School administrators, school board members and teachers that are part of a grassroots school construction coalition presented their initial findings to the legislature's interim Education Funding Task Force this week, describing problems with maintaining old buildings and the negative impact the situation has on educating students.

The Western Dakota Energy Association is an active part of the coalition, which was initiated by Josh Johnson, the superintendent in the Valley City School District, which is housed in a building constructed in 1919. Johnson launched the effort in June with an email to a few of his peers operating out of similarly aging facilities, including Dickinson Asst. Superintendent Keith Phillips (a WDEA board member), who urged Johnson to include WDEA in the coalition effort. Over the past several months, the coalition has added new member districts, and has had several virtual meetings to better determine the scope of the problem, and potential solutions that could address them.

WDEA Executive Director Geoff Simon kicked off the coalition's presentation to the task force, pointing out that districts all across North Dakota are struggling to keep up with maintenance needs of old facilities, while educating students in less-than-desirable conditions.

Click here to listen to Simon's comments.

Belfield Superintendent Daren Kurle, told task force members the district's school building dates back to 1936, and maintenance needs are consuming the district's building fund. Kurle said Belfield has explored what it would take to replace the aging facility, but because the district has a small property tax base, the community doesn't have the financial means to afford the project.

Click here to listen to Kurle's comments.

Oakes School Board President Sonia Meehl said her district is in a similar position, coping with maintenance needs of a 100-year-old building. Meehl said the school board has been forced to choose between addressing pressing infrastructure needs, while also providing a functional learning environment for students.

Click here to listen to Meehl's comments.

Providing adequate classroom space for a rapidly-growing student population has been the challenge in Williston. To gain community support for construction of a new high school in 2014, the original plan was downsized to a capacity for 1,200 students, but it was filled to capacity when it opened in 2016. Superintendent Richard Faidley said the district has been able to cope by moving students to other facilities, but the most pressing need now is space for elementary students.

Click here to listen to Faidley's comments.

Faidley said the district is contemplating a bond issue to building two new elementary schools in Williston, the price tag of which is estimated around $80 million.

Teachers Sarah Lerud from Valley City and Courtney Klein from Devils Lake described how the lack of financial resources has compromised student safety. Neither district has a secure entrance, and in Devils Lake the school is forced to get double duty out of the school lunchroom, which is also used as a gymnasium. The teachers also described accessibility issues, ranging from broken stair lifts for students with handicaps, to doorways too narrow to accommodate a wheelchair.

Josh Johnson wrapped up the coalition's hour-long presentation. He said the group wants the Task Force to understand the scope of the problem, but rather than just complaining about the outdated facilities, the coalition is working to develop solutions it will present at a future meeting.

Click here to listen to Johnson's comments.

The Task Force also heard a presentation from Aimee Copas, executive director of the ND Council of Educational Leaders, who presented results of recent school bond issues. Copas noted that several bond votes were approved by a majority of voters, but failed to reach the statutorily-required 60 percent threshold to pass.

The Task Force is tentatively scheduled to meet again in late January.

More than a dozen agencies in North Dakota state government are working together to prepare comments on the US Army Corps of Engineers' draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Dakota Access Pipeline's easement to cross the Missouri River south of Bismarck.

The draft EIS did not include a recommendation whether to re-issue the easement. The Corps' initial approval of the easement was invalidated by a federal court decision in 2020 that ordered the full EIS to be completed. The Corps evaluated five alternatives, three of which would require shutdown of the pipeline which has been moving more than 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day since it began operation more than six years ago.

John Reiten, energy policy advisor for Government Doug Burgum, told members of the state Land Board this week that he's gathered data from various departments to document the financial consequences to the state if DAPL were forced to shut down. Reiten said it's estimated the Trust Lands Department alone would lose $211 million in royalties over the next four years if the Corps chose one of three EIS alternatives that would shut down the pipeline.

Gov. Burgum said the state is taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to its response because shutting down the pipeline would devastate North Dakota's economy, affecting every citizen in the state.

Click here to listen to Burgum's comments.

Burgum pointed out shutting down the pipeline would require North Dakota oil production to move by rail, a more dangerous method of transportation, but he said moving oil by rail would also negatively affect the state's ag producers by tying up access to rail cars that transport ag commodities to market. He said the federal government's review of the easement is unprecedented. Burgum pointed out there are 38,000 pipelines that cross waterways in the United States, including the Northern Border natural gas pipeline, which is adjacent to the DAPL pipeline in the crossing south of Bismarck. He said the threat to DAPL is a direct result of the Biden administration's anti-oil agenda.

Click here to listen to Burgum's comments.

Attorney General Drew Wrigley, who is also a member of the Land Board, said he was skeptical of a presentation by federal officials last year who attempted to explain that review of the easement was necessary to protect due process rights of those affected by its operation.

Click here to listen to Wrigley's comments.

The 1,172-mile pipeline connects the Bakken and Three Forks oil production areas in North Dakota to an existing crude oil terminal near Patoka, Illinois. 

Click here to download the 438-page draft EIS. The Corps is accepting public comments through December 13. Comments on the EIS can be emailed to the Corps at [email protected].

The ND Public Service Commission has scheduled a formal hearing December 21 to consider whether state law grants the PSC authority to preempt local zoning ordinances in its consideration of Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed CO2 pipeline.

The Commission did not make a determination regarding the applicability of the statute in its denial of Summit’s siting application in August. Summit had petitioned the PSC to preempt ordinances enacted in Burleigh and Emmons Counties, but denied the motion as moot when it rejected the pipeline siting permit. The hearing focuses on NDCC 49-22.1-13, which states that gas or liquid energy conversion facilities may not supersede or preempt any local zoning rules, but gas or liquid transmission facilities within a designated corridor may preempt local land use or zoning regulations if the PSC finds the zoning regulations to be “unreasonably restrictive in view of existing technology, factors of cost or economics, or needs of consumers regardless of their location.”

Attorneys representing Burleigh and Emmons Counties have argued that Summit has provided no evidence to show county zoning ordinances are unreasonably restrictive, arguing that Summit presumed the preemption to be “automatic.” Summit has argued that the setback requirements imposed by the counties are aimed at preventing the pipeline’s construction.

Summit submitted its siting application in October 2022 to construct 320 miles of CO2 pipeline in North Dakota, part of a proposed network of more than 2,000 miles of pipeline to transport CO2 from ethanol plants in five states to North Dakota for underground sequestration. The proposed route of the pipeline would cross through parts of Burleigh, Cass, Dickey, Emmons, Logan, McIntosh, Morton, Oliver, Richland and Sargent Counties. The 24-inch pipeline would terminate in Oliver County near Summit's sequestration site. The CO2 would be pumped into underground formations by three injection wells, two in Oliver County and one in Mercer County.

The hearing is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. December 21 in the Pioneer Room at the Capitol.

It's a well-known fact that North Dakota is producing an abundance of natural gas, nearly 3.5 billion cubic feet per day, but more than 20 ND cities with a population of 1,000 or more do not have access to gas in their communities.

The problem is one of the interim study topics of the legislature's Energy Development and Transmission Committee, which will meet to discuss the issue at a December 18 meeting in Bismarck. It is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Harvest Room in the Capitol.

The issue has been a frustration for years, driven by the rural nature of North Dakota, and the fact that constructing natural gas transmission lines typically costs more than $1 million per mile. There have been a couple recent projects in eastern North Dakota, but for many communities it remains a financial impossibility. Dakota Natural gas completed an $8.5 million project that brought gas to Hillsboro and Mayville in Traill County, and WBI Energy's recent expansion in southeast ND brought more gas to Wahpeton, and new service to Kindred.

The committee is scheduled to hear from Dakota Natural Gas, as well as Montana-Dakota Utilities, which operates the gas distribution systems in Wahpeton and Kindred. ND Pipeline Authority Director Justin Kringstad will also share an overview of natural gas accessibility and transmission needs in the state.

The agenda also features a report on sustainable energy policies to maximize state opportunities, which includes the feasibility of advanced nuclear energy development and transmission in the state.

The ND Public Service Commission voted unanimously this week to seek intervention in a case before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that could lead to the shutdown of several of Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s generation facilities in the state.

The case originally involved a dispute between Basin and McKenzie Electric Power Cooperative, which accused Basin of overcharging its customers. But PSC Chairman Randy Christmann said the extremist group Sierra Club intervened in the case, and is asking FERC to deny Basin the opportunity to recover its costs, which he said could force shutdown of much of Basin’s generation fleet. He said the prospects are frightening.

Click here to listen to Christmann's comments.

Commissioner Julie Fedorchak pointed to the latest report from the North American Reliability Corporation, which she said shows that two-thirds of the country doesn't have adequate capacity to meet demand if intermittent wind and solar resources are not available.

Click here to listen to Fedorchak's comments.

The potential forced closure of Basin's generation affects a region far beyond North Dakota. Basin's member systems' service territories span 550,000 square miles from the Canadian to the Mexican borders, delivering power to 3 million consumers in parts of the Dakotas, Wyoming, Colorado, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Montana and New Mexico.

The ND Public Service Commission has scheduled a January 29 hearing in Center on an application from Oliver Wind IV, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, for a siting permit for a 200-megawatt wind farm in Oliver County.

The company's application indicates the wind farm will include up to 73 wind turbines, three alternative turbine locations, access roads, underground electrical collection and communication systems, two aircraft detection lighting systems, a substation, an operations and maintenance facility, a permanent and a temporary meteorological tower, and temporary workspaces for a construction laydown area and a concrete batch plant. It also includes an associated 19-mile transmission line, about nine miles of which will be in Mercer County.

The project encompasses 22,291 acres in the county, and the company anticipates the wind farm to be placed in service by December 2024. Oliver Wind IV has executed a 15-year power purchase agreement with Verizon Communications that will purchase 150 MW of the electrical output. The company is marketing the remaining 50 MW to several potential offtakers.

Oliver Wind IV estimates that the project will provide $37 million in tax revenue over 35 years, as well as more than $30 million in payments to participating landowners over a 30-year period. The company estimates the total cost for the Project will be $316 million.

The hearing is tentatively scheduled to be held in the Betty Hagel Civic Center beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Jan. 29. Click here to see the company's 992-page siting application that includes details maps of the project area.

The ND Township Officers Association will hold its annual meeting December 4-5 in Bismarck, with an agenda that focuses heavily on the need for road funding assistance in townships throughout the state.

The meeting gets underway Monday morning at the Ramada Inn. Attendees will hear from Chad Orn, NDDOT Deputy Director for Planning, who will discuss the department's new Flex Fund that offers grants to address pressing needs, particularly aimed at establishing transportation corridors across counties. The agenda also includes a presentation from Alan Dybing with the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, who will share UGPTI's update to its Road Needs Survey and the state's Road Safety Action Plan.

The morning agenda will also include presentations on flood insurance and zoning issues. The noon luncheon will feature a presentation from the Western Dakota Energy Association that will include an update on WDEA's LoadPass Permit system for oversize truck movements, that now serves a dozen counties in eastern North Dakota, with several more expected to join in coming months.

The evening banquet includes presentations from the ND Association of Counties and Velva Rep. Paul Thomas, who introduced successful legislation in 2023 to provide funding to address the need to repair or replace hundreds of antiquated bridges in North Dakota counties and townships. The meeting wraps up Tuesday morning with additional information about the opportunities for townships to obtain grants to support road and bridge needs.

Click here to see the agenda.

The North Dakota Department of Commerce has introduced the Advance ND Program, an initiative geared at providing "deal-closing" loans to companies in North Dakota considering new industrial projects in value-added energy, agriculture, and manufacturing. 

“Advance ND will serve as a financial incentive for those companies whose projects would contribute significant capital investment, add value to North Dakota resources, and provide new employment opportunities to the state’s economy,” said Jessica Tooke, North Dakota Development Fund CEO at Commerce.

To qualify, the company must be considering another state in the site selection process. Administered through the ND Development Fund, the program features interest-only balloon loans converting to fixed-rate term loans. Projects with a minimum $50 million in total capital expenditure will be considered, and funding up to $1 million per $50 million with a $10 million cap per company will be awarded.

Funds will be allocated for working capital, permitting costs, engineering and equipment. In case of project abandonment before becoming operational, the loan will be called due and accrue interest until fully paid.

For details and applications for the Advance ND Program, click here.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation has announced a public input meeting to discuss proposed improvements for the dangerous intersection of US Highway 83 and State Highway 23.

The junction of the two highways 18 miles south of Minot has been the site of several serious vehicle crashes in recent years, some of which involved fatalities.

The NDDOT meeting will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on December 5 at Max Civic Hall. The meeting will include a formal presentation at 5:30 p.m.   

A virtual, pre-recorded, presentation and other materials will be available on the NDDOT website. Virtual materials will be available from December 5-21.

If unable to attend the meeting, written statements or comments must be postmarked or emailed by December 21 to Jen Einrem, 608 East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58505-0700, or emailed to [email protected]. Please Note “US83/ND23 - Public Input Meeting” in the letter heading or email subject.

It didn't last long as temperatures warmed toward the end of the week, but much of western North Dakota received a coating of fresh snow this week. The snowfall and its aftermath were captured by the high-resolution cameras on WDEA's Wise Roads weather stations. Photos from Wise Roads cameras are updated continuously throughout the daylight hours on the Wise Roads web page.

The Wise Roads project (Weather Information System to Effectively Reduce Oilfield Delays and Disruptions) was developed by WDEA to increase the efficiency of the movement of oilfield truck traffic. Most weather stations were placed in the core area of Bakken production, focusing on Dunn, McKenzie, Mountrail and Williams Counties. The project provides more accurate weather information to county road managers, especially about rain events, to minimize the need to impose weight restrictions when gravel roads get wet. It was developed in partnership with NDAWN, which maintains the stations for WDEA. The project was also assisted with a $250,000 grant from the Oil & Gas Research Council.

Thus far, 50 new stations have been installed, 39 of which are located in the four core counties. Prior to the start of the project, Dunn and McKenzie Counties had just one station each, Mountrail County had three and Williams County had four. Weather station data and high-resolution photos can be found at wiseroadsnd.com. Additional information is also available from NDAWN. 

Featured shots are clockwise from upper left, Twin Buttes 4W,with a nighttime shot of flying snow; Alexander, with a view of the fresh snow and a couple deer visible in the upper right corner of the photo; Fairfield, with another shot of the new snow; and Sully Springs, with a shot of a heavy truck moving down a Billings County gravel road. Click on the link for a high-resolution image.

Editor's note: there was a typo in last week's description of the Dublin photo. It should have read "a bank of rod-lift pumping units," not rod-life.