July 24, 2020 -- Biggest Load Ever!
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It happened back in March when Stark County approved the movement of this 1.5 million pound reactor tower to the Marathon refinery site west of Dickinson. (see story below)
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WDEA Files Amicus Brief to Support DAPL
Pipeline Shutdown Would Cost the State Billions
The Western Dakota Energy Association filed an amicus brief this week in support of a motion to stop a judge's order that the Dakota Access Pipeline be shut down and emptied of crude oil.
Commonly referred to as a "friend of the court" brief, the document was submitted to the US District Court in Washington DC in support of the motion for a stay of the court order filed by the US Department of Justice on behalf of the Army Corps of Engineers. A panel of judges has granted a temporary stay of the order by Judge James Boasberg while it hears arguments in the appeal. The shutdown order is a response to the claim of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which is represented by the extremist group Earthjustice, that a spill where the pipeline crosses the Missouri River could contaminate the tribe's water supply, even though the tribe's intake is 50 miles downstream.
WDEA Executive Director Geoff Simon said the association felt it was essential the court understood the broad economic ripple effect that a shutdown order would have on western communities and the entire state. Simon, who was interviewed this week by Scott Hennen on the radio program
Energy Matters, said other briefs were filed, but none represented "the unique interests of the counties, cities, and school districts in North Dakota that rely on revenue from the oil the Dakota Access Pipeline transports."
Click
here to listen to Simon's comments.
The brief points out that "the loss of DAPL’s 570,000 barrel-per-day takeaway capacity will likely add at least $5.00 per barrel to the cost of shipping North Dakota crude," and that added cost "would make it nearly impossible for North Dakota to compete with other oil-producing regions in the country, thereby stopping our communities’ recovery in its tracks."
To add weight to WDEA's argument, Simon said the association sought support from its individual members. He said 13 separate political subdivisions took action and are listed in the brief.
Click
here to listen to Simon's comments.
WDEA's brief also points out that Judge Boasberg failed to apply the required tests for the shutdown remedy it ordered, which resulted in its "failure to equitably evaluate the overwhelming public interest in the continued operation of DAPL." Court precedent requires a four-factor test for determining injunctive relief to plaintiffs:
- That it (Standing Rock) has suffered an irreparable injury;
- That remedies available at law are inadequate to compensate for that injury
- That considering the balance between the plaintiff and defendant, a remedy is warranted;
- That the public interest would not be dis-served by a permanent injunction.
Click
here to read or download WDEA's brief.
Click
here and advance to the 2:20 mark to listen to the full
Energy Matters interview with Simon.
Click
here to read a Bismarck Tribune article about WDEA's and other briefs. Click
here to read a Williston Herald article about the WDEA brief. Click
here for a story about the Minot City Counci's decision to support the brief. Click
here to read about Morton County's decision.
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GAIN: Groups Want Permanent Shutdown
DAPL Order Sets Dangerous Precedent
Groups opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline are not concerned about protecting the environment from pipeline leaks or spills. Rather, they would prefer that crude oil pipelines are shut down permanently.
That's the opinion of Craig Stevens, spokesman for GAIN, Grow America’s Infrastructure Now, a coalition focused on promoting infrastructure investments in the United States. Stevens said he's not aware of a previous order that an existing pipeline that's been operating safely be shut down. He said not only would shutting down DAPL have an enormous economic effect, it would set a dangerous precedent, overruling the Corps of Engineers' decision that an environmental assessment of the pipeline's river cross was sufficient. Stevens said that's why other states submitted a brief to oppose the shutdown order.
Click
here to listen to Stevens' comments.
The brief filed by the states notes that, "The widespread economic and safety disruptions that would arise from vacatur would far outweigh any actual harm caused by the short-term lack of an environmental impact statement, which, after all, is a procedural agency obligation designed to provide more public information, but which does not itself hold the prospect of changing the substantive outcome of the Corps’ ultimate decision about the easement."
Stevens said the initial delay and associated protest before DAPL was built were entirely political in nature. He said the end game of Earthjustice, which has provided legal representation to the Standing Rock Tribe, is to get the pipeline shut down, and then hope that the November election produces a change in the White House that could lead to a permanent shutdown.
Click
here to listen to Stevens' comments.
Stevens said the three judges who will consider the appeal of Boasberg's decision were all appointed by different presidents. Judge Judith W. Rogers was appointed by Bill Clinton; Judge Thomas B Griffith, was appointed by George W. Bush; and Judge Cornelia Pillard was appointed by Barack Obama. Stevens said initial briefs and responses were due this week, and the appeals panel decision could come soon.
Click
here to listen to Stevens' comments.
Stevens was interview by Scott Hennen on the radio program
Energy Matters. Click
here and advance to the 1:35 mark to listen to the full interview. Click
here to read an opinion from Tom Magness, who served as a commander in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, regarding the dangerous precedent set by the Dakota Access Pipeline shutdown order.
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WDEA Board Hears TENORM Report
Consolidated Landfill Siting Recommended
Members of WDEA's Executive Committee and a pair of legislators heard an initial report this week of a study commissioned by WDEA to develop recommendations for the disposal of TENORM produced in the state.
TENORM - technologically-enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material - is created when materials removed from the earth are concentrated through industrial processes. TENORM in the oil industry is typically found in filter socks, tank bottom sludge, and scale that forms inside well pipes and equipment.
Brent Bogar, senior consultant with AE2S Nexus, told board members and legislators that North Dakota is the only oil-producing state that does not have a permitted landfill or other disposal facility for handling the material. Bogar said the state generates an average of 92,000 tons of TENORM per year, which is the equivalent of about 2,300 truckloads.
WDEA authorized the study in January (see
Jan. 24 newsletter) shortly after Williams County rejected an application for a landfill north of Williston. Commissioners were concerned that additional landfills may be needed in the future, and if any failed the county would be liable for the facility. The county reached out to WDEA, which proposed a regional study to get a better handle on the issue.
Bogar produced a heat map to show likely locations of drilling activity and infill drilling, to identify areas where TENORM is likely to be produced. The material is currently hauled by truck, with most of it going to a landfill just across the border near Lindsey, Montana. Legislators there have recently raised the issue, prompting Bogar and AE2S to move up the timeline for completing the study.
There are two methods of measuring low level radioactivity in the material. Bogar said a Geiger counter can be used to determine how many milli-roentgens per hour a sample emits. It is also measured in picocuries per gram, which he said is determined in a laboratory, but unfortunately there is no conversion between the two measurements. North Dakota has established a limit for landfills of 50 picocuries per gram, and allows disposal of no more than 25,000 tons per site each year.
Permitting a landfill to handle TENORM currently requires approval by counties for compliance with zoning regulations, and by the Department of Environmental Quality, which would license a facility, require appropriate financial assurance and monitor and inspect its ongoing operation. Bogar suggested the state consider consolidating the permitting authority under DEQ with considerable input from counties, similar to the manner in which pipeline siting was consolidated under the Public Service Commission by the 2017 Legislature (see
SB 2286).
Sitting in on the WDEA meeting were Senator Dale Patten, R-Watford City, and Senator Erin Oban, D-Bismarck, who've been part of a small working group of legislators monitoring the issue and visiting with fellow legislators from Montana. Patten said he would like to know more about the possibility of using slurry wells to dispose of some of the material. The North Dakota Industrial Commission has approved the development of slurry wells (see
May 31, 2019 newsletter). but none are in operation. Patten said he'd like to know how much waste the wells can handle, the rate of disposal in underground formations and how the cost compares with disposal at a landfill.
Click
here to see Bogar's slide presentation. Click
here for a Bismarck Tribune article about the study.
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UGPTI: First Look at Road Needs Study
Counties and townships in North Dakota will need to spend nearly $1 billion per biennium over the next 20 years to keep pace with road and bridge construction and maintenance needs.
The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute presented the initial results of its Road Needs Study during a webinar for highway managers this week. The information was developed in response to the North Dakota Legislature's request for a study of the transportation infrastructure of all county, township, and tribal roads and bridges in the state.
The combined estimate of infrastructure needs for all county and township roads is $8.8 billion over the next 20 years. Forty percent of the estimate relates to projected needs in the oil and gas producing counties of western North Dakota. Unpaved road funding needs make up about 67% of the total.
Infrastructure needs were estimated using the most current crop and oil production forecasts, traffic estimates, and roadway condition data. Agricultural and oil-related traffic was modeled in detail at sub-county level. Oil related traffic is predicted for individual spacing units, while ag production was estimated at the township level. Comments will be accepted on the draft report through August 30, after which a final draft will be posted.
Click
here to read or download the 126-page County, Township and Tribal Road and Bridge Study.
Click
here to read the Urban Corridor Study of Roadway and Bridge Needs.
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North Dakota's Biggest Load Ever
by Leanna Emmer, NDLTAP Truck Weight Expert
In March, the Stark County Highway Department authorized LoadPass Permits to issue permits to Mammoet USA South Inc. for two loads, each weighing nearly 1.5 million pounds.
The approved routes authorized travel for three miles on county and township roads. The loads were reactors being hauled to the Marathon refinery west of Dickinson. Two self-propelled modular trailers with 56 axles and 224 tires were used to haul each reactor from the railhead to the refinery. Remote controls were used to steer the trailers. Not only were these loads excessively overweight, they were also very over dimensional. Permits were issued for up to 26’3” in width, 24’ in height and 210’4” in length.
Just one of the loads weighed the same as nineteen 80,000-pound tractor trailers. That many 18-wheelers lined up on a highway would create a train of vehicles 1,425 feet long – more than a quarter of a mile! The process to find a route for these loads was not any easy task.
Janet Sanford, Operator for the LoadPass Permit Program, said Mammoet contacted her more than a year ago. The first requested route was denied. Al Heiser, Stark County Road Superintendent, worked with the company on a route that was better designed to accommodate the large loads. A major challenge with the route was that it crossed a two-span, 141-foot-long bridge. Marathon Oil hired an engineering firm and worked with the county and NDDOT Bridge Division to analyze the bridge to assess its capacity to withstand the load. In the end, three bridge analyses were done before the movements were approved by the county and permits could be issued.
“The Largest GVW I have ever seen by far,” Sanford said. “It was exciting and scary. I was pleased that everything went well.”
Sanford has been managing the LoadPass Permit program for a number of years. Under her tutelage, counties have seen the program evolve from using a handwritten paper permit to an automated permit and routing program. With automation, counties/cities/townships can better monitor where, when, and if, an oversize movement can travel on their roads, over their bridges, and to what criteria they must adhere. Currently 28 counties and two cities are members of the LoadPass Permit Program.
Click
here to see a version of this article with more photos. Click
here to learn more about LoadPass.
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Legislative Receptions to Return in 2021
Draft Ethics Rules Allow Educational Socials
If the North Dakota Ethics Commission approves the draft gift rules its has developed, legislative receptions and socials are likely to make a comeback during the 2021 session.
The
ethics measure approved by voters in November 2018 bans lobbyists from giving a gift to a public official, but it does allow the
Ethics Commission to make exceptions. Language in the measure specifies that the term gift does not apply to events that "advance opportunities for North Dakota residents to meet with public officials in educational and social settings inside the state ... under conditions that do not raise ethical concerns." However, because there were no rules in place that spelled out what exactly that means, most businesses and associations cancelled plans for receptions during the 2019 Legislature.
In a presentation to the interim Judiciary Committee this week, Ethics Commission Executive Director David Thiele said the commission's draft rules attempt to address the measure's intent.
Click
here to listen to Thiele's comments.
Specifically, the draft rules state that the gift ban does not apply to:
- Reimbursement or payment for transportation, lodging costs, and meal costs to facilitate attendance to a public or private educational and social event within the state, if the public official meaningfully participates in the event as a speaker or panel participant, presenter, or ceremonial event appropriate to the position, or if attendance is appropriate to the performance of official duties;
- Gifts, food, beverages, or other things of value shared as a cultural or social norm as part of a public or private social and educational event; and,
- Food and beverages served for immediate consumption at any private or public social and educational event.
The Ethics Commission will discuss the rules again at its next meeting August 12.
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Technology Touted at Innovation Summit
Gov. Doug Burgum and Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler hosted the fourth annual Governor’s Summit on Innovative Education on Tuesday, highlighting the progress being made in North Dakota toward personalized, competency-based learning, and the role that technology can play in those efforts.
More than 1,300 educators, administrators, school board members, legislators, parents and other stakeholders registered to participate virtually in the summit, which was livestreamed from the North Dakota Heritage Center with nationally recognized speakers joining from across the United States and Canada. Locally led breakout sessions also allowed participants to learn about best practices and innovation in the classroom, and engage in the conversation surrounding a safe restart to school this coming fall.
“As we face unprecedented challenges and disruption from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we also have an opportunity to lead in many ways – driving positive change and creating a system that leverages technology tools to meet students where they are,” Burgum said.
Baesler expressed gratitude to teachers, administrators and parents for quickly shifting to distance learning last spring, and emphasized the opportunity amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Burgum and Baesler also presented the #InnovativeND Awards during the summit. Among the winners was Travis Jordan, superintendent of Beulah Public Schools, in the System Transformation category, which recognizes innovations that will have a fundamental impact on how students learn.
For those unable to participate online or attend in person, recordings of the Governor’s Summit on Innovation Education will be shared in the coming weeks. Click here to see Chris Berg's interview of Governor Burgum and Khan Academy founder Sal Khan.
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Construction Underway on I-94
Two Bridge Interchanges Involved
Construction got underway this week on the Interstate 94/Highway16 Beach interchange and the I-94 Painted Canyon interchange 10 miles west of Belfield.
The projects consist of concrete removal and replacement of the bridge decks and other concrete repair work on the structures.Motorists should be aware that wide loads over 11.5 ft. at the Beach Interchange and 11.0 ft. at the Painted Canyon Interchange should find an alternate route if needing to travel north or south bound over the bridges. During construction operations, motorists are asked to use caution through the work zone and plan accordingly for short delays.
Traffic will be reduced to one lane with signals in place to direct traffic across the bridge and interstate off ramps, speeds will be reduced, width restrictions will be in place and flaggers will be present. The two projects are expected to be completed in early October.
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WDEA Offering Energy Scholarships
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 at WDEA's annual meeting October 7-8 in Williston.
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Quick Connect
- ND still seeking to recover $38M in Dakota Access protest policing costs -- Bismarck Tribune
- U.S. asks judge to toss out North Dakota's suit over DAPL protest costs -- Associated Press
- PSC schedules public hearing for pipeline project in Williams County -- Williston Herald
- PHMSA sides with ND, MT in crude-by-rail dispute with Washington State -- Shale Daily
- ‘Biggest oil price collapse since 1999’ will impact the next ND biennium -- The Journal
- Judge who halted Keystone called overreaching by some, fair by others -- Bismarck Tribune
- North Dakota refinery developer, Meridian Energy, sued for worker wages -- Associated Press
- NEPA changes loved by oil/gas and hated by greens will present challenges -- Williston Herald
- Eight regions in North Dakota will now decide their own COVID testing numbers -- KFYR-TV
- Hess to delay process requiring 300 out-of-state workers at Tioga Gas Plant -- Williston Herald
- Local electric cooperatives support COVID relief bill; provides $2M per co-op -- KFYR-TV
- North Dakota Republicans endorse Kirsten Baesler for superintendent -- Associated Press
- Air travel at commercial airports slowly picking up across North Dakota -- Associated Press
- Minot-area flood control project advances, 4th Ave flood wall nearly done -- Minot Daily News
- Williams County seeks to revise oversight for its joint dispatch center -- Williston Herald
- Stanley opened new city hall July 13, police also occupy the building -- Minot Daily News
- ND schools work on health and safety plans for in-school instruction this fall -- Bismarck Tribune
- Higher Education Board: Universities should encourage or require masks -- Associated Press
- Williston State College expands scholarship to help students impacted by COVID -- KXMB-TV
- District 8 votes to give $19.8 million in land to neighboring school districts -- Williston Herald
- Tioga School District accepts Williams County District #8 land transfer -- KFYR-TV
- School districts will be holding public meeting on reorganization plans -- Williston Herald
- Schools may reopen but Divide County School District wants parent input -- The Journal
- Minot school superintendent shares concerns about coronavirus and reopening -- KXMB-TV
- Masks required: Dickinson Public Schools releases draft of reopening plan -- Dickinson Press
- Nick Archuleta, ND United: Key questions for safely reopening schools -- Bismarck Tribune
- Williams County looks at $20M in cuts year over year for 2021 budget year -- Williston Herald
- New wildlife crossing near the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park -- KFYR-TV
- INSIGHT - Bounceback in U.S. shale oil output is unlikely to last the summer -- Reuters
- House passes major conservation package with bipartisan support -- Washington Post
- Barclays sees near-term oil price correction if demand recovery slows -- Reuters
- Biden's $2 trillion energy plan ignores cost and renewable energy land-use conflicts -- Forbes
- Biden walks tightrope on fracking: Is he "labor" Biden or "Green New Deal" Biden -- Politico
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Factoid of the Week
Transporting oil by rail is two to three times more expensive than shipping by pipeline. The increased cost is inevitably passed along to the consumer. Denying infrastructure projects that deliver low-cost energy disproportionately impacts those with the fewest resources. In April 2016, the bottom quintile of U.S. households spent 22% of their after-tax income on residential utility bills and gasoline compared to just 5% by the top quintile.
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July 28
Via Zoom Platform
July 29
OnLine
July 29
OnLine via Microsoft Teams
July 30
Bismarck
August 4
Bismarck
August 11
Legislative Video
August 12
Bismarck/Online
August 13
Bismarck
August 20-21
Williston
September 1-3
(rescheduled for May 11-13, 2021)
Bismarck
September 30 - October 1
Bismarck
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Oil prices and rig count
July 24, 2020
WTI Crude: $41.34
Brent Crude: $43.34
Natural Gas: $1.81
North Dakota Active Oil Rigs:13 (up 2)
7/24/2019 -- 58 rigs
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Geoff Simon
Editor/Executive Director
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