A District Appeals Court in Washington DC reversed a judge’s order this week to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline pending a full environmental review. However, the nearly 1,200-mile crude oil pipeline could still be ordered to shut down because the court's decision effectively invalidates DAPL's easement to cross the Missouri River.

In its decision, the court ruled that Judge James Boasberg failed to follow the traditional four-factor test and therefore “did not make the findings necessary for injunctive relief.” However, the court rejected the motion of the Corps and Dakota Access to overturn the order vacating the easement authorizing DAPL to cross the Missouri River. The appeals court said Dakota Access and the Corps "failed to make a strong showing of likely success" on their claim that Judge Boasberg erred in directing the Corps to prepare an environmental impact statement.

In a ruling issued last month, Judge Boasberg ordered the pipeline shut down and emptied within 30 days while the Corps conducts the EIS, which is expected to take at least 13 months. The decision is a result of a lawsuit filed by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, alleging that the pipeline could impact the tribe's water supply, despite the fact a new intake was constructed about 70 miles downstream near Mobridge, SD. The tribe has been represented in the litigation by Jan Hassellman, an attorney for the environmental extremist group, Earthjustice.

Click here to read an AP article about the ruling in the Bismarck Tribune. Click here to read to read an article in the Fargo Forum about the billions that would be lost if the pipeline was shut down.

The President of the North Dakota Petroleum Council said the DC Appeals Court ruling reversing the DAPL shut down order is good news because it will keep oil flowing through the pipeline, but the possibility that a shutdown could still occur is frightening.

Ron Ness, in an inteview with Scott Hennen on the radio program What's on Your Mind, said it's disturbing that a state-of-the-art pipeline that followed all the rules and has been operating safely for more than three years could be ordered to shut down.

Click here to listen to Ness' comments.

Ness pointed out the route of the DAPL pipeline parallels the route of a high voltage power line and the existing Northern Border Pipeline, which was installed in the 1980s. He also points out that DAPL crosses the Missouri River twice in North Dakota, with the other being near Williston, upstream from that city's water intake. Ness suggests the lawsuit filed on behalf of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is more about shutting down the oil industry than protecting the environment.

Click here to listen to Ness' comments

Click here and advance to the 46:56 mark to listen to the full What's on Your Mind interview with Ness.

North Dakota's Emergency Commission has given its approval to a third round of CARES Act funding, a portion of which is allocated for North Dakota cities and counties.

Local governments would be in line for an estimated $59 million out of the nearly $320 million in spending recommendations approved Monday by the state Emergency Commission. The money will be authorized for distribution by the state treasurer if approved next week at a meeting of the legislature's Budget Section.

Joe Morrissette, director of the state Office of Management and Budget, said federal guidelines allow the COVID-19 funds to be used to pay the salaries of emergency responders.

Click here to listen to Morrissette's comments.

Morrissette said if approved by the Budget Section, the state would request specific payroll details from cities and counties, for which they would be reimbursed by the state with the CARES Act funds. He said it will be a welcome form of tax relief to jurisdictions struggling with the loss of revenue.

Click here to listen to Morrissette's comments.

Morrissette said OMB estimates cities will receive about $33.5 million, and counties $25.4 million.

Click here to see the list of items considered by the Emergency Commission. Click here for a Bismarck Tribune article about the Emergency Commission's discussion.

The McLean County Commission approved a 24-month moratorium this week on consideration of any conditional use permit for solar energy facilities.

The moratorium, which received unanimous approval, was brought to the commission by State's Attorney Ladd Erickson, who said he'd been asked by a landowner to review a solar lease that had been offered to him. Erickson urged the landowner to reject the lease because it would limit use of his property for future purposes, and said it is very unlikely a solar farm will ever be built in the county.

Click here to listen to Erickson's comments.

The moratorium, which Erickson calls a consumer protection measure, says the county's "landowners may be taken advantage of if they sign leases with solar companies that have no purchase power agreements or electrical grid inter-connections, but the leases have provisions ... that bind their land for the long-term, precluding other opportunities ... that may materialize in the future."

Click here to listen to Erickson's comments.

Erickson said the two-year moratorium makes sense because that's the time period in which the future of Coal Creek Station will be resolved. Great River Energy announced in May that it intends to shut down the 1,100-megwatt coal plant by the end of 2022. Erickson said it makes no sense to consider leases now until the future of the plant and its associated DC transmission line are determined.

Mercer County across the river also has a solar moratorium in place, and recently enacted a moratorium on consideration of any permits for wind farms as well.

Talk radio personality Scott Hennen, host of the radio program Energy Matters, has announced what he's calling a North Dakota Energy Town Hall in Bismarck next week.

The gathering will be held at the Bismarck Event Center, Thursday evening, August 13, from 6:00-to-8:00 p.m.

In announcing the meeting on the air this week, Hennen said he's inviting political leaders to attend, but he really wants to hear from the people and their attitudes about North Dakota energy.

Click here to listen to Hennen's comments.

Hennen said he expects statewide elected officials, legislators and leaders of some of the state's energy-related trade associations will be on hand to answer questions and respond to public comments about energy and energy policy. He said the town hall will definitely include a discussion of the future of Coal Creek Station, and the actions of affected counties, decisions with which he said he personally disagrees.

Click here to listen to Hennen's comments.

Hennen said the gathering would be in a room that could handle 200 people, but will be set up with only 100 chairs to permit "social distancing."

North Dakota's Lignite Research Council has been around for more than 30 years. It was created in 1987 as a partnership between the State of North Dakota and the members of the Lignite Energy Council (LEC).

As part of its series of podcasts to discuss issues affecting the lignite industry, the LEC interviewed three of the men who directed the research effort. Guests on the podcast were current director Mike Holmes, immediate past director Mike Jones, and Cliff Porter, the man who was the first director of the program. Porter recalled his work with then LEC President John Dwyer to take the coal industry R&D program from concept to reality.

Click here to listen to Porter's comments.

When it began, state funds for research grants were raised from a two-cents-per-ton tax on lignite. Then in June 1990, North Dakota voters approved Measure Three, which allowed the legislature to appropriate up to half the incoming revenue from the state coal trust fund for lignite research, development and marketing purposes. Over the years, funding has also been supplemented by a portion of the coal conversion tax being set aside for research and development, as well as money from the state’s oil and gas revenues, most recently through the Prairie Dog legislation passed in the 2019 session.

The three directors recounted some of the R&D program's accomplishments, including:

The trio also discussed Project Tundra, which was recently awarded $15 million in funding from the Lignite Research Program to perform an engineering study and evaluate the commercial viability of capturing carbon dioxide at the Milton R. Young Station.

Click here to view the podcast on Facebook.

A fresh new look with the state’s welcome signs will soon greet travelers as they enter North Dakota. This week, the ND Department of Transportation began the process of replacing welcome signs across the state.

The design features the new state logo and includes the first photo background used on a North Dakota welcome sign. The photo highlights the beauty of the North Dakota Badlands and was taken at Wind Canyon in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

“We are very proud of our state and these welcome signs are part of the first impression for visitors to North Dakota,” said NDDOT Director Bill Panos. “The signs will provide a fresh new look for travelers and better represent the spirit of North Dakota.”

The first sign was replaced yesterday on Interstate 94 at the Montana border near Beach. The remaining four signs will be replaced over the next few weeks.

The initial five major entry point sign locations include:

Plans to replace all signs at entry points on state highways are currently underway and expected to be in place by fall of 2021.

The ND Industrial Commission is currently accepting applications for the North Dakota Heritage Fund Program. Applications will be accepted through September 1.

North Dakota’s Outdoor Heritage Fund was established in 2013 by the Legislature as a way to provide grants to state agencies, tribal governments, political subdivisions, and nonprofit organizations for projects that will: 

The application form and information on projects that have been awarded funding in the past can be found here. For more information on the program, contact Andrea Pfennig (701-328-3786) or Karlene Fine (701-328-3722) or click here. 

This week, the North Dakota Department of Transportation announced the temporary closure of its Driver License office in Watford City, effective August 5. The office is being moved to a new location and will be open for business in the near future. No reason for the temporary closure was listed in the NDDOT announcement.

During the interim period, customers will need to find an alternate location or do their business online during the move. A list of other driver license office locations can be found on the NDDOT website.

Well Plugging & Reclamation 

The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources is launching 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 programs will create numerous job, while addressing one of the biggest challenges facing the oil industry.

The work is now being bid and 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.

Educational Series Outline:

The education series will be posted online here and participants can subscribe to receive it directly via email by visiting the Contact Us page to sign in.

A special three-part series was recorded with Reporter Dave Thompson from Prairie Public Radio interviewing Lynn Helms, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

In Part 1, Helms discusses abandoned wells in the state, the proper method of plugging of a well, and land reclamation regulations.

Click here to access the podcast.

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.

At no point does the Dakota Access Pipeline pass through the reservation of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, nor does it impact its water supply. The Tribe's new water inlet for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is near Mobridge, SD, some 70 miles from the pipeline crossing. But rail lines that can transport crude oil across the reservation and Lake Oahe are only two miles upstream of the new water intake.

Source: Dakota Access Pipeline -- The Facts

Williston API Golf Tournament 

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

September 16 

Energy Development and Transmission Committee