Updates
Later, 11:30 p.m.: (numbers rounded) the state has awarded nearly $17 million in impact money to three cities: Williston ($10 million); Dickinson ($6 million); Minot ($1.5 million). These cities previously awarded $21 million in Energy Impact Grants. The link takes you to the Bismarck Tribune.
Original Post
Wishful thinking.The state should invest up to $5 billion in northwest North Dakota communities with the most oil activity, the president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council said Wednesday.
Ron Ness, while testifying to a group of legislators meeting in Williston, said communities need significant resources to do long-range planning, but the state’s grant program for those areas is only helping them react.
Ness called for a five-year plan with $800 million to $1 billion per year invested in schools, roads and infrastructure for communities in the core areas of the Bakken.This has been said by numerous folks over the past couple of years. Won't happen. Funding may come in spurts, but not as part of any coordinated planning effort. Speaking of planning, I wonder whatever came of the story in which Minot denied BHI's request for starting some operations at BHI's new complex.
Bruce, although you already have two side bar links to the excellent Energy & Environmental Research Center’s (EERC) Bakken Information sites under the headings:
ReplyDelete1. WELCOME TO THE MILLION DOLLARWAY
UND-EERC Interactive Maps http://www.undeerc.org/bakken/dss/ and
2. DATA
UND-EERC BDSS(Bakken Decision Support System) http://www.undeerc.org/bakken/
FWIW, you might also want to consider adding EERC’s Current and Expiring Local News Aggregator site at
http://www.undeerc.org/bakken/archive.aspx to your sidebar links under,
News and Conferences
Local Bakken News–EERC Archives
Over the years I’ve found the EERC’s Bakken News Archives to be a quick and great source of local expiring Bakken news articles such as your posted 5 year ND infrastructure story, that are not found in the national online news media.
05/31/12 1:27pm
PS: In "Its a Small World Category" I recently found out that my wife's best friend's deceased father was born & raised, and once owned about 10 acres of land in Williston ND.
I will add that link. Thank you.
DeleteI might not get to it until later this evening due to granddaughter-related activities about to begin.
Thank you for your kind words and taking time to comment. I've always wondered if anyone ever checks out the archived data at the sidebars, where the real information is.
The link has been added to the sidebar as you suggested. Thank you. I had not see this Bakken news aggregator before. Very nice.
DeleteBruce, kent here, the BH issue in Minot. I looked into it after they were denied, based on what I found, they asked for an additional permit well into construction. And it was asked for after the the city decided the school would be built 1/2 mile away. I will try and find the article and e mail to you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I appreciate that.
DeleteI may sound a bit sarcastic/mean regarding this issue (sorry), but it does get my dander up --- I won't go into all the reasons.
800 thousand to a billion a year for five years is a significant request. It may not happen but it is important to clear the air and put a dollar figure on the development needs in the oil producing areas. Outside people can't come back and say we didn't know it would cost this much.
ReplyDeleteSo much to say, but I'm way behind in posting stories, so need to keep going for now, but you are correct -- now they need to rack and stack the requirements: roads, schools, police, etc.
DeleteERROR CORRECTION ERROR
DeleteMy 800 thousand should of read 800 million.
Sorry about that.
Understandable with all those zeroes.
DeleteWhat blows me away is that the government seems like a bystander in all this.
ReplyDeleteHow hard would it be to at least disclose some kind of a mid/long term plan?
I guess I just can't get my arms around the politics of this but sure seems like foot dragging at a major level. This makes keystone xl look like it is being fast tracked.
I'm not sure why this would be surprising to anyone.
Delete"How hard would it be to at least disclose some kind of mid/long term plan?" As in Soviet Union-style central planning or Chinese central planning?
It frustrates me to no end, also: 19th century Russian tsars could have sorted this out pretty quickly but we live in a democratic, free market country, with a lot of lawyers, special interest groups, etc.
From what I can tell, the state government is doing its best to facilitate free market capitalism. Didn't Vermont just recently ban fracking and other states considering the same?
Be careful what you ask for when you ask the government to get involved. The whole need for planning will become a non-issue if the EPA shuts down fracking.