October 30, 2020 -- Spooktacular Moon!

The ND Department of Transportation (NDDOT) and local officials celebrated the long-awaited opening of the new Long X Bridge to traffic today.

NDDOT Director Bill Panos along with other state, federal and local officials were on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new bridge.

The project included a complete bridge replacement, highway construction and the addition of a wildlife crossing built under Highway 85 south of the bridge. The new bridge is a concrete girder bridge and has four, 12-foot driving lanes with a median in the center. The new bridge will accommodate larger, wider truck loads than was previously capable on the old bridge.

“The state of North Dakota invested $37.4 million to transform the Long X Bridge into a safe and accessible passageway,” said Panos. “US Highway 85 and this bridge are essential to transportation movement in western North Dakota.”

Cal Klewin, Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway Associatition, which promotes improvements on Highway 85, said the bridge opening was "exciting," and said efforts will continue to improve safety and widen other sections of the highway. Klewin provided an update on the project in a presentation to this week's virtual meeting of the Ports-to-Plains Alliance.

Click here to listen to Klewin's comments.

Currently, the bridge is open to two lanes of traffic. Contractors will work for the next year to dismantle and remove the old bridge to the west. Motorists will see final construction elements taking place as work continues on final phases of the project. The Long X Bridge will be fully open to four lanes of traffic once all work is completed in the summer of 2021. Approximately 4,200 vehicles travel daily over the bridge located about 15 miles south of Watford City.

Click here for links to presentations and the video of this week's Ports-to-Plains conference.

Members of the North Dakota Legislature's Budget Section voted overwhelmingly this week to approve a plan to repurpose $16 million in CARES Act dollars for a program that will encourage oil well completion.

The proposal is the brainchild of the Bakken Restart Task Force as a way to not only reduce unemployment associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to generate additional tax revenue the state will need to balance the budget when the 2021 Legislature convenes.

Several Democrats on the 43-member committee objected to the plan, arguing that the money could be better spent on other things such as health care or sick leave for affected workers. But Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner said it's important to sustain employment in the oil industry, which will generate millions in tax revenue to support the programs that Democrat members described.

Click here to listen to Wardner's comments.

Money for the DUC (drilled but uncompleted well) incentive will be repurposed from a program to reclaim abandoned oil well sites, which the state will not be able to complete by the end of the year because of the onset of winter weather. Federal law requires that CARES Act dollars be spent by December 30 or they will be lost. The plan would provide up to $200,000 to offset the cost of the water that is used in the hydraulic fracturing process to bring the wells into production, wells that would not otherwise be completed for a year or more.

Williston Senator Brad Bekkedahl said the program will be welcome in Williams County, which before the pandemic had the lowest unemployment rate in the state.

Click here to listen to Bekkedahl's comments.

Some opponents suggested the jobs that are created would require that hydraulic fracturing companies bring in employees from out of state. But Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources, said evidence suggests those who lost their jobs in the downturn are still living in North Dakota.

Click here to listen to Helms' comments.

Helms said the program would create more than just jobs on a frac crew. He said it takes about 100 workers to support a fracking operation, with many of those involving the delivery of fuel, water or other supplies to the well site. Helms said the state hopes to incentivize the completion of up to 80 new wells, the economic benefits of which would ripple throughout the region.

Click here to listen to Helms' comments.

Helms said if just nine new wells are completed, the state would recoup the $16 million allocated for the program. Governor Doug Burgum spoke favorably of the completion incentive when it was considered last week by the state Emergency Commission, which recommended approval of the plan.

"I think it's probably safe to say this has got the highest return on investment of any of the dollars we've spent out of the $1.25 billion (in CARES Act dollars) because this is money we get back and a lot more that will help us when we're trying to balance budgets in the biennium that's in front of us," Burgum said.

The legislature's Budget Section authorized $33.8 million in assistance this week for North Dakota’s schools to assist with costs associated with the coronavirus pandemic. The committee also approved $61 million for cities and counties, which is in addition to the $59 million previously distributed as reimbursement for law enforcement payroll.

The money going to schools in the form of "resiliency grants" can be spent on a variety of needs including mental health support, technology enhancements, building ventilation improvements, and other items related to adjusting to the pandemic. The grants are in addition to previous school pandemic assistance that now totals nearly $94 million.

Each North Dakota public school district, regardless of size, will get at least $30,000 from the new $33.8 million aid package. Districts will also receive about $251 per student. Under the formula, the Minot school district will receive $1.96 million, Williston No. 1 will receive $1.13 million, Dickinson will get $1.05 million, and the McKenzie County district will receive $508,000. Click here to see a list of public school districts and the amount of the resiliency grant each will receive.

The money going to cities and counties will provide a second round of funding to local government for a total of ten months of law enforcement payroll reimbursement. Public safety payroll is considered an allowable expense to distribute CARES fund dollars. The law enforcement payroll reimbursement is the mechanism to deliver funds to local government, but cities and counties can use the funds as needed.

An additional $49 million will also be provided to support business recovery across the state. The funding includes $29 million to Commerce, in addition to the repurposing up to $25 million for a total of $54 million to be distributed to businesses within the hospitality and entertainment industries which have been most directly impacted by COVID-19 pandemic guidelines.

North Dakota Legislative Management has scheduled a two-day meeting November 12-13 to hear reports from interim study committees.

Legislators picked a total of 46 different topics to examine during the 2019-20 interim, which were then assigned to more than two dozen legislative committees that meet during the interim. Fifteen of the topics on the list were required, but lawmakers added 31 other topics, many of which dealt with issues that were unresolved during the 2019 Legislature.

A study of the K-12 education funding formula is among the major required study topics. Added to the education category was a study of school transportation; dual-credit and advanced placement courses; consideration of a teacher leadership incentive program; and a study of student behavioral health needs.

An ongoing study of tribal taxation issues was required by the legislature. Added to the tax study list was a look at alternatives to revenue generated by special assessments. Lawmakers also examined local revenue sources that could be used as an alternative, and the way in which fees might be calculated and imposed as compared to how special assessments are currently used.

Other major topics on the “must study” list included potential uses of Legacy Fund earnings; ways the state might be able to reduce health insurance premium rates; and a study of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation including a review of the preferable location of DOCR facilities.

Legislators will meet in the House Chamber, beginning at 9:00 a.m. on November 12. The meeting will be publicly accessible via legislative video. Click here to see the full list of studies approved and rejected.

Litigation over North Dakota’s new pore space law came before a judge this week, who heard arguments over the legislation aimed at addressing a conflict between two separate state laws.

The issue affects the common industry practice of disposing of saltwater produced from oil wells in cavities in underground sandstone formations. It also has implications for future injection of carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery.

The Northwest Landowners Association contends that the law is unconstitutional, while the state and Continental Resources defend it. The 2019 Legislature enacted SB 2344, which was the subject of five subcommittee hearings to work out disagreements over the bill. The issue arose following a North Dakota Supreme Court ruling in July 2017 in the case of Mosser vs. Denbury Resources. The court concluded that a mineral developer may be liable to a surface owner for saltwater disposal that migrates into the landowner's pore space . But oil industry lobbyists said the court’s decision misinterpreted the intent of a 2009 law intended to facilitate carbon dioxide sequestration, and ignores longstanding common law precedent associated with oil production.

The landowners association has called the pore space law a “taking” of property rights.

“This statute is one of the greatest affronts to private property rights that I’ve ever seen,” Derrick Braaten, an attorney for the group, said during Thursday’s hearing.

Click here to read more in the Bismarck Tribune,

A new study conducted for the Lignite Energy Council shows the industry annually generates about $5.4 billion in gross business volume within the state. 

North Dakota is home to five lignite mines, seven power plants, the Great Plains Synfuels Plant and around 250 contractor/supplier companies that provide goods and services to the mines and plants. 

The industry provides multiple economic benefits to the state through its high-paying jobs, business activity and tax revenue, according to the NDSU Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics, which is completing an updated economics assessment of the lignite industry. In 2019, estimated tax revenues generated through lignite activities totaled $125 million.

Dean Bangsund, an NDSU research scientist who is conducting the study, said North Dakota continues to realize significant economic benefits resulting from the $18 billion investment by regional mining companies and electric utilities.

“The combination of in-state purchases of goods and services and employee payroll from firms in lignite-related activities generated a total business volume activity of $5.4 billion in 2019,” Bangsund said. 

Average mining wages in Mercer County were $122,000 in 2019, increasing from $113,000 in 2017. Wages for electric production workers in 2019 averaged $112,000 annually. The combination of mining and electric production wages puts the lignite industry among those paying the highest wages in North Dakota, substantially higher than the state’s average wage of $54,000 in 2019. 

The lignite industry included 3,623 direct employees working at the mines, generation plants and electricity firms in 2019, which is down from 3,883 in 2017. Those employees and lignite industry spending also support another 9,500 secondary jobs in the state such as those who work for contractors and suppliers, retail trade, wholesale trade, construction companies, personal service and banking. 

Click here to read more about the study.

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation announced this week that $100 million in commitments have been received, thereby unlocking the $50 million in support from the state of North Dakota.

The 2019 Legislature approved a plan to provide state financial support toward the operation of the library, putting $50 million into an endowment, earnings from which would provide ongoing support for the library. The legislation contained a stipulation that the $50 million state contribution would never be spent, only its earnings could be used, and only if $100 million in private capital was first raised to build and equip the library.

“Medora, North Dakota, is officially the future home of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library,” said Cathilea Robinett, chair of the Library Foundation. A total of 242 gifts or commitments have been made to the T.R. Library since January 1, 2018, with the most common contribution of $25. The smallest donation was $0.26 in honor of the 26th president, and nearly every donor has roots in North Dakota.

"This is an ambitious, visionary project that will benefit North Dakotans and Americans for generations to come,” said Gov. Doug Burgum, who championed the project as an economic stimulus, tourism destination and educational asset for North Dakota. “We are deeply grateful to the legislature for supporting this vision that began more than a decade ago, and to the North Dakotans and those with deep roots in our state who responded to the challenge by committing $100 million in private philanthropy to the project."

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation will release quarterly updates on the capital campaign along with intermittent announcements of major gifts. Those interested in being “In the Arena” can donate now at this link.

This is a reminder that video recordings of speakers who presented at the virtual annual meeting of the Western Dakota Energy Association have been posted on WDEA's YouTube page.

The meeting was conducted on the Zoom platform with a dozen informative presentations spread over two days. Slide presentations from the speakers have also been posted at this link on the WDEA website. Click a link below to view a YouTube video presentation:

Source: Climate Change Dispatch

January 5