Note: Senator Rhoden chose not to respond to my letter to him (posted on this blog after a reasonable waiting period). Consequently, the following letter was submitted to the editors of several South Dakota newspapers. The Rapid City Journal published the letter on March 22, 2009.
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This year SB171 was proposed to provide for a fee of two cents per barrel to be levied on oil pumped through pipelines crossing South Dakota. A fund was to be created by the proceeds of the fee to be used for clean up in the event of an oil spill or some contamination emanating from the pipeline. A cap on this participating fund would be established at thirty million dollars. Similar legislation in another state requires a higher per barrel fee. For more details please refer to the actual text of the bill.
The bill was killed in the Senate State Affairs Committee by a one vote margin. The current South Dakota pipeline regulations and the testimonies by the pipeline supporters relating to pipeline spills and safety are mostly reassuring. However, there appears to be a deficiency with regard to who will pay for a clean up in the event that the pipeline company becomes insolvent or is no longer in business. This missing financial recourse is a very important consideration, especially when considering the state’s experience with specific gold mining and solid waste operations in the Black Hills area. Why wouldn’t we want this limited, alternative protection?
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