WOODS CROSS — Not everyone whose homes were damaged in the Nov. 4 Silver Eagle blast is satisfied with the way claims are being handled.

One homeowner told Woods Cross council members Tuesday that working with the refinery’s insurance “has been a nightmare.”

J. Michael Redd, vice president of refining and operations at the refinery, told members of the Woods Cross City Council Tuesday that there have been 271 damage claims filed, 45 of which have been settled, and 61 of which will require an additional inspection by an engineer.

He said it’s his understanding all the claimants have been contacted, but homeowner Alison Pickett, whose house is at 2086 S. 925 West, told the council that she and her husband decided to file a claim with their homeowner’s insurance because working with the refinery’s insurance has been a “nightmare.”

“We’re still in a hotel, and it was hard to hear the refinery will be up and running before we get back in our home,” Pickett said.

She was referring to an announcement by the refinery that they hope to start up the number one crude unit on Jan. 24, after holding a public open house on Jan. 21.

Pickett indicated they had not been contacted by the refinery’s insurance adjuster, but following the meeting Redd said that it was his understanding the family had been contacted.

During the meeting, Mayor Kent Parry said he wanted to hear of incidents like the Picketts’, but added he had been hearing some very favorable reports about how the refinery was handling reports of damage.

Redd explained the refinery’s plan to start up operations again, beginning with the crude unit, a low pressure unit, involving no chemical reaction. It was not part of the problem in the November explosion.

He said that while they would like to restart the unit, “we won’t if we’re not ready.” Prior to the restart, refinery officials will hold an open house, tentatively scheduled for Jan. 21, the time and location to be decided.

In the meantime, the refinery has brought in outside inspectors to go over all the pipes and vessels, cleaning them and inspecting every weld.

He said typically a refinery will inspect 5 percent of its welds yearly, but “under our new policies, we’re going overboard — well above the requirements.”

Inspectors from the Chemical Safety Board are expected back at the plant on Thursday.

Redd said because of problems at other refineries nationwide, the CSB hasn’t returned to inspect the pipe which failed in that Nov. 4 explosion.

After the explosion, the CSB cordoned off the area, and “no root cause analysis (for the failure) has been conducted,” Redd said. “We hope that area will be released on Saturday.”

Until that analysis is complete, refinery officials won’t know for sure what caused the failure.

Council member Tamy Dayley asked Redd why refitting such an old refinery was a sound business decision.

Redd said that almost all refineries in the United States are old, few inland refineries have been built since the 1970s. “Silver Eagle is actually on the younger side,” he said.

Because there are no new refineries, small refineries like Silver Eagle serve a niche, he said, which can provide fuel locally, in addition to what is purchased from the gulf coast and California.

mwilliams@davisclipper.com