North Dakota School Fund Receives $600,000 in Easement Payments

The Common Schools Trust Fund of North Dakota will be receiving a substantial boost in its mission to fund schools throughout the state. In exchange for crossing land owned by the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands, the Fund will be receiving around $600,000.

The news was covered by Ag Week, among others, whose article stated:

The Board of University and School Lands unanimously approved easements Thursday for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross tracts of trust land in McKenzie, Williams and Mountrail counties.

The terms of the agreement included payment of $425 per rod (there are 320 rods in a mile) or a little more than $600,000 total, which was in line with what private landowners in the area received, said State Land Commissioner Lance Gaebe.

The dollars go into the Common Schools Trust Fund, which supports schools statewide.

Energy Transfer Partners, which proposes the pipeline that would run from the Bakken to Patoka, Ill., issued the check following Thursday’s meeting, Gaebe said.

The MAIN Coalition is pleased to see that the positive effects of Dakota Access’ construction have begun. As we have often stated, energy infrastructure investment benefits everyone, and the money generated by the easement agreement will go to fund critical investment for North Dakota’s children throughout the state.