For three decades, Iowans have worked hard to save our state's surviving slivers of native prairie. Thanks to the Nature Conservancy, the beautiful Broken Kettle Grassland is Iowa's largest native prairie preserve.
Today, the integrity of this Loess Hills gem is threatened by a huge oil refinery proposed near the Missouri and Big Sioux Rivers in southeast South Dakota.
The proposed Hyperion refinery is planned by a group of Texans who have never operated a refinery. It will refine filthy Canadian tar sands, crude oil and will release more carbon dioxide pollution per barrel than any other refinery in the United States. There will be smoke, flares, noise and bright lights just five to 10 miles from Broken Kettle.
Air pollution will affect a sizable area, and native plants and animals will decline in numbers and diversity.
This irreplaceable landscape will be forever changed, undoing the dedication of many Iowans and undermining the biological and scenic values of Broken Kettle, Stone State Park, Joy Hollow Scout Camp and other special places.
We worry Gov. Chet Culver and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources inadequately assessed the threats this refinery poses to Iowa's citizens and to remnant prairie treasures.
Wake up, Iowa, to this proposed dirty eyesore along our border.
- Jim Redmond, Sierra Club, Northwest Iowa group conservation chair, Sioux City
