North Dakota's top elected officials continued to call out President Joe Biden's decision to issue yet another executive order this week that mandates a pause on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands, while a comprehensive review of oil and gas permitting and leasing is conducted by the Interior Department.

There is no time limit on the review, which means the president’s moratorium on new leasing is indefinite. However, the White House issued a politically-expedient exception, stating that the order does not apply to energy activities on tribal trust lands.

During a meeting of the Industrial Commission this week, Governor Doug Burgum called Biden's action a "horribly harmful policy for the entire country."

Click here to listen to Burgum's comments.

Biden's ban applies to leasing, but in statements during the presidential campaign, he promised to end fracking as well. Picking up on that, Burgum quoted Neel Kashkari, CEO of the 9th District Federal Reserve, who had said fracking was a more significant technological development than improvements in the microchip. 

Click here to listen to Burgum's comments.

Republican Congressman Kelly Armstrong, in an interview with Chris Berg on Point of View, said his constituents in western North Dakota are concerned the leasing ban may be just the beginning.

Click here to listen to Armstrong's comments.

Armstrong said given Democrats control of Congress, it's unlikely legislation to overturn the executive order will pass, but he said there should be bi-partisan opposition to Biden's senseless action.

Click here to listen to Armstrong's comments.

Senator Kevin Cramer, who was interviewed on the Fox Business Channel, said Biden's actions are counter-productive given his pledge to create more jobs in the United States.

Click here to listen to Cramer's comments.

Cramer, along with fellow Senator John Hoeven and Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, this week introduced the Protecting our Wealth of Energy Resources (POWER) Act, which would prohibit the president or his secretaries of the Agriculture, Interior and Energy departments from issuing moratoria on leasing and permitting for energy and mineral resources on federal lands.

“This kind of heavy-handed regulatory approach raises prices for consumers, increases our reliance on foreign energy sources and undermines the environmental goals of this administration as it prevents the construction of the infrastructure needed to capture natural gas and prevent flaring," Hoeven said in a statement. "Instead of increasing our dependence on countries with less stringent environmental standards, we should be producing more energy at home with better environmental stewardship."

Click here to read a Bismarck Tribune article about the state's reaction to Biden's order.

Several of what are likely to be the more consequential bills of the 2021 Legislature have been scheduled for their first committee hearings next week.

At the top of the list is HB 1431, an $800 million bonding bill introduced by Republican lawmakers, which will be heard Monday afternoon in the House Appropriations Committee. The key section of the new bill for western North Dakota is a $70 million appropriation to repay loans issued to the Western Area Water Supply Authority from the Resources Trust Fund. The bill would also provide $92.5 million for career and tech ed, specifically allocating $15 million to Dickinson, $9 million to Watford City and $9 million to Minot.

The following day, House Appropriations will hear testimony on HB 1380, a measure introduced by Dickinson Rep. Mike Lefor that has come to be known as the "streams bill," because it would designate various funds into which future Legacy Fund earnings would be deposited. The list includes 26% to a new legacy sinking and interest fund, 14% to the highway tax distribution fund, 8% to the school construction assistance revolving loan fund, 5% to the infrastructure revolving loan fund, and 4% to the clean sustainable energy fund (see story below).

On the docket at 9:00 Tuesday morning in the House Finance and Tax Committee is HB 1425, introduced by Bismarck Rep. Mike Nathe, that would require that 20% of new deposits in the Legacy Fund be invested in North Dakota. Half of the amount would be earmarked for equity investments, some of which would go toward “investing in emerging or expanding companies in the state.” Later in the morning, the committee is scheduled to take up HB 1458, a bill introduced by Bismarck Rep. David Nehring that would impose a tax equal to 50% of the federal production tax credit collected by wind generation companies and deposit it in a grid reliability and resiliency fund to be administered by the Public Service Commission.

On Wednesday, House Finance and Tax will consider HB 1412, sponsored by Underwood Rep. Jeff Delzer, that would grant partial relief from the coal conversion tax, producing an estimated savings of $27.5 million per biennium. The legislation would have no impact on the portion of the coal conversion tax that supports local government in the coal-producing counties. Another bill of importance to Coal Counties will be heard in the Senate Industry, Business and Labor Committee at 10:45 Wednesday morning. SB 2287, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, provides for an interim study of the availability, cost, and risks associated with insurance coverage in the lignite coal industry. The study must consider whether there is a need for a state-based insurance product that insures against current risk factors at an affordable rate.

The most significant education-related bill on next week's calendar is SB 2327, sponsored by Wahpeton Senator Jason Heitkamp. The bill, similar in concept to HB 1525 which failed in the 2019 session, directs the Department of Public Instruction to pay off all bonded indebtedness on public school buildings with money from the Common Schools Trust Fund. Although it faces an uphill battle, the legislation is likely to draw attention to the need for school construction funding in North Dakota.

Click here to see next week's schedule of committee hearings on bills of interest to WDEA members.

With ever-increasing pressure applied to the viability of oil, gas and coal development, state legislators are being asked to consider developing an investment fund aimed at preserving the fossil fuel industry by making its products clean and "sustainable."

The House Energy and Natural Resources Committee heard testimony this week on HB 1452 that would establish a clean sustainable energy authority and $25 million in seed money to get it started. Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, said the bill is timely considering the Biden administration's attack on the oil industry, demonstrating the state needs to consider ways to preserve the future of its energy industry.

Click here to listen to Ness' comments.

Ness said state leaders need to recognize that the state's economy is at risk, but North Dakota is in a position to develop fossil fuel technologies that will benefit the entire planet.

Click here to listen to Ness' comments.

Ness was asked by Committee Chairman Todd Porter, R-Mandan, if $25 million was enough to get the fund started. Considering what's at stake, Ness said the amount should be larger.

Click here to listen to Ness' comments.

Legislators also heard supporting testimony from the Lignite Energy Council and the Energy and Environmental Research Center. WDEA Executive Director Geoff Simon also testified in support of the legislation. Simon said WDEA members will be most directly affected by future energy policy.

Click here to listen to Simon's comments.

The legislation would create a seven-member sustainable energy authority, one of whom would be a member appointed by WDEA. Click here to read Amy Sisk's Bismarck Tribune article about the hearing.

The ND Industrial Commission has awarded a $206,000 grant to Creedence Energy Services of Minot for a research project aimed at producing a biological surfactant to enhance oil production.

Creedence co-founder Kevin Black provided a description of the research project during his testimony in support of HB 1452. Black said the product could increase production by appreciable amounts over the expected decline of producing wells. He said the best thing about the surfactant is that it can be made from raw materials grown in North Dakota. 

Click here to listen to Black's comments.

The company's grant application to the Oil & Gas Research Council indicates the product, "due to its novel biosurfactant chemistry and incredibly small micelle size, will be able to contact reservoir surfaces previously unreachable. Once in contact with formation surface and production fluids, the biosurfactant will water-wet the formation rock (decreasing oil affinity for adhering to rock), reduce the surface tension of fluids (reducing the force needed to lift the fluids to surface), and reduce the interfacial tension of oil and water."

Black said the product may help reduce the state's production decline while economic conditions are unfavorable to investment in new wells or full-scale re-fracs. He urged legislators to support HB 1452, which would provide funding to similar cutting-edge research.

Click here to listen to Black's comments.

The total cost of the Creedence research project is about $622,000. 

The Lignite Energy Council launched its third season today of the podcast: Mined: Lignite Energy in America, with release of an interview with Minnkota Power Cooperative CEO Mac McLennan.

The interview of McLennan was conducted by Kate Muggerud and WDEA Executive Director Geoff Simon, focusing on Minnkota's planned development of Project Tundra. Minnkota is developing the CO2 capture project at its Milton R. Young Station near Center. The goal of Project Tundra is to capture 90% of the carbon dioxide produced at the plant, up to 4 million tons per year, and sequester it in underground formations near the site.

McLennan said a go or no-go decision on the $1 billion-plus project will be made sometime this year.

Click here to listen to McLennan's comments.

Grand Forks-based Minnkota is leading the project, along with research support from the Energy & Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota. 

Click here to watch the podcast. Click here to learn more about Project Tundra.

The president of the Lignite Energy Council said he's optimistic energy and environmental officials in the Biden administration will consider efforts of the lignite industry to capture carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Jason Bohrer, in an interview on the radio program What's on Your Mind, said he's hopeful the industry's previous work with the Obama administration to document efforts to address CO2 concerns will carry some weight with Biden's team.

Click here to listen to Bohrer's comments.

Bohrer said Biden's "climate czar" John Kerry has acknowledged that action by the United States alone will have no measurable effect on the global climate. But he said industry research will still be important because it can create value from the CO2 that is captured.

Click here to listen to Bohrer's comments.

Bohrer said advocates for the coal industry should continue to promote the need to fund and support lignite research.

Click here and advance to the 17:00 mark to listen to the full What's on Your Mind interview with Bohrer.

The “supermajority” requirement to pass a school bond referendum is being challenged by western North Dakota lawmakers.

Current law requires that 60% of voters must approve a school bond, but HB 1350 would reduced that percentage depending on the population of the school district. Under the proposed legislation, the threshold would remain the same for districts with populations under 4,000, but would drop to 57% for those between 4,000 and 20,000, and drop to 55% for those with more than 20,000 people.

Williston Rep. David Richter told members of the House Finance and Taxation Committee that most North Dakota school districts are small and would not be affected by the legislation. 

Click here to listen to Richter's comments.

Laurie Garbel, who served as chairperson of the YES Committee for two bond referendums in Williston that were narrowly defeated in 2019, testified remotely in support of the bill. She said the first effort received 58.5% approval, and the second came even closer with a 59.5% vote in favor. However, both failed to reach the required supermajority of 60%.

“I cried that night,” Garbel said in her prepared testimony, “Not because I was now the chair of a committee that had failed twice, I cried for all of the young people who wanted to make the school system and our community a better place for kids.”

David Goetz, Superintendent of Williams County School District No. 8, said the growing number of students in his schools have been forced to use portable classrooms for the past 10 years because of the failure to pass a bond. Goetz said the modular classrooms are not a good solution.

Click here to listen to Goetz's comments.

Mandan Superintendent Mike Bitz told committee members that North Dakota’s requirement for a supermajority vote for school bonds puts the state out of step with the rest of the country.

Click here to listen to Bitz's comments.

The committee heard testimony from 12 proponents, and only one opponent. But despite the support, members voted 10-2 to give the bill a “do not pass” recommendation. A House floor vote is expected next week.

The ND Senate has approved legislation that provides the governor authority to create new size and weight limits for a road train pilot project in the state.

The Senate's approval of SB 2026 on 30-17 vote came in spite of a unanimous  “do not pass” recommendation from the Senate Transportation Committee.

Mandan Senator Doug Larsen said committee members felt the bill was too vague and lacked any specification of both length and weight for road trains. But the bill's sponsor, Senator Larry Luick, said the vagueness was intentional.

Click here to listen to Luick's comments. 

The road train pilot project requires action from both the state and the federal government along with trucking firms. But calling it a "Catch 22, Minot Senator Oley Larsen said the challenge is which group acts first. 

Click here to listen to Larsen's comments. 

The House approved a related measure, HCR 3001, that urges Congress to temporarily amend truck length and weight restrictions on major ND roadways that are part of the national highway system to allow the pilot program to test the extra-long trucks.

Click here for a previous article in the WDEA newsletter and here for a Bismarck Tribune article on the legislation.

Drilling activity in North Dakota’s oilpatch went off the deep end in March 2020 with the start of an oil price war and the emergence of a global panedemic. A steep drop in oil prices short-circuited a lot of industry activity, but despite the slowdown, the state’s oil and gas producers were still plenty busy.

LoadPass Permits, which is operated by WDEA to help counties manage oversize truck traffic, issued 59,495 permits last year, generating about $12.8 million dollars for participating counties. The number is down about 34 percent from the 90,182 permits issued in 2019. Total revenue collected was down about 42 percent from the previous year’s total of $22.3 million.

The number of road restriction notifications issued to truckers and trucking companies also reflected the level of activity in the Bakken. In all, LoadPass sent just under 5 million emails and more than 1.4 million text messages to those who’ve signed up to receive the notifications which are issued when restrictions or road closures are put in place.

Click here to learn more about LoadPass Permits.

The North Dakota House has approved a resolution sending a message to the ND Department of Transportation that it would like the agency to use its dynamic message signs on state highways to focus on the safety of the traveling public.

HCR 3004 was approved today on a 61-28 vote. Its sponsor, Rep. Rick Becker, R-Bismarck, said rather than displaying safety information, the signs sometimes show unnecessary messages that can be obtrusive and distract drivers. During remarks on the House floor, Becker read examples of messages that he said tend to promote social conformity rather than safe travel.

Click here to listen to Becker's comments.

Becker's resolution says the signs should be used solely for weather-related, road condition, emergency, work zone, and missing persons messages. The state has 30 portable dynamic message signs used primarily for work zones, and 46 permanent dynamic message signs.

The measure now moves to the Senate. 

With blood banks around the region continuing to experience shortages, the ND Petroleum Foundation and Vitalant are stepping up to help organize several blood drives around the Bakken in the months to come. 

The Foundation and the ND Petroleum Council are urging industry members and employees to help save a life by participating in one of the drives taking place in one of seven western North Dakota communities.

February 1-2: Williston 
February 3: Ray 
February 3: Dickinson 
February 3-4: Watford City 
February 6: Williston 
February 9: Crosby
February 16: Beach 
February 16 Williston 
February 26: Tioga
March 6: Dickinson 

For the specific event times and locations, click here. To search for other dates or locations, click here.