Region 8

MHA Nation Clean Fuels Refinery

Regional Information

EPA Issues Record of Decision and NPDES Permit for the MHA Nation Refinery

NEW: Re-Notice of MHA Refinery ND-0030988
EPA has extended the comment period two weeks until January 26, 2012

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued the final NPDES permit for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) Nation Refinery located on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation near Makoti, in North Dakota. The decision is documented in an August 3, 2011 Record of Decision (ROD). The permit will allow the proposed refinery to discharge treated wastewater into a tributary of the East Fork of Shell Creek. The NPDES permit, issued under the Clean Water Act, details the required conditions and limitations of discharges from the facility.

The decision to issue the permit is based on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared by the EPA and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The final EIS was issued in August 2009. Since that time, the MHA Nation decided to change crude feedstocks to the local Bakken formation crude. The EPA prepared a Supplemental Information Report (SIR) to assess the potential changes in impact resulting from the change in feedstock.

About the Proposed Refinery

The MHA Nation proposes to build a new 13,000 barrel-per-day petroleum refinery on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation located near Makoti, North Dakota. The MHA Nation would own and operate the refinery. The proposed facility would refine Bakken formation crude oil into diesel fuel, gasoline and propane.

refinery location map

Re-Notice of MHA Refinery ND-0030988

This re-notice only reevaluated the technology based effluent limits, which are open for comment, no other comments on ND- 0030988 permit conditions will be considered.

Supporting Documents

You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

NPDES permit (PDF), August 4, 2011 (36 pp, 433K)

NPDES permit fact sheet (PDF), August 3, 2011 (48 pp, 1.3MB)

Record of Decision (ROD) (PDF), August 3, 2011 (22 pp, 201K)

Supplemental Information Report (SIR) (PDF), July 29, 2011 (16 pp, 481K)

Appendices:
Addendum, Air Quality Technical Report for the FEIS for the MHA Nation Proposed Clean Fuels Refinery Project (PDF), March 9, 2011 (44 pp, 519K)
EPA letter to MHA Nation regarding Applicability of Clean Air Act Requirements for the MHA Nation Refinery (PDF), May 9, 2011 (2 pp, 476K)
Air Quality Modeling Update for the FEIS for the MHA Nation Proposed Clean Fuels Refinery Project (PDF), June, 6, 2011 (14 pp, 513K)
Air Dispersion Modeling Analysis of Uncontrolled SO₂ Emissions (PDF), July 12, 2011 (7 pp, 214K)
NDDOT memorandum regarding Highway 23 Corridor, Turn Lane Request (PDF), November 10, 2009 (19 pp, 3.4MB)
Map: Traffic Counts 2002–2010 for North Dakota Highway 23 (PDF), March 17, 2001 (1 pg, 171K)

The EPA, the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (DOI/BIA) issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the MHA Nation's proposed petroleum refinery on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation near Makoti in North Dakota on August 28, 2009. EPA accepted comments on the FEIS until October 28, 2009.

Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), August 2009 (opens in new window)

Locations where full documents of the MHA public notice are posteddditional locations to review the information

Four Bears Segment Office
4 Frontage Road
New Town, ND 58763

Mandaree Segment Office
P.O. Box 665
Mandaree, ND 58757

New Town Public Library
103 Main Sooline Place
New Town, ND 58763

North /Shell Creek Segment Office
404 Frontage Road
New Town, ND 58763

Parshall/Lucky Mound Segment Office
404 Frontage Road
New Town, ND 58763

Parshall Public Library
114 4th Avenue NE
Parshall, ND 58770

Rensch Garage, Inc.
121 Main Street N
Makoti, ND 58756

Twin Buttes Segment Office
70879 E Avenue NW
Halliday, ND 58636

White Shield Segment Office
404 Frontage Road
New Town, ND 58763

Permit Appeal

The NPDES permit shall become effective upon October 1, 2011 unless, within thirty (30) days following the date of the Federal Register Notice of Availability of the ROD to issue the NPDES permit, a petition is received by the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) to review any condition of the permit pursuant to the provisions of 40 CFR §124.19 (NPDES Permit Regulations). If you decide to file a petition for review with the EAB, the petition must contain all information required by 40 CFR §124.19(a). Additional information about EAB requirements is available at the EAB’s website: www.epa.gov/eab/.

The Federal Register notice was published on August 12, 2011. The appeal period will end on September 12, 2011 in accordance with 40 CFR 124.19.

A petition submitted through the U.S. Postal Service (except by Express Mail) must be addressed to:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Clerk of the Board, Environmental Appeals Board (MC 1103B)
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20460-0001

All documents that you hand-carry in person or that you arrange to have delivered by courier, Express Mail, or a non-U.S. Postal Service carrier (such as Federal Express), must be delivered to:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Clerk of the Board, Environmental Appeals Board
1341 G Street NW, Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20005

Questions?

If you have any questions regarding any of these documents or if you want copies please contact:

Dana Allen (allen.dana@epa.gov)
303-312-6870
800-227-8917, ext. 6870

Questions about the NPDES permit may be directed to:

Bob Brobst (brobst.bob@epa.gov)
303-312-6129
800-227-8917, ext. 6129

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