil and Gas hearings on proposed new rules for 2016 may be found here: https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/audio/audio.asp

Yesterday's Dickinson hearing coverage in the Dickinson Press: Proposed public input rule catches more ire

The Dickinson Press' coverage of the Williston hearing: Oil regulators visit spill site amid hearing on tougher regulations

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