South Dakota Votes for First New Oil Refinery in 30 Years

God bless the folks in South Dakota that voted to build the first new oil refinery built in the United States in 30 years in their backyard:

ELK POINT, S.D. -- Flashing a smile, Joyce Bortscheller briefly hugged Hyperion Energy Center executive Preston Phillips as she greeted him in the backyard of her home here.

Bortscheller, president of the Elk Point City Council, had invited about 250 supporters to an outdoor barbecue Tuesday to await the returns for arguably the most important election in Union County's history. The big crowd didn't leave disappointed.

As midnight approached, they popped the champagne corks, celebrating a hard-fought victory that keeps alive the county's chances of landing the nation's first all-new oil refinery in 32 years.

By a solid 58 percent to 42 percent margin, county voters approved Hyperion's request to rezone 3,292 acres of farm land for a new classification, Energy Center Planned Development.

There are multiple reasons why we're paying $4.25 per gallon for gas here in Southern California, and one of those reasons is the lack of refining capacity, along with laws which require multiple blends in different parts of the country, putting additional strains on the refineries we have. Our own government (i.e. Democrats) handcuffs the energy companies by placing foolish restrictions on where they can explore for oil and gas, and by making it nearly impossible to build refining capacity.

Oil refineries can be built to operate much cleaner than in the past, and they can certainly create tremendous economic benefits for the communities willing to host them.