Oil companies continue Pick Up the Patch campaign

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Amy Dalrymple

Volunteers clean up a ditch near Dickinson, N.D., this spring. Photo courtesy of North Dakota Petroleum Council

TIOGA, N.D. — Volunteers from oil and gas companies will clean up litter from roadways in Tioga today, continuing the North Dakota Petroleum Council’s Pick Up the Patch initiative that has already involved 500 employees this spring.

Dozens of energy companies have helped pick up more than 900 bags of trash and clean 20 miles of roadway in western North Dakota during the past four weeks. Cleanup efforts have been held in New Town, Williston and Dickinson.

Today’s event focuses on the Tioga area and an event Friday focuses on the Minot area.

The North Dakota Petroleum Council launched the campaign last spring to clean up debris left behind after the snow melted. Last year, more than 70 companies and 1,000 volunteers picked up more than 200 miles of roadways.

Demand for library services increases as Oil Patch population grows

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Amy Dalrymple

Patrons use the Williston Community Library on Saturday, April 13, 2013. Amy Dalrymple/Forum News Service

WILLISTON, N.D. – The oil boom has prompted demand for library services here to quadruple, and the Williston Community Library is changing to meet the needs of its new population.

Job-seekers and oil boom workers often stand outside waiting for the Williston Community Library to open.

They come to use the computers or free wireless Internet to apply for jobs online, update resumes or email loved ones back home. At peak times, the patrons – primarily men – fill nearly every seat in the library.

Library Director Debbie Slais said the spike in demand for services has been stressful on staff, but they’ve made some changes to better keep up.

“It’s been quite a wild ride,” Slais said.

Some employees live in city-subsidized apartments, which has helped the library retain staff, Slais said.

The library added more computers and put strict time limits on computer usage to allow everyone an opportunity. Slais has noticed that many workers save up their money and the first thing they buy is a laptop to access the Internet.

The Dickinson Area Public Library has seen a similar increase in demand, with oilfield workers using the library’s Internet for everything from job searches to taking online safety courses, said Assistant Director Tina Kuntz.

The library has added some part-time staff to help keep up with the demand, Kuntz said.

At the McKenzie County Public Library in Watford city, it’s not uncommon for every table to be full.

Earlier this year, Nate Jeffries, a public works employee for Watford City, had to sit at the kids’ table because no other chairs were available. Jeffries, who moved to North Dakota from Colorado, uses the library for its free wireless Internet in his free time.

Brent Siu, who moved from Tennessee to Williston earlier this month, is one of the library’s frequent Internet users.

Siu, a truck driver, lives in a camper about 30 miles outside of town with limited cellphone reception and no running water. He spent one Saturday at the library video chatting with a friend.

“There’s nothing else to do in town,” Siu said.

Workers also frequently use the libraries to send faxes, make copies or scan documents.

“Our front service counter is just busy all the time,” Slais said.

In March, 1,600 people used the Williston library’s computers and 3,100 people accessed the library’s wireless Internet. The same individual could be counted more than once.

In both Williston and Dickinson, new families who have moved to the communities are getting library cards and using the services.

The Williston library now offers six story hours each week, up from one each week before the oil boom. The story hours are especially important for families that can’t find day care in Williston, Slais said.

“It’s a really good place for these new mothers and new kids to come and meet people,” Slais said.

The Williston library also is seeing a need for materials in Spanish and is ordering bilingual books and a bilingual learning station for elementary students. Circulation for the bookmobile is up throughout Williams County, with some rural schools depending on the bookmobile to help serve their growing enrollments, Slais said.

But one aspect of the library hasn’t increased much – its budget. The library’s revenue is based on property taxes, but so far the new housing being built hasn’t had much of an effect on the library’s budget, which is about $500,000 for this year, Slais said.

“Our income doesn’t rise in proportion to what our expenses are,” Slais said.

The library is usually open seven day a week but will be closed on Saturdays starting Memorial Day weekend and through the summer. Slais said she often gets asked why.

“I don’t have the money to do that,” she said.

The library in Dickinson also gets requests to stay open longer, Kuntz said. But the facility is already open 68 hours per week.

“We’re trying to accommodate everyone, but we can’t be open 24/7,” Kuntz said.

Highway 85 enforcement nets 125 citations

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Amy Dalrymple

DICKINSON, N.D. – A law enforcement saturation on U.S. Highway 85 in southwest North Dakota on Sunday resulted in 125 citations.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol and the Billings County Sheriff’s Office conducted patrols Sunday in an effort to increase traffic safety on busy two-lane roads in western North Dakota.

Highway Patrol Sgt. Daniel Haugen said troopers said Sunday brings an increase in traffic to Highway 85 due to people returning to work.

The 125 citations were primarily for speeding and came from Bowman, Slope, Stark and Billings counties, Haugen said.

The effort also resulted in two arrests for driving with a suspended license, one arrest for driving without insurance and 34 warnings.

The saturation aimed to reduce traffic crashes and accident-causing violations.

Faces of the Boom: For Minnesota-based contractor, N.D. feels ‘almost like family’

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Amy Dalrymple

Tony Godlewski, vice president of Shingobee Builders of Minnesota, pictured Wednesday, April 17, 2013, stands in front of an iconic building in Crosby, N.D., the company restored. Photo Special to Forum News Service

WILLISTON, N.D. – As a general contractor, Tony Godlewski likes to hear the sound of hammers seven days a week.

But when building activity slowed in his home base of Minnesota, competition for projects became cutthroat and profit margins declined.

“We were all trying to hang on and scrapping for work,” Godlewski said.

Godlewski, senior project manager for Shingobee Builders, decided about three years ago to take a trip to check out North Dakota’s Oil Patch.

The company embraced the idea of bidding some work in northwest North Dakota, and the contractor has been active in the Bakken ever since.

Godlewski has an apartment in Williston and travels from his home of St Michael, Minn., every two weeks to oversee construction projects.

“After three years, I still get excited about coming out here,” Godlewski said.

Shingobee Builders, based in the Twin Cities and St. Cloud, Minn., is a medium-sized general contractor that operates in a five-state region. The firm has 18 superintendents in charge of building projects and last year seven of them were based in North Dakota, Godlewski said.

The company’s first project in the Bakken was the addition and expansion of St. Luke’s Hospital in Crosby, which the builders finished 10 months early, Godlewski said.

The firm also recently completed the Roosevelt Inn & Suites in Watford City, the McDonald’s restaurant and Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative warehouse in Williston, and the addition and remodeling project for the Western Cooperative Credit Union headquarters in Dickinson.

One of Godlewski’s favorite projects was saving a former bank building that is iconic in downtown Crosby and renovating it into to a four-unit apartment building with a Verizon Wireless retail outlet on the lower level.

Among the firm’s next projects is the public works facility for the city of Dickinson.

Godlewski recently became vice president of the company, but made sure he can continue working in North Dakota. Part of what keeps him coming back to the state is working with the local officials.

“It’s almost like family,” Godlewski said.

Faces of the Boom: Two Alaska women launch North Dakota taxi businesses

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Amy Dalrymple

Sheila Taranto, pictured Friday, March 15, 2013, in Williston, N.D., moved to North Dakota from Alaska to start a taxi business. Amy Dalrymple/Forum News Service

WILLISTON, N.D. — Mr. Kab Taxi owner Sheila Taranto apologizes if she’s short on the phone with customers.

But the calls for rides come in so fast that she has to get the address and get on her way.

“This load is the largest I’ve ever had to handle in my entire life,” she said.

Taranto, 69, drove taxis in Alaska for 27 years before she moved to Williston last fall to launch a new business. The demand for transportation in the Oil Patch is so strong that Taranto encouraged another female taxi driver from Alaska to follow her to North Dakota.

Megan Patrick, 31, took her advice and has been living in Dickinson since January to start a taxi business there. She already sees great potential.

“This is a very unique situation,” Patrick said. “You’ve got a lot of people that don’t have cars, and the transportation is extremely limited here.”

Megan Patrick, CEO of E-Cab, talks about the taxi business while driving in Dickinson, N.D., on Saturday, March 16, 2013. Betsy Simon/Dickinson Press

Taranto sold her taxi business in Alaska in 2010 but decided she wasn’t ready to quit working. She’d heard about North Dakota’s oil boom and decided to try starting a new business.

“I was still healthy and I needed to go out there and show myself that I could do it again,” Taranto said. “It’s like the last hurrah, I hope.”

She thought she would run a one-woman show, but found the demand to be so great that she added more drivers and is expanding to Watford City.

Taranto rents a room from a couple in Fairview, Mont., but she often sleeps in her 4×4 pickup nicknamed Miss Sheila that she uses as a taxi. She is buying a house near Williston along the Missouri River, where she will set up a dispatch center and manage the operation.

“I’ve turned into a Dakota lady and I’m proud of it,” Taranto said.

Patrick, who operates E-Cab with a business partner who is in Alaska, said she’s glad Taranto persuaded her to come to North Dakota. She expects to spend a few months in Dickinson to set up the operation, analyze profit and loss margins, and determine whether the business plan will work.

She is also exploring the idea of putting cabs in Bismarck, Minot and Fargo.

“I’ve got quite a bit of work to do,” she said.

Patrick wasn’t sure how much she’d like Dickinson, but she said she’s really enjoying it and is grateful for how supportive the community is of her business. She said she has “undying respect” for the locals because she’s experienced oil booms in Alaska and she knows how stressful it can be.

“They still haven’t lost their ability to be polite to people that aren’t from here,” she said.

Patrick is not sure how long she’ll be in North Dakota. She has four kids between the ages of 6 and 11 back in Alaska, and she keeps in touch with them over video chat.

Both women love Alaska and had a difficult time moving away.

“It’s a hard place to leave,” Patrick said. “It’s a state that has nothing but beauty.”

But North Dakota, which passed Alaska last year to be the second-largest oil producing state, offers a lot of opportunities and will likely see more Alaskans, Patrick said.

“If you’ve got the patience and the tenacity to stick it out, then you’ll probably be successful,” Patrick said. “There’s nothing you can’t do, really. This is one of the places where people can say they’ve got a chance at the American dream.”

Williston, Dickinson rank among fastest-growing ‘micro areas’

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Amy Dalrymple

WILLISTON, N.D. – Williston ranks as the fastest-growing micropolitan area in the country for the second year, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday.

Census population estimates show that the Williston area gained 2,281 residents between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012, a 9.3 percent increase.

Dickinson ranks third on the list of fastest-growing micro areas with a population increase of 1,624 people during the same period, a 6.5 percent increase, according to Census estimates.

A micropolitan area has a population between 10,000 and 50,000 people.
The figures came as no surprise to officials leading the growing cities in the heart of North Dakota’s Oil Patch.

“We certainly feel like we are, but it’s nice to see the numbers actually verify it,” said Tom Rolfstad, economic development director for Williston.

The estimates put the population of the Williston micro area – which is all of Williams County – at 26,697 people in July 2012. The Census numbers do not count temporary workers.

A recent North Dakota State University study estimated that the Williston area’s service population is more than 38,000 people, which included about 10,000 people who live in temporary workforce housing.

Williston Mayor Ward Koeser said the fast-paced growth doesn’t come without pain.

“You’ve got to have infrastructure in place to accommodate those thousands of people,” Koeser said.

The Census Bureau estimates the Dickinson area – which is Stark and Billings counties – had 26,771 residents in July 2012.

Dickinson Mayor Dennis Johnson said he believes the city’s population is about 25,000. Last year, Dickinson ranked fourth on the Census list of fastest-growing micro areas. Johnson anticipates that the city’s growth may be more modest in the future.

“I would expect that Dickinson will continue to grow, but I think it will be a much more measured pace,” Johnson said. “At least I’m hoping that is the case.”

Minot ranked 25th among the fastest growing micro areas, down from last year’s No. 8 ranking. The area’s population was estimated at 73,146 people in 2012, a 1.2 percent increase over 2011.

The loss of housing units due to the flood may have kept Minot out of the top 10, said Rod Backman, chairman of the North Dakota Census Committee.

“It’s hard to measure what the impact of the flood was,” Backman said.

The population data is a breakdown from the Census Bureau’s state and national population estimates released in December, which reported that North Dakota’s population has reached 699,628 residents, an all-time high. Figures for individual cities will be released later this year.

The figure does not include temporary workers in North Dakota’s oil country, which is estimated to be in excess of 30,000 people, Backman said.

Oil and gas development played a role in many of the areas that experienced population growth, the Census Bureau said. Midland, Texas, was the fastest-growing metro area.

“It kind of tells you that the oil business is probably the hottest thing going in this country right now,” Rolfstad said.

The Fargo metro area, which includes Cass and Clay counties, had a population estimate of 216,312, a 1.8 percent increase over 2011.

The Grand Forks metro area, which includes Grand Forks and Polk counties, had 98,888, a 0.8 percent increase.

The Jamestown area, which is Stutsman County, had 20,934, a decline of 27 residents.

The Bismarck area, which is Burleigh and Morton counties, had 120,060, a 2.4 percent increase.

	The 10 Fastest Growing Micro Areas from July 1, 2011, to July 1, 2012	Percent Increase
1.	Williston, N.D.	9.3
2.	Junction City, Kan.	7.4
3.	Dickinson, N.D.	6.5
4.	Andrews, Texas	4.7
5.	Vernal, Utah	4.1
6.	Heber, Utah	3.8
7.	Elk City, Okla.	3.5
8.	Elko, Nev.	3.5
9.	Pullman, Wash.	3.4
10.	Fort Polk South, La.	3.2

Snowplows being pulled from northwest N.D. roads, some highways blocked

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Amy Dalrymple

Snowplows are being pulled from the roadways and some highways are blocked in northwest North Dakota, according to the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

U.S. Highway 85 is blocked from the junction of state highways 50 and 5 in due to heavy snow drifts. State highway 50 is blocked from the junction of U.S. 85 to state highway 42 near Alamo due to a traffic incident.

Snowplow operators have been working since early morning and are being pulled from the roadways in Dickinson, Williston, rural areas around Minot and areas north of Devils Lake. Snowplows will resume operation early Tuesday morning when it is safe.

Motorists should not travel in these areas, the NDDOT says.

For road information, dial 511 or visit www.dot.nd.gov.

Dickinson refinery could by running in 2014

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Amy Dalrymple

Gov. Jack Dalrymple points to a map of where the new diesel duel refinery will be near Dickinson as David Goodin, CEO of MDU Resources Group, center, and Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner look on during a news conference on Thursday. (TJ Jerke/Forum News Service)

By Amy Dalrymple and Bryan Horwath
Forum News Service

BISMARCK – A diesel refinery near Dickinson could be operational as soon as late 2014, processing 20,000 barrels of Bakken crude oil per day and helping meet the state’s demand for diesel, officials announced Thursday.

MDU Resources Group announced that Dakota Prairie Refining, a partnership with Calumet Specialty Products Partners, will be under construction as early as April four miles west of Dickinson south of Interstate 94.

Gov. Jack Dalrymple, who joined company officials in the news conference, said building a second refinery in North Dakota has been a long-term goal for the state.

“It will increase the usage of Bakken crude oil right here in the state of North Dakota. It will be another significant supply of diesel fuel right here in North Dakota,” Dalrymple said. “And best of all, this project will be built and operated by the private sector.”

The refinery will process Bakken crude oil that will be primarily transported to the facility by pipeline and produce about 7,000 barrels of diesel per day for use in North Dakota, officials said.

The refinery will employ 100 people once it’s operational and have 400 to 500 workers during peak construction season.

Construction is not allowed until the project receives an air quality permit from the North Dakota Department of Health.

Public comment letters on the permit, which were due to the Department of Health by Monday, were submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service and Grassy Butte resident John Heiser.

Craig Thorstenson, environmental engineer with the North Dakota Department of Health, said officials will review the comments and make a decision within two weeks.

“Our initial determination was that the facility will comply with all applicable state and federal air quality rules and regulations,” Thorstenson said.

A spokeswoman for Theodore Roosevelt National Park said she’s concerned about the cumulative effect of the industrial projects going on outside the park boundaries.

“What’s going on outside of the park can affect visitors’ perception of their park experience and that’s an important part of coming to a national park,” said Eileen Andes, chief of interpretation and public affairs.

In his letter, Heiser called oil development in western North Dakota “extreme” and said that individual industrial projects “appear to be relatively innocuous, but in totality, they are a considerable threat to the overall quality of air in western North Dakota.”

John Stumpf, vice president for strategic planning for MDU Resources Group, said the refinery will use the most advanced emission-control technology available. It’s projected to emit about 125,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide, but will also take trucks off the roads, Stumpf said. Odors are not expected to be an issue because of modern technology, officials said.

Dickinson Mayor Dennis Johnson said city leaders are excited about the economic impact for the community.

“Those are the types of jobs that we’re looking for in our area,” Johnson said. “Jobs that will be here whether we have $29 oil or $129 oil.”

Dickinson is working on a new wastewater treatment facility and plans to sell 175,000 gallons of treated water per day to the refinery, Johnson said.

The additional diesel supply is expected to meet a high demand but will not be enough to change the price of diesel, Stumpf said. The state’s demand for diesel is more than 53,000 barrels per day and expected to increase to 75,000 barrels per day by 2025, officials said.

“The supply of diesel fuel to our state is a big deal for the most agricultural state in the nation and the state that has some of the heaviest over-the-road trucking activity in the United States,” Dalrymple said.

Al Anderson, commissioner for the Department of Commerce, called the refinery announcement a “historic event.”

“Refineries aren’t built every day,” Anderson said.

The last major refinery built in the lower 48 states of the United States began operating in 1977 in Garyville, La., according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The Tesoro refinery in Mandan, which recently expanded to process 68,000 barrels per day, is currently North Dakota’s only refinery.

Two other refinery projects are in the works in North Dakota. Dakota Oil Processing proposes a diesel refinery near Trenton and the Three Affiliated Tribes is working on a refinery on the Fort Berthold Reservation.

Chester Trabucco, chairman and CEO of Dakota Oil Processing, who attended MDU’s announcement, said officials continue to work on securing financing.

“We’re on their heels,” Trabucco said.

Dakota Prairie Refining
– Partnership with MDU Resources Group and Calumet Specialty Products Partners
– Will process 20,000 barrels of Bakken crude oil per day
– Will produce about 7,000 barrels per day of diesel
– Located on a 318-acre site 4 miles west of Dickinson south of Interstate 94
– Projected to being operating in late 2014
– Estimated cost of $280 million to $300 million
– Will employ 100 people when operating and 400 to 500 contractors during peak construction
– Byproducts will be shipped by rail to other facilities for use or further processing

Faces of the Boom: Oil boom hasn’t changed old-fashioned gas station

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Amy Dalrymple

Don Trotter, pictured Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013, owns an old-fashioned convenience store in Grassy Butte, N.D. “You ain’t going to find another like it,” he says. Amy Dalrymple/Forum News Service

GRASSY BUTTE, N.D. – The oil boom has changed a lot in western North Dakota, but locals here can still depend on one tiny convenience store.

Beicegel Station in the unincorporated community of Grassy Butte has all the groceries and necessities locals need, free coffee in the morning and owners who’d get out of bed to help a stranded motorist.

“You ain’t going to find another one like it,” owner Don Trotter said of the store.

Motorists pump gas with antique fuel pumps at the station, which Don owns with his wife, Vickie.

While many Oil Patch gas stations now require drivers to pre-pay for fuel, motorists here fill up and then tell Don how much they pumped, all on the honor system.

Locals and some businesses charge fuel, groceries and other purchases to their accounts and Vickie bills them at the end of the month.

“It’s just like the old days,” Don said.

The shop, which the Trotters have owned for about 15 years, had steady business before the oil boom.

Nikki McAlpin, who ranches near Grassy Butte and recently began working at the shop, said locals usually go shopping in Dickinson about once a month and rely on the local store between trips.

“This store for us has always been our local grab,” said McAlpin as she restocked chewing tobacco on a recent afternoon. “We depend on it, actually.”

Now the store, just off of U.S. Highway 85 south of Watford City, sees a lot of new faces as oil development ramps up in the area.

“Now it’s just busier,” Don said.

The station opens at 6:30 a.m., and Don has trained most people not to arrive any earlier.

The store offers a little bit of everything, from milk to plumbing supplies to auto parts and tire repairs. Ranchers gather around a table in the morning for free coffee.

“We try to close at 5:30, but it rarely happens,” Don said. “I try to close on Sundays. It doesn’t usually work.”

One new challenge the couple has is encountering desperate drivers who run out of gas and don’t have money to pay.

“They come up here and they have no money and they can’t quite make it to Williston, the land of opportunity. They’re just stuck out here in the middle of nowhere,” Vickie said.

The Trotters used to trust people to pay them back, but now they ask motorists to leave something of value behind.

“We’ve always trusted people to pay us back, and now it’s kind of a harder time,” Vickie said. “Many times we never see them again.”

The store’s phone number rings at the Trotters’ home and it sometimes rings at night if someone finds the number on the Internet or on the sign at the store.

One pet-peeve Vickie has is they’ll get called out of bed to open the store and the driver will only put in enough fuel to make it to the next town where they can save 5 cents a gallon.

“If you ever run out of gas and you call somebody out of bed, fill up your tank, at least,” Vickie said.

A new truck stop being built on the intersection of highways 85 and 200 could change things for the store. But Vickie, who also works as a production clerk for oil and gas company Petro-Hunt, said they’re not worried.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Vicki said. “Maybe we can close it up and retire, but for now, it’s like you have to help the people.”

ND oil-producing counties make case for more funding

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Amy Dalrymple

MINOT, N.D. – The state’s oil-producing counties are building a united front to change how oil tax revenue is distributed so they can better keep up with rapid growth.

Members of the North Dakota Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties discussed new ways of allocating that money during their annual meeting Thursday in Minot.

“Our ultimate goal is to go into the legislative session in January with one voice with our western leaders and legislators to get our needs addressed and funded,” said Dan Brosz, president of the group, which represents 19 counties that have oil, gas or leasing development.

The oil and gas industry pays a 5 percent gross production tax to the state in lieu of property taxes. A portion of that goes back to counties, cities and schools affected by the development, but western North Dakota leaders say it’s not enough to support growing schools, taxed law enforcement agencies and infrastructure needs.

“We needed this money yesterday,” said Rep. Shirley Meyer, D-Dickinson. “If we don’t get our infrastructure shored up, this thing will crash.”

Brosz, of Bowman, said the $135 million designated for energy impact grants have helped communities, but those dollars are one-time grants and don’t allow local officials the ability to budget for the future.

Vicky Steiner, executive director of the organization, said if western communities don’t get their share of oil tax revenue, residents will be forced to pay higher taxes to support the growth.

“We don’t want to see the burden rise on the taxpayers in the west,” said Steiner, who also is a Republican legislator from Dickinson.

An analysis by Headwaters Economics showed that North Dakota stands out among its peers for providing the least direct funding for oil-impacted communities. North Dakota governments received directly 8 percent of the total state revenue from oil and natural gas in fiscal year 2011, and about 11 percent for 2012-13, the report said.

The association is proposing changes to a complex distribution formula to give those communities a greater share.

The four counties with the most oil production now receive 10 percent of the gross production tax, while 90 percent goes to the state. The association proposes to divide the revenue 50-50 for those counties.

The group also proposes other changes to the formula, including removing a cap on school funding and treating the hub cities of Williston, Dickinson and Minot differently to allow smaller communities in those counties to get more funding.

But Meyer questioned why the counties, which have been struggling to keep up for four years, don’t ask for more.

Meyer is drafting legislation to send 100 percent of the gross production tax revenue back to oil-producing counties after all constitutional obligations are met. The bill will include a sunset clause after two years, and the counties would not have a time limit to spend the money, she said.

“I want them to think big and bold,” Meyer said. “It always seems to me like we’re apologetic to ask for anything.”

The association also proposes increasing the dollars in the energy impact grant fund to a minimum of

$150 million.

Mountrail County Commissioner David Hynek said he’d like to see more than $150 million in that fund, although not at the expense of changing the tax revenue formula.

Earlier Thursday, Lance Gaebe, director of the Energy Infrastructure and Impact Office, estimated his office received about

$700 million in requests to the grant fund that did not receive funding.

“Those unfunded requests, of which 95 percent are valid, they don’t go away,” Hynek said.