Land Trust Application Approved for Proposed Refinery

| 10/10/2012

The United States Secretary of the Interior announced today the approval of a "land-into-trust" application for a proposed refinery from the Three Affiliated Tribes. The approval is a step in a series of necessary approvals that would enable the tribes to build the first U.S. refinery in more than 30 years.

"Today`s action is an important step in the Three Affiliated Tribes` proposal to develop the MHA Nation Clean Fuels refinery," said Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn, who approved the application as one of his first acts in office. "Approving the land into trust status will allow the Tribes to continue their work to develop the facility in a safe and responsible way that brings increased economic opportunity and employment to their people and to North Dakota."

The Tribes requested that Bureau of Indian Affairs accept a 469-acre piece of property into trust, with a proposed refinery on about 190 acres. Future federal permitting and oversight will be handled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.

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