Just when I couldn’t keep my conspiracy theories together, thinking Mike and Lloyd made a trip to the Antarctica of the Dakotas to invest in housing up there, this unique little story pops up (H/T – Red Angel);
Energy Transfer Partners LP of Dallas, Texas, says it expects to have the $3.7 billion, 1,100-mile Bakken Pipeline completed and in service by the end of 2016.
South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Chairman Gary Hanson said officials there first learned about the project from landowners three to four weeks before being contacted by company officials.
“At first it was very much a stealth pipeline type of a situation for us, because we heard about it from landowners who had been contacted by the company,” Hanson said. “We didn’t hear about it originally from the company itself, which is unusual.”
The pipeline would continue its diagonal route through South Dakota, passing near Redfield and Sioux Falls, and bisect Iowa before reaching its final destination in Patoka, Ill.
See, XL is probably dead in the water, they are looking at moving the pipeline to Canada. Now we have this new pipeline to contend with. But the fight with podunk farmers will probably be an easy one, and our push over PUC will also cave. Then comes Harrisburg and Sioux Falls. Lot’s of money to be made in land deals, and who could sell the city residents on such a deal? Well of course the best damn salesperson turned mayor we have ever seen (doesn’t hurt he is ooozing with transparency 🙁
See, he sold us another Walmart (maybe two) an events center, a tennis center (so his wife can play in winter) an indoor pool, etc., etc. What is stopping him on selling us a pipeline?
It will be fun to watch city leadership when it comes to developing this pipeline. Looks like it is time to wake up the petition gathering folks, this will probably be the biggest fight city hall has ever seen.
I have lived in multiple boom towns like Williston and Watford City ND.
The growth that is occurring in Sioux Falls has nothing to do with what is happening in the Bakken oil fields of western North Dakota. Follow the Williston Herald for a few months and the difference will be clear.
The transient work force that is moving in and out of the Bakken and the pressures that it creates in these ND communities bears no resemblance to the 2,000-3,000 (maybe) people who move to SF each year.
For the most part these are individuals (and often times their families) who are continually on the move and follow the largest projects (oil, coal, construction, etc…) throughout the country.
So, why did the Mayor of Sioux Falls go to the Bakken…
And, why did Williston Development Director, Tom Rolfstad, come to Sioux Falls, South Dakota……
Maybe the mayor would rather have a pipeline for the Bakken oilfield crude running “near” Sioux Falls than through it on rail cars. We presently get 3 trains a week through Sioux Falls carrying Bakken crude. Each 100 car train has about 3,000,000 gallons of crude. Pipelines may statistically spill more gallons per year, but pipelines are also statistically safer for the general population.
The Alberta tar sands crude is also being shipped through the US on rail. So not building a pipeline does not stop the flow. Beside Warren Buffet’s railroad needs the business.
Invest in American Railcar -Stock Symbol ARII – Not enough rail cars around to ship both crude and corn.
Need more engines, more ties, more track repair equipment, more RR personnel as well. Them cars don’t hover across the land on their own power.