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North Dakota Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties
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Stay Connected
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Basin Bits Magazine
This semiannual magazine, published in the spring and fall, is the official publication of the ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties.
To sign up to receive a copy of the magazine, please click here.
To read the latest Basin Bits edition via PDF, click this link.
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Uniform County Truck Permit System
This is a county road permit system for over-weight or over-width vehicles on county roads. Since 1986, the NDAOGPC has operated the Uniform County Truck Permit program as a service to counties and the petroleum industry.
For more information or to get permits, click here.
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 Thank you for your continued interest in the activity of the ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties.
We offer insight on energy issues and how the oil and gas tax revenue distribution impacts the communities throughout western North Dakota.
We hope that you will find this week's News From the NDAOGPC as a valuable source of information.
Have a great weekend!
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Places of Extraordinary Significance Proposal Reviewed
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Members of the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) met Wednesday, January 22 at the State Capitol to discuss an administrative rule proposed by Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. The proposed rule would designate eighteen particular areas of the state as having "extraordinary significance" and would require well permits within half mile to 2-mile buffer zones surrounding those sites to include impact mitigation plans. Those impact mitigation plans would also be forwarded to a a multitude of state and federal agencies for review and "professional guidance". The proposed rule is available by clicking this link. Please keep in mind that this proposed rule is just that...proposed.  | |
ND Industrial Commission members Attorney General Wayne Stehehjem and Governor Jack Dalrymple discuss tweaks to the proposed rule regarding "places of extraordinary significance". Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, the third member of the NDIC, joined via conference call.
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At Wednesdays special meeting, Industrial Commission members talked about ways to tweak the rules. Governor Jack Dalrymple, who chairs the NDIC, suggested several changes. One notable change was to have places of extraordinary significance dealt with through a formal NDIC policy rather than a more time-intensive administrative rule. The governor also recommended that such a policy establish a full time position he called a "site analyst", who would be responsible for gathering information on permit application sites and validating concerns held by stakeholders on those areas deemed as extraordinarily significant. This policy is currently being worked on by staff in the offices of the three Industrial Commission members. A final version of the policy draft is expected to be reviewed by the NDIC at its next meeting scheduled for January 29. For more information on NDIC action on Places of Extraordinary Significance, check out the news story links below. Mike Nowatzki, Forum News ServiceNick Smith, Bismarck Tribune |
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Economic Consultant Speaks to Growth and Opportunity in the Bakken Region
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Mark Haggerty, Headwaters Economics
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Mark Haggerty, Headwaters Economics, recently presented to the annual meeting assembly of the Watford City Area Chamber of Commerce on the fiscal management of oil and gas tax revenues in the state and how they may be better used. The state, he said, must make sure that revenue being produced by the oil and gas industry gets back to the communities where that activity is taking place. In order to ensure positive outcomes for the region over the long term, more of that revenue must be dedicated to the western ND region. Haggerty has done research on how the state of North Dakota returns oil tax revenue to local political subdivisions compared to other "unconventional" oil plays. That study is available here. KX News recently featured a story on growth around the Watford City area. Haggerty and Watford City Chamber of Commerce President Darick Franzen were both interviewed. Click here for the story.
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Public Service Commission Holds Symposium On EPA Carbon Regulation
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It was one of those meetings where two sides are polite but there is a definite tension of disagreement palpable in the room.
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EPA Region 8 Regional Administrator Shaun McGrath explaining the EPA timelines on carbon regulation to the ND Public Service Commission.
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Yesterday, the ND Public Service Commission asked the Region 8 EPA administrator to explain how ND might meet the federal standards looming by 2016. The PSC also invited power industry representatives to explain their case to the EPA.
As expected in the morning, the EPA staffer Shaun McGrath said coal is part of the fuel mix and there is no intent to close the power plants by the EPA.
However, in the afternoon, Charles McConnell took issue with that statement, calling it "disingenuous". The federal government is waging a war on the coal industry. He used to work for them. As the Executive Director for the Energy and Environment initiative at Rice University, McConnell said you can tell their goals by their strategies. They are taking strategies that don't support coal in the fuel mix.
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District 33 State Senator Jessica Unruh speaks to the ND Public Service Commission during the public comment period of the symposium.
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North Dakota will have one year to meet standards that have yet to be set. The standards are anticipated to be set by June 2015 and the state will have one year, by June 2016, to meet the standards or face violation.
The lignite industry directly and indirectly employs 17,444. Total business activity is more than $3.5 billion in North Dakota. These new EPA regulations threaten one of North Dakota's major industries. Investment opportunities can be lost due to regulatory uncertainty.
Jason Bohrer, the Lignite Energy Council spokesman, said even if ND lowers its emission, thereby raising electricity rates in ND, there's no impact on the world air quality. "Why should we do it?" he asked rhetorically.
Environmentalists believe the US should lead the other countries of the world by setting the example.
The Bismarck Tribune's Nick Smith has more on this story, available here.
Mike Nowatzki, Forum Communications, also reports.
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Web-Based Map Provides Information on Oil Related Spills in the Oil Patch
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A new interactive map of spills throughout the oil patch is now available to the public through the Internet.
More than 7,200 spills reported to the state Health Department starting in 2000 are represented by red, purple and yellow dots. The red dots locate oil spills, purple dots locate saltwater/brine spills and yellow dots locate other oil field fluids. The dots are sized to represent the amount of the spill.
The map was produced by GageCartographics, a Montana-based global information systems firm and released through the Dakota Resource Council.
Because it's interactive, the map lets viewers expand and zoom in to a location that's accurate to within a section. They can see the details of each spill by hovering over it with the computer mouse.
The map is available at http://www.gagecartographics.com/spills/.
For more information
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Discussion Heard on Proposed Rail Transload Facility Near Beach
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Beach residents were up bright and early Tuesday to hear a development company's plans for an oil loading railport just west of town. Public safety after the explosive fireball of a Bakken oil train derailment near Casselton last month was high on the list of concerns at the breakfast-hour meeting of the town's zoning board. So were noise, lights and possible vapor pollution from a major oil facility and railroad site within a half-mile of town. The Utah-based company is familiar in town for residential and industrial projects north of Interstate-94 and formed Beach Railport LLC to turn 275 crop acres west of town into a rail-supported industrial zone. For more information |
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First Responders Face Navigation, Radio Problems
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The increase in traffic along roads like U.S. Highway 85 has increased the number of emergency response calls throughout western North Dakota.
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On New Year's Eve afternoon, a man was struck by a piece of pipe at a oil drilling rig site in the Bakken.
He was bleeding from the head and unconscious. Williams County dispatchers tried to get help there as soon as possible. "Please respond to a rig accident north of Williston to 60th Street Northwest ... Probably between 137th and 138th Avenues Northwest ... It looks like it's gonna be on the north side of the road ... "They weren't really sure where they are." Just as fast as drilling rigs move around western North Dakota, so too do the throngs of workers that follow them - leaving groups of crews doing dangerous work, and not knowing where they are if they have to call for help. Along with rigs, the oil boom has brought rapid development. That means new housing developments are in brand new, or unofficial, addresses. And those that aren't lucky enough to find their place in the expensive, high-demand housing market often shack up in rural locations completely unknown to local agencies. It all adds up to a nightmare for local first responders, who are dealing with more than ever before, and who say the growing number of calls isn't the only problem. The navigation problems are worsened by fuzzy Bismarck-based state radio, which some counties switched to after the Stark County Law Enforcement Center dispatch became overwhelmed. To read more of this story by Katherine Lymn of the Dickinson Press, click here.
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Distillation Tower Makes Its Way to State's Newest Refinery Near Dickinson
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It boarded a ship in Taiwan on Nov. 6. After a stop in Shanghai a couple days later, it spent the rest of November and early December crossing the Pacific Ocean, and went through the Panama Canal. After arriving at the Port of Houston, it was loaded on a trailer for a weeks-long road trip.
And at 10:43 a.m. Tuesday, the 130-foot-long crude distillation tower for the Dakota Prairie Refining facility slowly but steadily pulled into its destination just west of Dickinson. "There's a lot involved," plant manager Dave Podratz said of planning the trip. "Many, many months." At the refinery site off Highway 10 between Dickinson and South Heart, workers had outlined the landing pad for the tower within an inch - it was too big to mess up.
For more information
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Upcoming Events
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February 6, 2014
There will be a Vision West ND Consortium Meeting on February 6, 2014. The meeting is scheduled from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, CST at the Sleep Inn in Minot, located at 2400 10th Street SW next to the Dakota Square Mall. The agenda's primary focus will be on the Consortium's discussion, editing and eventual approval of the Vision West ND Regional Plan. The annual election of officers for 2014 will also be held.
February 10-12, 2014
The Bakken-Three Forks Shale Oil Innovation Conference & Expo will be held February 10-12 at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, ND. The conference and expo is the nation's only shale oil conference with a comprehensive agenda focused on the innovations shaping the Bakken and Three Forks shale oil play. NDAOGPC Executive Director Vicky Steiner is slated to present to conference attendees on issues surrounding oil tax distribution. More information on the conference is available through this link.
February 15, 2014
The 17th Annual A.P. I. Gumbo Cookoff will be held Saturday, February 15, at the Quality Inn & Suites in Dickinson, ND. Eighteen teams will compete against each other for a first place trophy and $300, a second place trophy and $200 and a third place trophy and $100. Trophies will also be awarded for the Best Cajun Costume and the People's Choice Award for the Gumbo.
The American Petroleum Industry and area businesses will be hosting this winter bayou event that will include public taste testing, door prizes and an evening dance for $6 per person. All proceeds go toward local charities and college scholarships.
Cooking begins at 11:00 am with teams preparing their ingredients. The public is welcome to view the preparations early in the day and the taste testing begins at 6:30 pm. The dance begins at 8:30 pm until 12 am.
February 25, 2014
The ND Local Technical Assistance Program (NDLTAP) is hosting a roundtable discussion meeting for oil and gas producing county officials on Tuesday, February 25 at the Buckskin Bar and Grill in Killdeer, ND. The meeting will begin at 10:00 AM CT and go until 3:00 PM. This is an informal meeting where the challenges and successes of road issues in the oil producing counties will be discussed. Participants are asked to register for the meeting in order to ensure an accurate meal count. Please contact NDLTAP Training Coordinator Denise Brown at (701) 328-9856 for more information.
May 20-22, 2014
The 22nd Annual Williston Basin Petroleum Conference will be held May 20-22, 2014 at the Bismarck Civic Center in Bismarck, ND. There have already been over 200 hotel rooms reserved for this conference. We recommend booking the hotel rooms that you need now. Conference registration opens next week on January 29, 2014. More information is available here.
September 18, 2014
Be sure to mark your calendars for the 2014 Annual Meeting of the ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties to be held Thursday, September 18, 2014 at the Grand Williston Hotel in Williston, ND. Information on hotel room blocks, the registration process, and sponsorship opportunities will be shared as we get closer to the event.
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Please take your time to review all materials and links provided for your convenience. We at the ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties will continue to provide you up-to-date information on upcoming events and news happening in North Dakota's oil and gas producing counties! Sincerely, Vicky Steiner
Executive Director
Brady Pelton
Deputy Executive Director
ND Association of Oil & Gas Producing Counties |
400 East Broadway Avenue Suite 304 Bismarck, ND 58501
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