Mississippi River Levels Improve, New Diesel Refinery

[TOM4CWB]

RRFN
A Weekly Update From Your Friends at the Red River
Farm Network
Monday, February 11, 2013

"Mississippi River Levels Improve — Mosaic
Company’s Northern Plains account manager Michael
Hubert says the river situation has improved due to
recent weather events in the Ohio River Valley and the
upper Mississippi River. “We’re seeing good snow melt
and so forth that is bringing the river back up to levels
that we can operate; so right now we’re saying the
river situation has gotten significantly better.” Hubert
addressed the Northwest Farm Managers Association’s
annual meeting in Fargo, and said farmers and
retailers are still reluctant to stockpile fertilizer after
the price crash in 2008."



Plans Announced to Construct a Diesel Refinery in
North Dakota — North Dakota Governor Jack
Dalrymple and MDU Resources Group, Inc. have
announced plans to build a diesel refinery near
Dickinson. MDU Resources and Indiana-based Calumet
Specialty Products Partners have formed a joint
venture, Dakota Prairie Refining, to build and operate a
refinery capable of processing 20,000 barrels of
Bakken crude oil per day. Dave Goodin is President and
CEO of MDU Resources. “We feel, based on feasibility
studies, this is approximately a 20-month project; we
believe by the 4th quarter of 2014 this refinery could
be up and operating," Goodin said, "the construction
cost is estimated between $280 to $300 million. The
state will assist MDU and Calumet throughout the
planning process.

www.rrfn.com

[Horse]

Diesel refinery 280/300 mill. How then we in alta are told $ 6/7 billion and 5/7 yr to build a refinery so we can could capture a little more value to our dirty oil?
I think something stinks here. O h well just politics and big oil working together.

[ajl]

Does this mean lower urea prices this
spring with them being able to bring it
further upriver?

[Hopperbin]

20 months seems to be a little fast to build an oil refinery and the cost estimate does not look correct either.
comparing to FNA's 1 billion dollar 1 million ton urea plant. Makes you wonder if should build the urea plant in North Dakota also if that is the case. Hopefully Stantec is on top of all this.

[checking]

Do you wonder if all of Tom's "hand wringing" and "crying" over the Army Corp not diverting water from another watershed a month back hasn't solved the mighty Mississippi's flotation problems?

[Burbert]

Water discussions currently going on in
Albertie and wes open fer business. Wes
pollutin the mighty Athabasca River wit
oil! Maybe just maybe, insteada
pipeline bitumen, we could simply dig a
DITCH South and send the thristy usa
bitumin and water at the same time
filling the mighty Miss and their tanks.
Talk about a win/win, then paddle
wheelers could travel both ways and
Comedia and the us will bee the besta
fiends agin!! No need fer snowbirds ta
flee by motorhome, just hobble onta a
paddle wheeler goin South before Winter
in Comedia!!!!!!!!! Cabin fever really
allows the creative juice ta floww.

[TOM4CWB]

Checking,

Perhaps praying for rain did the most to solve the
problem!

The Corps did provide enough additional water flow
from other near full eastern reservoirs during January
to keep navigation viable... just NOT from the
Missouri.

Read the article below... this is pure politics...

"Water from the lake [Lake Sakakawea/Missouri
reservoir requested release in December] will support
hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a process used in
drilling for oil and natural gas, Michelle Klose,
assistant state engineer for the North Dakota State
Water Commission, said today in a phone interview.

The water will be used for oil drilling.

“Corps officials told senators that water in the Missouri
River reservoirs needed to be carefully preserved,”
Harkin said. “Yet, the Corps now seems to have taken a
very different view regarding a new use of water out of
Lake Sakakawea.”

Cheers

Background...

Harkin Seeks Reason for Missouri Water Release After
Snub
By Brian Wingfield - Feb 11, 2013 2:16 PM MT

An Iowa senator demanded the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers explain why it refused to use Missouri River
water to replenish the drought-stricken Mississippi a
day after it approved releasing water for oil drilling.

“Corps leaders have a responsibility to explain this
turn of events -- and not just to Congress, but to Iowa
communities and others like them up and down the
Mississippi River that rely on the river for moving
goods,” Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, said
today in an e-mailed statement.

The Army on Dec. 5 agreed to let a unit of Select
Energy Services LLC withdraw from North Dakota’s
Lake Sakakawea, formed by a dam on the Missouri.
The next day, it told U.S. senators including Harkin
and Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, that it wasn’t
authorized to provide additional water from the
Missouri to aid navigation downstream on the
Mississippi River.

Low water levels, caused by the worst drought since
the 1930s, have threatened barge traffic for operators
including Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. of Decatur,
Illinois; American Electric Power Co. of Columbus,
Ohio; and Cargill Inc. of Minneapolis. Companies ship
as much as $2.8 billion in goods including grain, crude
oil and coal along the Mississippi in a typical January,
according to The American Waterways Operators, an
Arlington, Virginia-based industry group.

Last month the Corps completed emergency rock
removal on the river near Thebes, Illinois, which was
the most hazardous point for barges, at the prodding
of lawmakers led by Durbin.

‘Negative Effects’
Releasing water from the Missouri, which joins the
Mississippi at St. Louis, would have “significant
negative effects” including potentially less supply for
drinking water and loss of marine-wildlife habitat, Jo-
Ellen Darcy, the Army’s assistant secretary for civil
works, wrote in a Dec. 6 letter to lawmakers.

The previous day, the Corps notified its Omaha,
Nebraska district that Darcy had approved an
agreement to release surplus water from Lake
Sakakawea, the Army disclosed in a Feb. 7 statement.
International Western Co. of Southlake, Texas, a unit of
Houston-based Select Energy, will remove 1.6 billion
gallons of water, according to the Corps. Company
officials haven’t responded to requests for comment
about the use of the water.
Water from the lake will support hydraulic fracturing,
or fracking, a process used in drilling for oil and
natural gas, Michelle Klose, assistant state engineer for
the North Dakota State Water Commission, said today
in a phone interview. The water will be used for oil
drilling.
“Corps officials told senators that water in the Missouri
River reservoirs needed to be carefully preserved,”
Harkin said. “Yet, the Corps now seems to have taken a
very different view regarding a new use of water out of
Lake Sakakawea.”
He said the issue will probably be raised when
Congress considers legislation for the development of
water resources.

[checking]

Tom.

1.6 billion gallons of water sounds to those not educated to understand what a billion represents, other than a large number, is really impressive. Just think what a big number the average Joe American would be looking at if the US had gone metric instead of Canada. Talk to me about the significance of this puddle when you do a conversion to acre feet of water that it would have meant if the Corp had been stupid enough to believe that that amount would have even made it to Thebes, Illinois
before evaporating.

Good grief Tom, if that is the best counterpoint Republicans can use to discredit the Army Corp they really are sucking on an empty straw.

Your point on prayer turning this around is just as dense as the Republicans who fail to realize that if they would just shutup about religion, that few want to hear about in politics, could get them back in the White House.

I credit Harper with understanding how to shutup about private belifs. You sir would do well if you just followed his example.

As if that is going to happen!!!!!

[TOM4CWB]

Checking...

Ah Hum....

Perhaps BEFORE you nail the Republicans for this your
strange political 'misdemeanour' of political incorrect
criticisms of the Army Corps.... you might have read
the article.

"Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, said
today in an e-mailed statement."

Since the overwhelming majority of Folks in the US
believe in a higher power... many call 'God'... perhaps
you are batting 2 for 2. Most people in the US do pray
and believe in prayer... in times of stress and
difficulty...

http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-
landscape-study-key-findings.pdf

Proof:

Major Religious Traditions in the U.S.

Among all adults...

% Christian 78.4

Protestant 51.3
Evangelical churches 26.3
Mainline churches 18.1
Hist. black churches 6.9

Catholics 23.9

Mormon 1.7

Jehovah’s Witness .7

Orthodox .6
Other Christian .3

Other Religions

Jewish 1.7
Buddhist .7
Muslim .6
Hindu .4
Other Faiths 1.2
New Age .4
Native American, less than .03

Unaffiliated 16.1

of these folks:
Atheist 1.6
Agnostic 2.4
Nothing in particular 12.1

Don't Know or refused .8

2007 Data


Cheers!

[ColevilleH2S]

I'm surprised Jedi is not on that list.
Haha

[checking]

With an infinite universe, and an infinite number of parallel universes, mathematics says that there are an infinite number of Gods being worshipped. Your one God rule is out.

The real mind boggler is that there are an infinite number of Tom's supporting the old CWB.