It certainly sounds like the commissioners are doing their best to work with the local community and the oil industry on a very thorny problem.
This is part of the reasoning:
He said if more people were to bring their families, the shortage of workers in non-oilfield jobs could be addressed locally. Commission Chairman Dan Kalil questioned the possibility of that being a requirement.But in addition, it is my understanding that many crews work two weeks on, two weeks off. During the two weeks off, the workers fly back to their families in Texas. When it comes time to return to North Dakota, some prefer to stay home in Texas and not return to the oil patch in the Williston Basin. A drilling crew needs a full complement of workers, an experienced team, and when one member does not show up Monday for the beginning of the next two-week shift, significant challenges face the operator trying to stay on schedule.
Sounds like "they" need a focus group of man-camp residents to see what they might suggest.
