Davis Refinery
“Meridian Energy Group, Inc. is committed to building the cleanest refinery in the world, and has engineered Davis Refinery to the highest environmental standards, including the ability to meet the very strict Class 1 emissions standards which qualifies its proximity to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Meridian has taken extensive measures to ensure that the Davis Refinery will not negatively impact the natural landscape of the surrounding terrain both during the day and at night, and has conclusively demonstrated that the Refinery will not be seen from the National Park.”
Permitting Overview
- Rezoning and Conditional Use Permits granted by Billings County in July 2016
- Permit to Construct (Air) – From ND Department of Health – Permit Issued June 13, 2018
- Water Appropriation Permit to State Engineer – Recommended Decision Approval on July 6, 2018– Final approval February 1, 2019
- Permit to Operate (Air) to be filed upon completion of Davis Refinery
- Industrial Storm Water Discharge Permit – To be filed before operation
- Permit to Construct (Air) – issued by ND Department of Environmental Quality in June 2018, upheld by ND Supreme Court – June 30, 2020
Note that a major concern of officials from the local Theodore Roosevelt National Park (the “Park”) was that Davis would impinge on the Park view shed. Through both engineering line-of-sight analysis and a demonstration involving large kites precisely located by surveyors, Meridian proved that Davis will not be visible from the Park, even from the highest elevation within the Park – Buck Hill. Through the use of air coolers instead of cooling towers the potential for visual impact from cooling tower condensation has been substantially eliminated, and a large agricultural and natural buffer around the Refinery will limit its visual impact from local communities and highways.
The other major permit to be obtained prior to field construction is the Permit to Construct (“PTC”) to be granted by the Air Quality Division of the North Dakota Department of Health (“NDDoH”). The PTC application was submitted to NDDoH by Meridian on October 17th, 2016, and an amendment to the application was submitted on April 5th, 2017, which documentation demonstrates that the Davis Refinery qualifies as a Synthetic Minor Source. On December 6th, 2017, the NDDoH issued its draft of the PTC for Davis, beginning a 45-day public comment period that will ended on January 26th, 2018, and Company was issued the Final PTC on June 13th, 2018.
Permit to Construct for the Davis Refinery:
“The Davis Refinery permit application was subjected to an extensive review by the NDDoH. Emissions from the facility are expected to comply with all applicable federal and state air quality regulations”