June 7, 2019

“Wise Roads” Project Set to Begin

Weather Info Will Guide Road Decisions

The Western Dakota Energy Association will launch a project this summer that will deliver additional weather information to county and township road managers, with the goal of reducing the scope and duration of road restrictions during periods of inclement weather.

The project called Wise Roads (Weather Information System to Effectively Reduce Delays and Disruption), will initially focus on the four major oil-producing counties. WDEA will partner with the ND Agricultural Weather Network ( NDAWN) to place research-grade weather monitoring equipment in high traffic locations along gravel roads in Dunn, McKenzie, Mountrail and Williams Counties. 

The project was developed in response to complaints from oilfield companies that road restrictions have been overly broad at times, costing the companies lost time and money, according to WDEA Executive Director Geoff Simon. With more detailed weather information, especially precipitation data, Simon said it is expected that counties can be more selective when imposing road restrictions, excluding areas that received little or no moisture.

The WDEA Executive Committee has authorized up to $250,000 for the project. Based on a cost of around $10,000 for each unit, that would purchase about 25 weather stations. WDEA has submitted an application for a matching grant from the ND Oil & Gas Research Council, which if successful would allow placement of twice that number of weather stations, some of which would likely spread to locations outside the Big Four counties.

WDEA, in collaboration with NDAWN, the counties and the North Dakota Petroleum Council, will be selecting sites for the initial 10 units in the next couple weeks. Installation is tentatively scheduled for the last week of June. 

“We’ve received a lot of suggested sites based on our contacts with the counties and NDPC, but we can definitely use more,” Simon said. “We expect many stations will be on oil industry property, but we’d also welcome offers from any farmers, ranchers or other rural landowners who would want to host a weather station on their property.”

Success of the project will be measured by tracking changes in the imposition of road restrictions through the LoadPass Permit System, the oversize truck permitting system operated by WDEA.

“We keep a record of the road restriction notifications that counties send through the LoadPass system,” said Brent Bogar, a consultant who works with WDEA on LoadPass. “By examining this road restriction data, and making an appropriate comparison to weather phenomena experienced at the time restrictions were issued, we expect to identify a downward trend in the number and duration of restrictions."

Click here to see letters of support for the project.

Long X Bridge Contract Awarded

Replacement to be Open by July 2021

This historic Long X Bridge on US Highway 85 south of Watford City will soon be replaced with a new bridge. Work on the new Little Missouri River crossing is scheduled for completion in July 2021.

The ND Department of Transportation last week awarded a bid to Ames Construction to build the new bridge and dismantle the old one. Ames, based in Burnsville, MN, was the only bidder on the project. Its $33,971,510 bid was more than $6 million over the engineer’s estimate. 

The company will begin mobilizing on the site in July and work is expected to begin in August, according to Bill Gathman, assistant district engineer for DOT’s Williston District. Gathman said the next step in getting the project started will be a pre-construction conference.

Click here to listen to Gathman’s comments. 

Replacing the old truss bridge with a newer design will allow it to better accommodate oversize truck traffic. It’s vertical clearance is just over 16 feet, so it’s no surprise as Gathman says that “it’s been hit a few times in the last few years.” 

The new bridge, to be built east of the current structure, will be four lanes wide in anticipation of future construction that will widen other segments of Highway 85 between Watford City and Belfield. Click here to see DOT’s eight-page handout from public hearings held last spring on the multi-part project. 

Because the Long X Bridge is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, federal law requires it be made available for adoption prior to its removal. Emmons County rancher Paul Silbernagel will do that with the southern span of the bridge, which is about 250 feet in length. Silbernagel plans to reassemble it on his ranch east of Linton where it will span Beaver Creek. The bridge will be on private property, but it should be visible from Highway 13.

Click here to read a Bismarck Tribune article on Silbernagel’s plans for the bridge. Click here to see photos and a detailed description of the Long X Bridge from BridgeHunter.com.

PSC to Consider Ruso Wind Farm June 17

The Public Service Commission will hold a public hearing June 17 on a proposed 205-megawatt wind farm that would straddle the border between Ward and McLean Counties. The hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m. CDT at the Sleep Inn and Suites in Minot. 

The application, filed by Ruso Wind Partners, seeks permission to construct up to 66 wind turbines on a 35,654-acre site west of the city of Ruso. The hearing will also consider a request for a permit to build 10 miles of 230 kV electric transmission line from the wind farm to a new substation to be constructed in McHenry County. 

The wind farm would interconnect to the grid via the Ruso Wind Switching Station, which would be constructed, owned and operated by Great River Energy. Ruso Wind Partners is a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Power.

Click here to look through the 572-page application.

Garrison Dam to Ramp Up Next Week

Low Releases Helped Ease Downstream Flooding

Water levels in the Missouri River below Garrison Dam have been about as low as people can remember, but that will start to change next week.

The US Army Corps of Engineers dropped Garrison releases to a relative trickle the past few weeks to lessen the impact of flooding in downstream states caused by excessive rainfall. The flow of water coming out of Garrison this week was only 15,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), dropping the level on the Missouri River stream gauge at Bismarck to under five feet. Sandbars were visible in many parts of the river and boaters have had difficulty getting on the water.

That will all change next week when the Corps begins to discharge more water from Lake Sakakawea, the level of which has been climbing a few inches every day as mountain snowmelt arrives from Montana and Wyoming. The Corps’ three-week regulation forecast shows Garrison releases will increase to 30,000 cfs by next Friday, to 42,000 cfs by the first day of summer, and increase to 46,000 cfs on June 25. 

Inflows from tributaries are expected to continue exceeding discharge rates for about three more weeks, causing Sakakawea to rise through most of June. The Corps’ forecast expects the lake will climb more than two more feet in elevation, topping out at 1851.9 feet above sea level before beginning to fall. 

Click here to see a KFYR-TV story on the low water level in Bismarck. Click here for a Minot Daily News story about the surging level of Lake Sakakawea.

Drought Starting to Appear in North Dakota

Drought is beginning to creep into the picture in most of the northern reaches of the state.

The North Dakota drought monitor reports dry topsoil, stress to pastures and low stock pond levels. Compounding the problem the region experienced temperatures 2-8 degrees above normal the past week.

According to the US Drought Monitor, 17 percent of the state is abnormally dry, and 12% is experiencing moderate drought. Conditions may get worse. The National Weather Service 30-day Outlook predicts a better than average chance of above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation for much of North Dakota during the month of June.

Click here for the North Dakota drought monitor page.

ND Aeronautics Commission Awards Grants

$3.5 Million to be Distributed Among 66 Cities

The North Dakota Aeronautics Commission yesterday approved more than $3.5 million in grant allocations to commercial and general aviation airports throughout the state.

All totaled, the grants will help pay for 165 individual projects at 66 different public use airports. The hub city communities of Dickinson, Minot and Williston were among the commercial airports receiving grants. Dickinson was awarded $178,000 for taxi-lane and hangar development. Minot will receive $144,000 to help pay for design work on apron reconstruction and a cargo apron at the airport. And Williston was granted $76,000 to pay for pavement repair on the airport runway.

Among the larger awards in the general aviation category, the City of Killdeer will receive $56,183 for terminal building design work; Mohall will receive $36,250 to help cover the cost of design work, land acquisition and wetland mitigation on a runway extension project; Stanley will get nearly $33,000 for five separate projects including design work on a taxiway expansion, snow removal equipment, fuel tank plumbing, and repairs to runway lights and the airport's automated weather station; and Garrison will receive more than $26,000 to help pay to reconstruct a taxi-lane, install fencing and provide parking for automobiles. A number of cities also received funds to help pay for sealing cracks in their runways.

Revenue for the grants comes primarily from state tax collections on aviation fuel and aircraft sales. Most of the grant allocations will also match federal grants that are anticipated for 2019 airport projects.

Click here to see the Commercial Service Airport Grant Awards.

Click here to see the General Aviation Airport Grant Awards.

Baesler Responds to School Bus Audit

A state audit report shows the North Dakota Highway Patrol wasn't following its internal policies for school bus inspections, and that federal grant dollars were not tracked correctly. 

The audit also says school districts have failed to properly report ownership and inspection information about school buses. 

State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler said while the audit suggests improvements to North Dakota’s school bus inspection system can be made, she disputes the audit's claim that the Department of Public Instruction advertises "that inspections are done on 100 percent of school buses.”

Baesler said DPI’s guidance manual for school districts and bus drivers only asks that they have their school buses inspected annually by the Highway Patrol. State law does not require annual inspections and DPI doesn't have legal authority to compel them, Baesler said.

“This audit includes suggestions about how we can improve school bus inspection procedures and reporting,” Baesler said. “We welcome that conversation. We are always open to explore ways of enhancing student and school bus safety.”

The primary school bus defects listed in the report were clearance lights; eight-lamp warning system; backup alarm and inoperable emergency exits. 

Click here to read Auditor Josh Gallion's news release. Click here to see the full audit report.

Dickinson High Grad Named to Higher Ed Board

A Dickinson High School graduate will serve as the next student representative on the state Board of Higher Education.

Governor Doug Burgum this week appointed University of North Dakota student Kaleb Dschaak to a one-year term on the board. Dschaak expects to graduate from UND in Spring 2020 with majors in marketing and political science. He has served as president of the North Dakota Student Association, vice president of the UND student body and president of the Future Business Leaders of America. Dschaak also has been a policy intern for University Information Technology at UND and worked on a nationwide student bill of rights regarding data privacy and security.

“Kaleb’s extensive experience in student government and information technology, along with his business and budgeting background, make him well-suited to represent students during this period of rapid change in higher education driven by technological, demographic and economic forces,” Burgum said.

Dschaak’s term on the board begins July 1. 

"I can't being to express how immensely humbled I am by this experience," Dschaak wrote in a Facebook post. "I cherish every opportunity that I get to support and better my community, and my state. Higher education impacts us all in some capacity, and I want to help improve our great system."

The Board of Higher Education has eight voting members appointed by the governor, including one student member, and two non-voting members who represent the University System’s faculty and staff.

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 Gary Wilz said the association is offering the scholarships to help the industry and western communities meet the workforce challenges now being experienced with the surge in oil industry activity.

“We recognize that North Dakota will see benefits from higher oil prices only if the industry is able to attract the workforce it needs,” said Wilz, who is Superintendent of the Killdeer Public School District. “We want to do everything we can to encourage young people to explore the many opportunities for a rewarding career in the energy industry.”

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 August 31, 2019. Scholarships will be awarded in September.

Quick Connect

Factoid of the Week

Western North Dakota contains several areas of radioactive mineral deposits. Investigations done from the late 1940s to the late 1970s discovered several large areas of increased radioactivity in Bowman, Slope, Stark, Billings and Golden Valley counties. Uranium and other radioactive elements were often found associated with beds of lignite. These low grade ore deposits typically ranged from 0.005 to 0.2 percent uranium.

Source: North Dakota Geological Survey

Upcoming Events

June 10

Legislative Management

Bismarck

June 10-13

Lignite Council Teacher Seminar

Bismarck

June 12  

ND Petroleum Council Denver Social 

Denver

June 13

Young Professionals Lunch & Learn

Williston 

June 17-20

Energy of North Dakota Teacher Seminar

Bismarck

June 19-20

ND National Association of Royalty Owners Convention

Bismarck

June 20

Dunn County Courthouse Grand Opening

Manning

June 26

ND Legislature Budget Section

Bismarck

July 6

Williston Area Chamber of Commerce Rockin' RibFest

Williston

July 11 -12

2019 Williston API Golf Tournament

Eagle Ridge Golf Course and The Links of ND 

July 16-17

Bakken Conference & Expo

Bismarck

July 16

Bakken Rocks Cookfest

Bowman

July 17

Bakken Classic Fishing Derby  

New Town

July 18

Bakken Rocks Cookfest

Van Hook