| Pine Bend Refinery |
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The plant was first constructed in 1955 by the Great Northern Oil Company. Koch purchased a controlling interest in the plant in 1969 . Since then, capacity has been tripled. Most Petroleum enters and exits the plant through Pipelines . Most of the incoming Crude Oil comes from Oil Field s in Canada and is brought from the northwest to the facility through the Lakehead and Minnesota pipelines. Additional crude comes from the south via the Wood River Pipeline , though plans are in place to reverse the flow of that line. The plant has a dedicated pipeline to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport that provides much of the Jet Fuel for aircraft. Another major exit route for distilled products is the Wisconsin Pipeline , which brings fuel eastward into the neighboring state. Fuel is also distributed by Semi-trailer Truck s, Railroad cars, and, occasionally, river Barge s. In the 1990s and the year 2000 , Koch was forced to pay US$ 19 million in environmental fines because of improper management of emissions. In 1999 , the company accepted a challenge from the Minnesota Center For Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) to set up an independent monitoring group to keep track of emissions at the plant. Emissions were reduced to below 50% of 1997 levels, the last year for which data was available at the time. In nearby Rosemount and Apple Valley , incidence of Asthma and other respiratory illnesses, especially among children and the elderly, were almost double national average levels for much of that time. As of 2001 , Minnesotans were using a total of 7.2 million gallons of Gasoline per day, and fuel use continues to climb in the region by about 2% annually. About 70% of the gasoline fuel used in the state comes from Pine Bend and the nearby St. Paul Park Refinery , while most of the rest comes from a combination of the Mandan Refinery in North Dakota , and the Superior Refinery in Superior, Wisconsin . 40 to 50% of Pine Bend's output is used within the state. Flint Hills is currently planning a $100 million expansion to increase capacity at the plant to about 330,000 barrels per day. REFERENCES
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