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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 the energy issues of the state and their effects on the communities in 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 and enjoy the forecasted above-zero weather!
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ND Industrial Commission Handles Policies on Drilling Permit Review, Flaring Reduction
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The three-member ND Industrial Commission (NDIC), made up of Governor Jack Dalrymple, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, met at the Capitol this week for its regular monthly meeting. A packed house awaited the NDIC, concerned with two main topics: a proposed drilling permit review policy and recommendations on policy the NDIC could implement to reduce natural gas flaring in the state.  | |
Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem shares his support for the proposed drilling permit review policy with Governor Dalrymple's amendments. The motion to pass the amended policy was passed unanimously by the Industrial Commission.
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The drilling permit review policy, which was originally proposed to require a review process for all drilling permits near listed "places of extraordinary significance", was noted by commission members to have received a large amount of public comment in the month since first being introduced by Attorney General Stenehjem. Governor Dalrymple proposed an amendment to the original policy proposal that eliminated private lands from the policy altogether. The Governor indicated that there is value to such a policy in assuring the public that places of significance would be protected over the long term, though he did not feel that private lands should be included at this time. He added that a potential policy dealing with those private lands was better suited to be handled by the ND state l egislature.
The NDIC voted and passed the policy with the Governor's amendment. The commission will meet again in April to discuss the technical aspects of the policy, which will go into effect on May 1 of this year. The policy as approved is available here.For more information: Bismarck Tribune - Story by Nick SmithKFYR-TV - Story by Mary Cate Mannion  On another topic, ND Dept. of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms offered recommendations on NDIC policy changes to expedite a reduction in natural gas flaring. Helms outlined the recommendations that were based on the ND Petroleum Council's Flaring Task Force report released in late January. The goals of the task force were to reduce the number of wells flaring, the frequency/volume of flaring, and the time that flaring takes place. One of the recommendations made to accomplish those goals was to require a "Gas Capture Plan" for future increased density, temporary spacing, and proper spacing cases, as well as requiring a Gas Capture Plan with all applications for permit to drill (APDs) after June 1, 2014. The Industrial Commission approved all six recommended action items presented by Helms. They are listed here. For more information, check out this story by Mike Nowatzki, Forum News Service. |
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NDAOGPC Represented on Valley News Live's Point of View
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Dickinson City Administrator Shawn Kessel, pictured left, talks about how the energy impact needs are not sufficiently addressed by the current funding model. NDAOGPC Executive Director Vicky Steiner is pictured right.
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Point of View television show anchor Chris Berg interviewed Shawn Kessel, Dickinson City Administrator, and Vicky Steiner, Executive Director of the ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties, about a March 4 Fargo Forum letter to the editor from the NDAOGPC on western city, school, county issues.
Kessel talked about the sunset provision in House Bill 1358 and how it is impacting cities' abilities to get dollars for much needed infrastructure from lending institutions. Steiner emphasized that the energy industry is too important not to get the numbers right. The oft-quoted $2.5 billion number for the biennium contains state highway dollars and some dollars that are for non-oil county projects. Western North Dakota received $522 million annually for oil-impacted political subdivisions.
You can view the broadcast online through this link. The NDAOGPC segment begin at the 10:35 time mark.
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Energy Development & Transmission Committee Discusses Industry Study, County Road Bill Draft
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An update on a legislative study covering oil and gas industry impacts was presented this week by KLJ, the study's consultant. Mike Wamboldt, KLJ engineer, shared the progress that had been made so far in phase one of the study. This phase, he said, focused on data gathering in an effort to establish commonalities and identify key indicators that show reliable trends that can be used to better anticipate how the oil and gas industry will develop over time. Wamboldt was clear that the data collected so far, gathered largely from 28 state and federal studies relevant to the Bakken oil play as well as discussions with industry members, is not conclusive. The data gathered in this initial phase will be used to develop an analysis of oil industry practices, production, impacts, and tax policy. Phase 2 is expected to be complete within a month and will be reported to the committee at its next meeting April 8 in Minot. For more information on the KLJ study and committee action on the study, click here.
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County road, located in Williams County.
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A bill draft that would give the NDDOT authority to take on county road maintenance was also discussed. Terry Traynor, Assistant Director of the ND Association of Counties, presented some county perspective on the issue and the response he'd received from county engineers and commissioners. Those responses, according to Traynor, were "thoughtful but somewhat confused", especially on the problem the bill draft was supposed to be solving. Traynor explained that the problem is not so much the fact that counties don't have the capacity to get their road maintenance projects done, but that it has more to do with having the financial resources to commit to them. He also pointed out that many county roads, especially in the western portion of the state, are benefiting the state system by relieving traffic from state routes. Those county roads could be characterized as having regional or statewide significance, he said. Traynor added that these issues could merit serious discussion and formal consideration of whether those routes warrant reclassification as state routes, "or some special consideration for funding improvements". NDDOT Director Grant Levi also added that the state system was not designed to handle the stress added to it by the oil and gas industry. He said that traffic counts in the seventeen oil producing counties showed increases from 2010 to 2012, but that the numbers had "balanced out" in 2013. |
Vision West ND Regional Plan Approved by Consortium
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The Vision West ND Consortium met this week, Thursday, March 6 in Williston to put the finishing touches on the Vision West ND Regional Plan. Over two years in the making, the Regional Plan is designed to provide an outline of the issues being dealt with in western North Dakota and detail strategic and actionable ways in which those issues should be addressed. The Regional Plan, enhanced through hard data and community-driven perspectives, will give those responsible for carrying out its action steps guidance on how to proceed with resolving issues like affordable housing shortages, lack of child care providers, proper EMS coverage, and adequate infrastructure funding.
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Vision West ND Chairman Daryl Dukart, pictured standing second from left, begins discussion on the addition of a local public health district section to the Vision West ND Regional Plan.
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In review of the Regional Plan, the Consortium added a section dealing with local public health districts. The added section recommends increasing state aid for disease outbreak prevention, funding a public education and service campaign, and establishing a statewide septic code. It also recommends that funds dedicated specifically to local public health districts be allocated to counties to be distributed to those public health districts.
Karalea Cox, planning facilitator for the Vision West ND project, thanked the Consortium and everyone who has been involved throughout the Vision West ND planning process. She commended the dedication of those individuals who had committed themselves to the project. Now that the Regional Plan has been approved by the Consortium, the task will be to market the Regional Plan to other key stakeholders. The Vision West ND Administrative Team will be meeting to develop a marketing strategy in the near future, with the objective of "selling" the Regional Plan to legislators, state government agencies/departments, non-profit organizations like the League of Cities, the NDACo, and the ND Petroleum Council, and the nineteen county commissions within the project area.
The Regional Plan, when edited to include the changes approved by the Consortium, will be released in late March. The NDAOGPC looks forward to promoting the Regional Plan as a reliable guide for moving the region toward its goals of becoming a quality place in which to live, work, and raise a family.
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NDAOGPC Accepting Applications for 2014 Scholarship Awards
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ATTENTION ND STUDENTS!!
T he NDAOGPC is again sponsoring a scholarship program for students in North Dakota focusing on energy-related degrees. Students who have completed 12 credit hours or more are welcome to apply for one of six scholarships that will be awarded in August 2014. Applicants should be pursuing degrees in engineering, chemistry, geology, petroleum sciences or other studies directly related to the oil and gas industry. Invitations to apply for the Association's 2014 scholarships were recently sent to all North Dakota colleges, universities, and vocational schools. We strongly encourage all readers to share this opportunity with anyone they believe may qualify. The application can be downloaded HERE.
Last year, the Association awarded a total of $10,000 to six deserving students. Don't miss this great opportunity to gain financial assistance for an industry related education! The deadline for application submission is June 15, 2014.
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Upcoming Events
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March 12, 2014
NDAOGPC County Commissioners, County Sheriffs, Road Superintendents/Engineers:
The spring meeting of the NDAOGPC Uniform County Truck Permit Committee will be held on Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 11:00 AM CT at Outlaw's Bar and Grill in Watford City, ND. A complimentary lunch will be served. The committee will review the Xcess Permit progress and discuss township roads, as well as other agenda items.
Please RSVP by emailing Permit System Operator Janet Sanford at janet@ndteamworks.com.
April 2-4, 2014
The DUG Bakken and Niobrara Conference and Exhibition is scheduled for April 2-4, 2014. The event comes one month earlier this year. Last year's event attracted more than 2,000 attendees, 38 sponsors, and 200 exhibitors. The conference focuses on the Bakken, the emerging Niobrara, and oil- and liquids-rich resource plays throughout the Rockies. Check out more information on the event at www.dugbakken.com. A special promo code will soon be made available to those wishing to take advantage of savings. Be sure to check back next week!
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 opened this week, with every available event exhibition booth being booked within four minutes of registration going live. More information on the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference 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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