Williston lifts mandatory water restrictions

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WILLISTON, N.D. – Mandatory water restrictions for Williams and McKenzie counties have been lifted, officials announced today.

The water quality of the Missouri River in Williston has improved, which has allowed the Williston Regional Water Treatment Plant to increase its capacity.

However, there is more rain in the forecast and construction on the water treatment plant continues, which may at times restrict the plant’s capacity to produce water.

Residents are asked to continue voluntary conservation measures, such as:

- Avoid washing sidewalks, driveways and buildings.

- Take short showers.

- Only wash full loads of dishes or laundry.

-  Avoid filling backyard pools.

- Watering of lawns and gardens are suggested on an alternating schedule. Residents with street address numbers ending in an even digit may water on even digit calendar days. Residents with street address numbers ending in an odd digit may water on odd digit calendar days.

Miss North Dakota pageant organizers make adjustments to deal with oil boom

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David Hiney of Williston poses for a photo with Miss North Dakota finalists Cally Musland of Jamestown, N.D., left, and Laura Harmon of Grand Forks, N.D., on Wednesday, June 5, 2013, in Williston, N.D. Amy Dalrymple/Forum News Service

WILLISTON, N.D. – As the young women wearing crowns filed into Wildcat Pizza here, every head turned.

A table full of women – let alone pageant contestants – is a rare sight in this male-dominated oil boom town, enough to prompt guys to get out their camera phones.

“It just made lunch so much better,” said Nathan Tuckfield, a construction consultant from Sidney, Mont.

The women are Miss North Dakota contestants, who came to Williston from across the state to compete in the annual scholarship pageant today through Saturday .

Laura Harmon, Miss Grand Forks, who posed for a photo with an oilfield worker, said a group of women wearing crowns would stand out anywhere – not just in a boom town.

“No matter where you go, I think you’re going to turn heads,” Harmon said.

While the oil boom has changed the town of Williston, which has hosted the pageant since 1987, it hasn’t significantly changed the pageant.

However, organizers have had to reassure some parents in recent years about the safety of the community, which has received a lot of publicity as men from across the country have descended on the area for work.

“We’ve had parents nervous about their daughters coming,” said Marilyn McGinley, president of the event’s board of directors.

One adjustment the pageant made last year was finding a new place for the women to stay as Williston hotels became housing for temporary workers.

But that never became a problem, McGinley said, because Williston State College offered its recently constructed residence hall to the contestants and opened up rooms for parents.

With the addition of new hotels, availability of rooms has improved this year, although rates are higher than other areas in the state.

The finalists continue to stay together at the college rather than at various hotels.

“There’s this camaraderie that we didn’t have when we had hotels,” said Marian Hamilton, executive director.

For the third year in a row, the pageant week’s itinerary included a dinner at a camp that houses oilfield workers – often called a man camp.

That caused some anxiety the first time they went, McGinley said.

“One set of parents was very concerned about their daughter going to the man camp,” McGinley said.  “We had five chaperones for 20 girls and I think we saw maybe five men while we were there.”

The pageant has always had security for the week the women are in Williston. This includes a rule that the contestants need to be driven to all events by volunteer hostesses, said B. Michael Quayle, producer of the show.

“They’re sequestered, in a way,” said Quayle, adding that it allows the contestants to focus on preparing for the competition, with preliminary rounds today and Friday and the coronation Saturday night.

Last year, the event provided $40,000 in scholarships. The winner goes on to compete for Miss America.

Jacky Arness of Fargo, who holds the title Miss State Capitol and is in Williston for the first time, said everyone is looking out for each other.

“They’ve taken impeccable care of us,” Arness said.

Harmon, who is in Williston for her fourth year of competition, said the town isn’t like many of the rumors she had heard.

“You hear a lot of things but it’s not like that when you get out here,” Harmon said.

 

A list of finalists is available here.

Watford City to house new judge

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BISMARCK — Watford City will be home to a new judgeship aimed at addressing the increase in court filings in growing Oil Patch communities, the North Dakota Supreme Court decided Tuesday.

State legislators created two new judgeships for the Northwest Judicial District, with one chambered in Williston and the other location to be determined.

Watford City, Williston and Stanley were discussed as possible locations for the judgeship, the ruling said. A report filed by the Northwest Judicial District said the presiding judges said Williston was their first choice for the judgeship, but the courthouse does not have adequate space. The second choice was Watford City, which was supported by the McKenzie County Commission and the Watford City mayor.

Court filings increased 37 percent in the district between 2010 and 2012, with McKenzie County seeing the largest percentage increase with 135 percent, according to numbers in the ruling.

The Legislature also created a new judgeship for the East Central Judicial District in Fargo. A committee will interview applicants and nominee candidates by the end of June. The governor has until July 31 to name the judges.

Water restrictions issued for Williston area

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Williston Mayor Ward Koeser, left, and Williston Public Works Director Monte Meiers ask the public to limit water use during a news conference on Tuesday. The dark bottle of water Meiers is holding is the water being treated in Williston currently. The middle bottle is what the untreated water usually looks like. The bottle on the right is treated water. Amy Dalrymple/Forum News Service

WILLISTON, N.D. – Officials here declared a water emergency Tuesday and asked residents of Williams and McKenzie counties to limit water use to essential needs only.

The Williston Regional Water Treatment Plant is operating at a reduced capacity due to the spring rise in the Yellowstone River and heavy rainfall that has increased sediment levels in the Missouri River to historic levels, Mayor Ward Koeser said.

The area’s population growth and industrial demand for water also stress the plant, officials said.

The water being produced by the plant continues to meet all water quality standards and is safe for human consumption. However, if water demand is not reduced and water storage levels continue to decline, the result could be a region-wide boil order, officials said.

“We’re slowly losing ground,” said Monte Meiers, Williston director of public works.

All businesses and residents in Williston, Watford City, Williams Rural Water District and McKenzie County Water Resource District are asked to shut off lawn sprinklers, refrain from washing vehicles and implement other water conservation measures.

Violating the water emergency procedures is a Class B misdemeanor.

Water depots operated by the Western Area Water Supply Authority that provide water to the oil industry will not operate during the emergency. Privately owned water depots are not under the restriction.

The Williston Regional Water Treatment Plant is undergoing an expansion to meet the needs of the growing population. An initial phase of the expansion is expected to be complete by the end of this year or 2014, Meiers said.

The water restrictions could continue for one to two weeks, Koeser said. For more information and updates, visit www.cityofwilliston.com.

Faces of the Boom: Busy barber finds a new home in Williston

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Jason Johnson gives a haircut at his shop in Williston, N.D., on Friday, May 31, 2013. Amy Dalrymple/Forum News Service

WILLISTON, N.D. — During the first four minutes of his workday Friday, Williston barber Jason Johnson had five walk-in customers.

It was just a typical day for Jason’s Barber Shop, one of two traditional barber shops in the rapidly growing oil town.

But even though he’s in high demand, Johnson feared he’d have to leave Williston because his shop is in the same building as the Home of Economy store, which is expanding and needs the space.

“Everywhere I looked there was nothing available to rent, and it’s too expensive to buy anything right now,” said Johnson, a Grenora native.

Johnson, 40, a graduate of Fargo’s Moler Barber College, began working as a barber 18 years ago in Plentywood, Mont.

He bought the Williston barber shop, which has been at its current location for 31 years, about two years ago when the former owner retired.

Johnson now splits his time between Williston and Plentywood, where his wife and daughter live and where he cuts hair part time.

As oil activity picked up in Williston, Johnson began seeing longtime customers leave the area. But the influx of new residents, particularly men working in the oil industry, brought Johnson a lot of new customers.

“It’s been a very good business opportunity for me,” Johnson said.

Two barbers recently left Williston, one relocating to Mandan and the other to Minot, Johnson said.

While the city has several hair salons, that’s not the preferred option for some men, he said.

“There’s a lot of men that don’t like going to a beauty shop,” Johnson said.

The Home of Economy expansion will be good for the community, Johnson said, but the news that he’d need to relocate left him searching for an option for about six weeks.

“I had such a business built up in Williston I hated to leave,” he said.

Last week, Johnson found out he won’t have to.

Through word of mouth and the help of some customers, Johnson found a new home for his shop in a building that’s under construction in Williston. The details were being finalized, but Johnson said his shop will close after June 18 and reopen this fall in a new location.

“The town of Williston stepped up to the plate and helped me out because they didn’t want to see another barber leave,” Johnson said.

Target Logistics expands to Canada

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WILLISTON, N.D. – The workforce housing provider with more than 4,000 beds in North Dakota is planning to expand to Canada.

Target Logistics, which has lodges throughout the Bakken housing oilfield workers, will have two projects open in Canada before the end of the year, said Troy Schrenk, senior vice president for Target Logistics.

Target Logistics merged with Algeco Scotsman in February, a partnership that has allowed the companies to enter new markets, Schrenk said.

Target Logistics plans to provide housing to the energy and resource sectors throughout Canada, which include oil, gas, mining and forestry, he said. Schrenk said he could not comment on the specific locations of the first two projects.

Several of the company’s U.S.-based customers asked Target Logistics to consider expanding to Canada.

“It’s a natural fit for the Target Logistics offering, especially given Canada’s land mass and remoteness,” Schrenk said.

Canada has a higher standard than the U.S. for workforce housing and the public acceptance of temporary housing is stronger in Canada, Schrenk said.

“They look at it as a preferred solution,” Schrenk said.

Target Logistics has lodges in Williston, Dickinson, Tioga, Stanley and Watford City.

Natural gas headed in ‘positive direction’

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WILLISTON, N.D. – In one month, North Dakota wastes a resource capable of heating about 80,000 homes for one year.

But new processing plants and pipelines to keep natural gas from being flared have recently come online or will be completed soon. That could make 2013 the year North Dakota starts to turn that around, says Justin Kringstad, director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority.

“All things are aligning in a very positive direction,” Kringstad said.

Every month, Kringstad monitors how many new wells are connected to natural gas gathering lines.

With a lack of infrastructure and rapid oil development in North Dakota, the state developed a backlog of wells that need to be connected to gathering lines, he said.

The American Gas Association says 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas can meet the needs of 10,000 to 11,000 American homes for one year.

In March, the state flared about 7.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas, or 29 percent of the state’s output, according to the Department of Mineral Resources. North Dakota flared a historical high of 36 percent of its natural gas output in September 2011.

Kringstad said he expects the percentage of natural gas flared to come down as the state catches up to the new wells and is able to begin working on the backlog.

“Everyone’s optimistic that things are starting to line up properly, that the pace has been increasing,” Kringstad said. “A lot of great things are going to continue to happen over the next year to three years.”

Milestones

One significant milestone this spring was the completion of ONEOK’s Stateline II natural gas processing plant near Williston, which can process 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. It’s the third natural gas processing facility the Oklahoma-based company has completed in the Williston Basin since late 2011.

Later this year, Hess Corp. will complete a major expansion of the Tioga Gas Plant, which will increase capacity from 115 million cubic feet per day to 250 million cubic feet per day. The plant produces propane, butane and natural gas.

With the addition of other plants that are expanding or under construction, North Dakota will have the capacity to process nearly 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day by the end of 2013 and more than 1.4 billion cubic feet per day by the end of 2015, according to Kringstad’s numbers.

That means North Dakota would have enough processing capacity for all the gas produced, but the ongoing challenge is having enough gathering lines to transport the natural gas, Kringstad said.

ONEOK also recently completed its Bakken NGL pipeline, capable of transporting 60,000 barrels of natural liquids per day, that extends 600 miles from processing plants in the Williston Basin to an interconnection in Colorado. From there, natural gas liquids are delivered to storage facilities in central Kansas.

In addition, ONEOK is constructing a 270-mile natural gas gathering system that is expected to be fully operational by the third quarter of this year. The pipeline network will transfer natural gas from well sites in Divide County for processing at the company’s Stateline I and Stateline II plants near Williston.

WBI Energy, a subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, announced this week a proposal to build a 400-mile natural gas pipeline from the Williston area to western Minnesota.

The project, estimated to cost $650 million to $700 million, would be capable of transporting about 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and could be expanded to transporting 500 million cubic feet.

If WBI gets commitments from natural gas producers and secures regulatory permits, construction of the pipeline could begin in early 2016.

More gas on the way

The importance of capturing the natural gas will only continue to grow as the oil play matures. According to a recent study by Bentek Energy, Bakken and Three Forks wells will produce significantly more natural gas as they age.

In March, North Dakota’s increase in natural gas production was about triple the increase in oil production, said Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources.

“As the wells mature, there’s more and more gas production coming out of those wells,” Helms said.

Kringstad’s forecast is that North Dakota will need the capacity to process 2 billion to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas in about 10 to 15 years.

While capturing the natural gas is a challenge now, it also provides the state with new economic development opportunities, said Department of Commerce Commissioner Alan Anderson.

“We’re on the threshold of a future where energy development in all of the sectors has the potential to not only grow, but also develop new economies,” Anderson said.

Prime examples are the $1.4 billion CHS fertilizer plant planned near Spiritwood and the $1.5 billion Northern Plains Nitrogen plant in Grand Forks that would convert natural gas into fertilizer, Anderson said.

“What’s beautiful about that is it ties two of our premier industries, agriculture and energy, and it brings a value-added side to it from the energy side,” Anderson said.

North Dakota lawmakers recently approved new legislation that will provide incentives for capturing the natural gas and approved a study of using natural gas in motor vehicles.

Legislators also increased funding in the Oil & Gas Research Program from $4 million to $10 million per biennium, with emphasis placed on value-added processing projects, Anderson said.

The Department of Commerce also has a lot of interest from companies interested in opportunities related to natural gas, Anderson said.

“That’s what’s exciting,” Anderson said. “What can be viewed as a problem really is going to be an opportunity for the state.”

Home Depot to open satellite store in Williston

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WILLISTON, N.D. — Home Depot announced that it will open a satellite store in Williston this summer, a signal to local officials that other big-box retailers could be on the way.

Home Depot purchased a building in Williston that will be renovated to a store that will employ 15 to 25 people, said manager Jason Barker.

The satellite store will test the Williston market and eventually could become a full-sized store, Barker said.

Home Depot opened a small temporary store in Minot on May 1 while a permanent store is being constructed. The temporary trailer has about 70 items, but customers can order any item from the Fargo Home Depot and have it shipped there at no extra cost the following day, Barker said.

“We’re excited about the growth of North Dakota,” Barker said.

The announcement is big news in Williston, where commercial development has been slower than officials would like, said Shawn Wenko, assistant economic development director.

While major chains have expressed interest in Williston, the lack of affordable housing makes it challenging to find a workforce, Wenko said.

But the Home Depot announcement, along with the opening this week of a Buffalo Wild Wings in Williston, could prompt other businesses to follow, Wenko said.

“I think it’s a sign for some big things on the horizon,” Wenko said.

The Williston Home Depot will be in the former Derrick Equipment Co. building at 13960 W. Front St.

Caution urged during North Dakota’s largest road construction season ever

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WATFORD CITY, N.D. — I seriously considered phoning this assignment in.

I feared that driving from Williston to Watford City in heavy rain Thursday on a deadly stretch of Oil Patch highway to a press conference on road safety might make me another statistic.

But with 48 traffic fatalities so far this year — 12 of those in McKenzie County — there is no topic that deserves more news coverage in western North Dakota than highway safety.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation unveiled Thursday its $878 million construction program for 2013, the largest in the state’s history.

For those of us who drive these Oil Patch roads daily, the projects are both welcome and a little scary.

Expanding U.S. Highway 85 to a four-lane highway between Williston and Watford City will make a huge difference in daily lives of residents, some who now avoid that 45-mile stretch of road completely.

But it’s hard to imagine how construction crews will widen the road as 12,000 vehicles, mostly heavy trucks and diesel pickups, travel by daily.

“It’s going to be even more dangerous,” said Watford City Mayor Brent Sanford.

That’s why Grant Levi, the newly appointed director of the North Dakota Department of Transportation, and other officials came to Watford City to emphasize safety.

Officials urged motorists to buckle up, reduce speeds, allow extra time and minimize distractions.

“People need to slow down and people need to be patient,” Levi said.

Last year, the state had 257 crashes in work zones resulting in two fatalities.

Sgt. Tom Iverson with the North Dakota Highway Patrol said during 700 hours of patrolling work zones in 2012, the most common violations were for speeding and following too closely.

The Highway Patrol will soon have three new troopers assigned to McKenzie County, which Sanford said will significantly improve driver behavior and safety.

New Town Mayor Dan Uran, who attended the news conference, said his area has lost four residents in the past two weeks to traffic fatalities.

Uran said he thinks many crashes are caused by drivers who should use more caution.

“I don’t think they’re respecting the fact that there’s all this traffic out there,” Uran said.

The Bismarck officials flew to Watford City on Thursday because they also held an event in Fargo. But Levi and others also spent time driving the northwestern North Dakota roads recently, which sent a strong signal to local officials.

“It’s demonstrating their focus on this area,” Sanford said.

Motorists can stay updated on construction projects several ways:

- Access the travel information map at www.dot.nd.gov

- Call 511

- Subscribe to work zone email notifications at www.dot.nd.gov/govdelivery/landing.htm

- Download the ND Roads smartphone app

Major 2013 N.D. road construction projects include:

- I-29 work near Grafton, Grand Forks, Fargo and Hankinson

- U.S. 2 west of Williston

- N.D. 23 Parshall to US 83

- U.S. 2 work to Rugby, Devils Lake and Grand Forks

- N.D. 22 north to Killdeer

- N.D. 8 south to Bowbells

- U.S. 85 near Belfield

- U.S. 85 four lane project between Watford City and Williston

- U.S. 52 work near Harvey and Pingree

Downtown Williston project approved

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WILLISTON, N.D. — City commissioners here voted 4-1 Thursday to sell a city parking lot to a Chicago developer who plans a $16 million retail, residential and office complex.

Supporters of the six-story Renaissance on Main project say the private investment will revitalize downtown Williston, while opponents say the loss of parking could hurt existing businesses.

The city will sell the lot to Nancy Kapp, president and CEO of The Renaissance Companies, for $300,000. The agreement prevents Kapp from flipping the property.

Commissioner Tate Cymbaluk opposed the contract. Commissioner Howard Klug said although he voted to support the contract, he previously voted no to selling the lot and maintains that a parking study should have been completed prior to the sale.

Mayor Ward Koeser said he worries that if city leaders wait, private investors may no longer be interested in preserving downtown.