Superior City Council Passes Resolution Supporting Safe Rebuild of Husky Refinery

Husky, which will continue using HF, assures residents that big improvements are being made to safety and environmental standards

SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Superior City Council passed a resolution supporting the rebuild of the Husky Refinery in the safest way possible.

The resolution passed unanimously.

Councilor Dan Olson, who introduced it, says it was time for the council to take action because the refinery is such a big part of the community.

It brings hundreds of jobs and many needed supplies to Superior and Duluth.

“My main point is to let the community know that we’re concerned about the safety, also for Husky to realize that we want to be in constant contact with them, we want to make sure that they’re doing things right,” said Olson.

Refinery General Manager, Kollin Schade, spoke at the meeting.

He assured the councilors that Husky is making major improvements to safety and environmental standards.

Among them, he says Husky will make upgrades to the kind of valve that failed, causing the explosion.

He also says the refinery is putting in a new automated system that will help cut down on the chance of human error.

Monday night, the Duluth City Council asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider whether refineries should be allowed to continue using Hydrogen Flouride (HF).

That came after Duluth Mayor Emily Larson spoke in strong opposition to the potentially dangerous chemical.

Husky stands by their decision to continue using HF, saying it’s more proven than alternatives.

“The alternative technologies introduce significant risk at the refinery and they are not yet proven technology in our field,” said General Manager Kollin Schade. “That’s the conclusion we came to. As we move forward, we’re going to continue to investigate other options that are proven in the United States.”

Husky is expecting to reopen the Superior refinery about two years from now after a $400 million rebuild beginning this fall.

Husky has said they will continue to keep the Superior City Council, and Twin Ports residents, updated on their progress.

They will provide another formal update to the council in six months.