Alexander School Supt. Leslie Bieber (l), a WDEA board member, leads faculty members in a song-and-dance number promoting safety in the COVID-19 era. Click here to see the video.

A federal judge ruled this week that the State of North Dakota can continue to pursue its claim against the US Army Corps of Engineers for law enforcement costs associated with the protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

District Judge Daniel Traynor denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss the state's lawsuit seeking $38 million in costs associated with providing security and law enforcement around the protest site near the Missouri River in Morton County.

The state's claim centers around the fact that the protest encampment, which at times was occupied by thousands of people, was on public land controlled by the Corps of Engineers. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who filed the lawsuit against the Corps two years ago (see July 20, 2018 newsletter), said the claim is justified because the Corps allowed the sometimes violent protesters to camp without a required federal permit. In its defense, the Corps argued that the protesters were allowed to stay to protect their right to Freedom of Speech.

In an interview this week with Stuart Varney on the Fox Business Report, Senator Kevin Cramer placed the blame on the Obama Administration, which allowed, and even encouraged, the illegal encampment. For that reason, Cramer said the state should be reimbursed for law enforcement expenses.

Click here to listen to Cramer's comments.

The months-long protest finally ended shortly after President Donald Trump was sworn into office. Trump issued a memorandum directing the Corps to "review and approve in an expedited manner" the Dakota Access Pipeline, which stretches 1,176 miles from northern reaches of the Bakken to Patoka, Illinois.

Click here to read a Bismarck Tribune article about the judge's ruling.

Sen. Kevin Cramer made an appearance this week on the Fox Business Report during which he was asked several questions about the state of energy in America in the context of the rolling blackouts now occurring in California, and he took advantage of the opportunity to promote the reliability of coal.

Cramer said what's happening in California should be a lesson to people everywhere that baseload generation like that provided by coal-fired power plants in North Dakota is essential to avoid shortages during heat waves and other periods of peak demand.

Click here to listen to Cramer's comments.

Cramer touted a 2014 op-ed he wrote in the Wall Street Journal entitled, "Where Will You Be When the Lights Go Out?" The piece pointed out that the Obama EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan would raise utility prices and threaten the grid’s reliability. Cramer said because people continue to push unrealistic ideas like the Green New Deal, that threat still exists today.

Click here to listen to Cramer's comments.

Click here to view the video of Cramer's interview. Click here to read an article from Breitbart about California Gov. Gavin Newsom's admission of the limitations of renewables.

Separate programs aimed at plugging abandoned oil and gas wells and reclaiming the site are generating more jobs than expected.

The ND Industrial Commission approved the well plugging program earlier this year (see June 19 WDEA newsletter) using  $33.2 million in federal CARES Act funds. The program was touted as a way to keep oilfield workers in the state during the downturn, so that a workforce would be available when the industry rebounds. Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources, told the NDIC this week that workover rigs are now in operation as the program gets underway. Helms said he was pleased to report the program is creating more jobs than expected.

Click here to listen to Helms' comments.

The Industrial Commission also authorized use of COVID-19 relief funds for reclamation work on the sites, which Helms calls Phase II of the program. He expects the reclamation program will get underway next week, and it too, will produce more jobs than earlier estimated.

Click here to listen to Helms comments.

Helms said the programs are a great use of the federal dollars to provide jobs to workers dislocated due to the pandemic and associated oil price drop. He estimates the reclamation program will restore about 2,000 acres of land that can again be used for agricultural purposes.

North Dakota is assembling a team of research scientists and energy industry leaders aimed at capitalizing on an opportunity being offered by the US Department of Energy to seek sources of rare earth minerals.

DOE announced earlier this year it intends to make $122 million available through a competitive process to establish coal products innovation centers, which will focus on manufacturing value-added products from coal, as well developing new methods to extract and process rare earth elements and critical minerals from coal. 

Mike Holmes, VP of research and development for the Lignite Energy Council, told members of the state Industrial Commission this week that North Dakota is putting together a team to compete for a center.

Click here to listen to Holmes' comments.

The Trump Administration has been investing in research and development for novel uses of coal that have the potential to create new markets for coal and coal byproducts. DOE anticipates funding innovation centers in multiple U.S. coal producing basins. Once established, the public-private innovation centers will research and incubate innovative mining, beneficiation, processing and purification technologies, as well as provide a foundation for educating the next generation of technicians, skilled workers, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics professionals.   

Click here for more information about rare earth elements.

The North Dakota Industrial Commission has given its blessing to a program aimed at educating the public about the many benefits of the oil and gas industry.

The commission approved a $1.012 million Oil and Gas Research Council matching grant for the ND Petroleum Foundation campaign. The grant will help fund the outreach effort through the end of 2022. It will support continuation of the program that was dubbed "Energy of North Dakota." The program has produced several short videos touting the benefits of oil production in the state, as well as the opportunities it provides to students and entrepreneurs.

In presenting the grant application to the council earlier this month, Tessa Sandstrom, Director of Community Relations for the ND Petroleum Council, said the Foundation intends to continue cookfests and other popular education outreach efforts.

Click here to listen to Sandstrom's comments.

Sandstrom said the program will include a teacher's seminar to provide educators some insight into the industry and the products that come from oil. The teachers earn continuing education credits, and receive teaching materials to share with their students. Sandstrom said the campaign will also include a public opinion survey to measure the results of the promotional effort. Part of the marketing effort will be directed at eastern North Dakota, where Sandstrom said the perception of the oil industry is pretty good, but she'd like it to be better.

Click here to listen to Sandstrom's comments.

Sandstrom said the Foundation is no longer employing the services of an advertising agency, and instead has brought the media planning and purchasing responsibilities in-house. She said it will save money on the administrative side, and allow the Foundation to put more resources towards developing and deploying its messages.

Click here to see the grant application. Click here to see the Foundation's slide presentation.

Former state senator Bill Bowman, a champion for western communities impacted by oil development, died Saturday after a lengthy illness. He was 75.

Funeral services will be held tomorrow, August 22, at 1:00 p.m. at the Bowman United Methodist Church. 

Bowman served in the North Dakota State Senate for nearly 30 years, representing District 39 from from 1990 until 2018. He served in the U.S. Army and worked as an auctioneer, rancher and farmer.

Senator Rich Wardner remembers Bowman for being tenacious during his tenure in the capital city. Wardner and Bowman first met while both were attending Dickinson State University. It was many years later when they would reconnect, both becoming legislators in 1990. Wardner was a new representative, while Bowman had knocked off an incumbent to become a new state senator.

“He had defeated an incumbent – someone who had been around for a while. That tells you about his career (in Bismarck),” Wardner said. “He did a yeoman’s job in getting elected. He worked hard. He was a tenacious campaigner. He went after it and that is how his whole legislative life was. When there were things that he felt were the right things to do, especially when it came to this area of the state, he went after it. He’d keep going until he had accomplished his mission."

Wardner described the long-time resident of Bowman County as a tireless legislator and credited him with helping bring road funds to the county because of the impact heavy trucks were having on local roads.

“He was a champion for ag and energy,” Wardner said. "He loved agriculture and did a lot of things to help the agriculture industry – not only in southwestern North Dakota. There are many programs that were passed … the extension programs that they have out of NDSU. One of the buildings – the Diagnostic Center – was named after him, and rightly so."

Click here to read more in the Bowman County Extra. Click here to read Bowman's obituary.

McKenzie County's labor force is remaining at near all-time highs despite the turbulence in economic markets throughout the globe and challenges to North Dakota oil production.

According to Job Service North Dakota, in January 2020 McKenzie County's labor force hit an all-time high at 10,420. The most recent data available is for June, which came in at 10,206. Previously the county's all-time high was recorded in January 2015 at 10,148.

The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources has launched separate programs to plug and later reclaim current abandoned well sites in the state. The $66 million cost of the project is coming from CARES Act funding authorized earlier this year by the state legislature's Budget Section.

The well plugging is expected to sustain more than 600 oil and gas service sector jobs, with 300 to 500 additional jobs managing reclamation of the sites. The projects will keep skilled workforce in the state and others who invested in oilfield service companies. When fully and properly reclaimed, the wells and sites that have already been confiscated as a part of the process will return over 2,000 acres of land to farming, grazing or personal use for North Dakota surface owners.

A three-part education series has been developed on well plugging and reclamation. Each section is now available online.

Educational Series Outline:

• Part 1: North Dakota’s Abandoned Wells (available online here)

• Part 2: Proper Plugging in North Dakota (available online here)

• Part 3: Reclamation of Wells (available online here)

For more information on this reclamation program, click here.

Stay tuned for the final interview with Prairie Public's Dave Thompson and Lynn Helms on the North Dakota Oil and Gas Podcast located on Apple Podcasts and available here.

The agenda has been finalized for third and final session of Return to the West, a virtual way for business leaders from eastern North Dakota to learn more about issues and opportunities in the Bakken.

Several years ago the Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce set up a trip for its members to tour the Bakken to learn more about the oil industry and explore mutually beneficial business enterprises. But because of health and safety concerns, the chamber this year is conducting virtual meetings on the Zoom platform instead of making the trip west.

The third session is scheduled August 25 from 3:45 to 5:15 p.m. CDT. The agenda will focus on the status of the state budget, tax collections, status of the state's oil industry, and a roundtable discussion of impacts of the downturn in the oil industry.

Featured speakers include State Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger, DMR Director Lynn Helms, and Lt. Governor Brent Sanford.

Interested individuals can register for the free sessions by sending an email to info@gochamber.org.

Click here to see the flyer with the agenda for the first session.

The Western Dakota Energy Association will award five $1,000 scholarships this fall to students in an energy-related field at a North Dakota college, university or technical school.

WDEA President Shannon Holter said the association is offering the scholarships to help the industry and western communities meet the workforce challenges historically experienced with oil industry growth.

“We recognize that North Dakota will see benefits from the oil industry only if it is able to attract the workforce it needs,” said Holter. “We want to do everything we can to encourage young people to explore the many opportunities for a rewarding career in the energy sector.”

Funding for the scholarship program is generated by sponsorships of WDEA’s annual meeting, as well as royalties from advertising in Basin Bits magazine.

Click here to learn more about the selection criteria and how to apply.

Click here to view or download an application form.

The application deadline is September 18, 2020. Scholarship winners will be announced in October.

Source: Pipeline 101

August 24 - Cancelled

September 1-3 (rescheduled for May 11-13, 2021)

September 16 

Energy Development and Transmission Committee