Just Give Me Cheap Gas, Somehow

In previous posts, I have cited the lack of domestic refining capacity due to environmental opposition and uncertain government policy related to bio-fuels as one of the major factors which drives the price of gas higher. Well, guess what? America might get its first new oil refinery in 32 years! Quoting this link:

As midnight approached, they popped the champagne corks, celebrating a hard-fought victory that keeps alive the county's chances of landing the nation's first all-new oil refinery in 32 years.By a solid 58 percent to 42 percent margin, county voters approved Hyperion's request to rezone 3,292 acres of farm land for a new classification, Energy Center Planned Development.

But, hold on. It's not a done deal. This was just a vote to get the citizens of the county to approve the re-zoning. Quoting again:

While conceding defeat, opponents vowed to keep fighting the controversial project on every imaginable front, pressing on with a lawsuit it filed against the county over the zoning procedures and opposing Hyperion as it applies for a bevy of state and federal permits. "We have strategies in place to slow or delay all the permit processes," Ed Cable, chairman of the anti-Hyperion group Save Union County, said after the vote.

Hmmm. I can't imagine why oil companies don't want to fight lawsuits for years to obtain a "bevy of state and federal permits"? That sounds like a lot of fun. Those darn oil companies-Congress should launch another investigation.