Alcester Union & Hudsonite Online

The mayor of El Dorado, Arkansas, has taken exception to information printed in a recent mass mailing by Citizens Opposed to Oil Pollution (COOP) which compared the economies, median incomes and other conditions in Union County, SD, and Union County, AR.

The flyer entitled “Case Study: Union County, SD vs. Union County, AR” was prepared by COOP president Jason Quam. Quam lives near the area where Hyperion Resources is seeking to build an $8 to $10 billion oil refinery/energy center north of Elk Point.

The Arkansas county is located in the southern part of the state near the Louisiana border. The county has about 47,300 residents, or a little over three times the population of its South Dakota namesake. El Dorado, the county seat, has a population of 21,536.

In the flyer, Quam noted Union County has two oil refineries, Lion Oil with a production of 70,000 barrels a day, and the Cross Oil facility at 6,800 barrels.

Quam compared median household income ($32,418 AR, 92.6% of state average; $51,173 SD, 126.9% state average); median home value ($71,839 AR, 82.2%; $122,642 SD, 120.6%); poverty rate (18.7% AR; 5.5% SD); over 25 w/bachelor’s degree (14.9% AR; 26.3% SD); and crime index (El Dorado, 590.8; Elk Point, 62.8).

“Union County, SD is already attracting the best and brightest but small counties with refineries seem to drive away the best and brightest,” concluded Quam in the flyer.

“The folks who prepared this comparison have done a completely bogus analysis,” said El Dorado Mayor Mike Dumas. “The median household income in Union County, SD is considerably higher than Union County, AR, because of federal crop payments, of which Union County, AR has zero. Similarly, home values would be higher in an area receiving substantial federal subsidies year after year, which Union County, AR does not receive.”

Dumas wrote his comments in an e-mail to Tom Stevens of North Sioux City. Stevens had sent a copy of the flyer to Dumas in El Dorado.

Dumas noted that El Dorado is a chemical community. In addition to Lion Oil, the city has three bromine chemical plants, an ammonia nitrate plant, and a hazardous waste incinerator plant.

“The community is extremely proud of the refinery,” wrote Dumas. “They are very community-minded and their employees are very involved in organizations throughout the community. Lion Oil Refinery is a great place to work. Excellent wages and good benefits and that is why many of our young people want to come back home and work for Lion Oil.”

The Arkansas county also has three sawmills and two lumber mills. Its largest employer is Pilgrims Pride, a poultry processing facility located about a half mile from Lions Oil.

“The refinery is not polluting the chicken meat,” Dumas noted.

Dumas added Union County has the second-highest per capita income of the 75 counties in Arkansas. He said the income levels may not be as high as South Dakota’s, but it is less expensive to live in South Arkansas.

He also noted the Arkansas county is more diverse, with 42 percent of the population black and a growing Hispanic demographic. Dumas said crime in El Dorado is low compared to other cities in the state. None of the serious crimes committed were committed by people working at the refinery.

Dumas and Elk Point Mayor Isabel Trobaugh spoke to each other last Monday. Trobaugh asked Dumas about the rates for cancer in the area. Dumas told her a state and federal study was conducted and found that Union County was not any more unhealthy than any other part of Arkansas.

“I am not asking for you to decide about this project right now,” Quam wrote in his flyer. “All I ask is that you keep an open mind about everything and do some research. Do not take my word for this; do not take the governor’s word for this, and do not take Hyperion’s word for this. Examine all the data yourself and then determine what is best for you and your family.”

“If you guys don’t want this refinery, tell them to contact the mayor’s office in El Dorado,” said Dumas, “because we do have a deal for them they can’t refuse.”

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