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WOODS CROSS -- The Silver Eagle refinery in Woods Cross held an open house Wednesday night in an effort to regain the lost trust of nearby residents following a November explosion.
Silver Eagle's Vice President of Refining and Operations Mike Redd continues to express regret over the Nov. 4 explosion that damaged dozens of homes.
We will not start up until we are confident that it can be done safely and operated continuously safely.
–- Mike Redd
However, he says he's hopeful officials will soon be able to restart a section of the plant that was not damaged by the explosion. That section is a low-pressure distillation unit that doesn't use chemical reactions.
"We will not start up until we are confident that it can be done safely and operated continuously safely," Redd says.
"We want to do our best to win the confidence and trust of our neighbors," Redd continues, "and we want them to have a progress report on the work we've done to ensure a safe restart and safe operation of the refinery."
He adds opening at the end of this month would be a dream come true, but there are still inspection reviews that need to come back to make certain all the equipment is fit for service.
Redd says the company wanted to show residents what they do and what sections of the plant they hope to reopen.
He says the U.S. Chemical Safety Board continues to keep the explosion area sealed off, so no rebuilding or improvements have been made in that area.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
