(UNEDITED)People will be understandably bewildered, irritated, and frustrated that Woods Cross City officials appear to be insensitive, in the extreme, to the plight of homeowners living near what we'll generously call the looming disaster at the Silver Eagle refinery. It shouldn't be a surprise that those who are concerned may ask when the refinery is going to be ordered to shut-down or undergo major modifications and drastic, modern upgrades. We should expect someone, sometime to ask how many people will have to die, incinerated in their yards or beds, before someone fixes these problems.
I suspect that the real problem in Woods Cross is that City officials' are more concerned about the income that the city takes from an operating refinery than about the welfare of potential victims, income that goes away when the refinery closes. I'd suspect that MONEY trumps compassion, concern and good stewardship. I also suspect that workers at the refinery either don't have a clue about how exposed they are to being barbecued on the job, or that being toasted at work is considered better than being unemployed.
I also think that it will be extremely interesting to hear what the people of Woods Cross have to say when a more serious disaster does finally happen. Will the current excuse for doing nothing, that the refinery was there before the homes, be adequate. By that logic, no business or activity, no matter how incompatible with the changing nature of the landscape or community would ever need to close or move - think about a pig farm in downtown Salt Lake for instance. I suggest that all of the refineries in the Salt Lake City area, and the rock quarry at I-15 and I-215, are remnants of a past economy and it is time to give up the ghost, move on, and move into the 21st century. In short - close them down.
Doug Manifold
South Ogden
Comments