MAIN

North Dakota’s Public Service Commission recently concluded its state wide listening session on the merits of the Dakota Access Pipeline, holding public hearings in Mandan, Killdeer, and Williston. Members of the MAIN Coalition as well as the general public were present at each of these hearings, providing statements in support of the project.

The Dakota Access project is projected to create 8,000 to 12,000 jobs along the route, is expected to generate over $50 million in tax revenues each of the states along its path, and is anticipated to be a $1 billion contribution in direct spending to the U.S. economy.

Our Coalition’s presence was noted by reporters at the meetings, especially in Williston, where Amy Dalrymple wrote:

The Midwest Alliance of Infrastructure Now, a coalition that includes labor unions, the Greater North Dakota Chamber and others, also voiced support for the pipeline.

The support of the labor members of our coalition was noted by an article in The Bismarck Tribune, which quoted of the Laborers District of North Dakota and Minnesota saying:

Our members are ready to work. We respect the process but we are excited to get our boots dirty and build this pipeline right.

Andy Peterson of the North Dakota Chamber of Commerce, representing the state’s business community, was present at multiple hearings, highlighting the benefits of the project to the state’s economy and national energy security. In a statement to the MAIN Coalition before the first PSC hearing, Peterson explained his support of the project by saying, “Pipelines like Dakota Access provide a safe, reliable, and efficient way to transport the crude oil that has fueled our state’s economic surge from the ground to American consumers, spurring billions in private investment and relieving pressure on rail and truck transport in the process.”

Several members of the public also spoke in support of the project, including landowners who described their positive interactions with land agents and the flexibility displayed by the company in modifying the route where possible.

The MAIN Coalition is confident that the Dakota Access project will be a benefit to the state of North Dakota and the Midwest, and is urging the PSC to review the project on its merits in a timely matter. We are confident that the project will help keep our economy growing and ensure long term growth and prosperity.

The Energy Information Agency (EIA), the agency responsible for compiling information on the energy industry, held its annual Energy Conference in Washington DC this past week. Prominent thought leaders from both the private sector and government shared their views on numerous energy related topics. We were pleased to see the presence of North Dakota Senator John Hoeven among the prominent group of speakers, who touched upon the issues that the MAIN Coalition has consistently advocated for. The article reads:

“We need roads, we need rail, we need pipelines, we need transmission—and without them we cannot move energy safely, cost-effectively, dependably from where it’s produced to where it’s consumed,” Hoeven told the 2015 EIA Energy Conference, sponsored by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “It’s just a no-brainer.”

North Dakota has taken advantage of the energy resources hidden beneath its soil and remained one of the few economic bright spots throughout the recent recession. The state boasts a 3.1% unemployment rate and is leading the nation in population growth. While these development have presented challenges, the state, and indeed the region, has benefitted overall from the energy revolution, raising living standards and providing opportunity.

We are encouraged to hear Sen. Hoeven’s stance on energy infrastructure development. This is an issue that has garnered bipartisan support, with Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz recently stressing the need for infrastructure to keep up with demand. There are many energy infrastructure projects currently under review by respective utility boards and agencies throughout the Midwest. We urge that they be reviewed in a timely manner.

Arch Beal, a South Dakota state representative from Sioux Falls and landowner, recently penned an LTE in the Argus Leader endorsing the Dakota Access Pipeline. After carefully reviewing the project, Mr. Beal concluded that the project would benefit the state by employing fellow South Dakotans (estimated between two and four thousand) during the construction of the project, generate tax revenue for counties along the route once completed (estimated at $13.5 million a year) , and help the state’s grain growers gain access critical rail shipment space.

Rep. Beal became acquainted with the project on a more personal level as well.  He owns land on the proposed route of the project and had the chance to interact with the company representatives while discussing land easements. Beal wrote:    

In my firsthand dealing with Dakota Access, I have seen them deliver on their stated policy of maximum protection for agricultural land and maximum accommodation of land owners. Specifically, Dakota Access professionals worked with me to create an individualized plan for my property. They amiably altered their original proposed path for the pipeline through my property to accommodate my plans for future development. Dakota Access paid attention to the agricultural needs with a mitigation plan to guarantee that future crop production would not be hindered.

MAIN is encouraged to see that Dakota Access representatives are taking care to ensure that landowners are being treated fairly and their concerns are being heard. The statements made by Rep. Beal were echoed by landowners In North Dakota at the recent Public Service Commission hearing in Mandan. Our region’s farmland is and will continue to be a valuable resource. It is vital that the extraction of our vast energy reserves complement this valuable asset.

We encourage the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission to review the application of Dakota Access in a timely manner. We believe that the many benefits of this project are tangible and will contribute to the continued economic success of our region.

Ed Fallon, a former Iowa state legislator and former candidate for governor, hosted an event today in support of a “poison pill” eminent domain bill currently under review by the Iowa state legislature. The event was largely a political distraction from lawmakers hard at work at competing the state’s budget.

The bill will inadvertently create barriers that will make any large scale energy infrastructure projects prohibitively expensive and virtually impossible in the state, preventing Iowa from getting access to billions in potential investments. This is an extremely troubling development for both the region and our nation as a whole. The U.S. Department of Energy’s recently released Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) has praised precisely these kinds of infrastructure projects, stating that they have:

“…improved U.S. energy security. Without it, the United States could not have reduced its reliance on imports of liquid fuels to the extent that it has.”

The Des Moines Register has recently voiced its dissent to the bill in a recent edition of their “Roses and Thistles” section. The staff opined:

“Bills backed by key Republicans and Democrats in both houses would require companies to have voluntary easements from 75 percent of property owners before receiving eminent domain authority from the state. Pipeline and power line companies say setting the bar so high could force them to risk costly investments in projects that may never happen. That would be fine with some proponents of these bills, however, because their aim is to block both projects. In the process, however, they could prevent all future pipelines and powerlines, even ones that environmentalists might support. Until scientists figure out a way to magically deliver power without wires or underground pipes, they will be necessary.”

 MAIN has expressed its support for the Dakota Access Pipeline project. As a coalition of stakeholders representing business, labor, and agricultural communities, we recognize the public benefit that such a project brings to our region. Our coalition chairman and former president of the Iowa Farm Bureau, Ed Wiederstein has said that:

“New pipelines – especially those that service the Northern Plains and the Bakken region in particular – are urgently needed. Dakota Access would take four to seven unit trains of crude oil off of the region’s rails, helping the region’s farmers and other commodities shippers to gain greater access to the affordable railcars needed to transport their products. Infrastructure improvements of this nature carry benefits that reach far beyond the energy sector, and deserve our support.”

 The Dakota Access Pipeline will help create well-paying construction jobs, reduce oil rail traffic, increase access of Iowa and Midwest farmers to trains transporting agricultural products, and generate tens of millions of dollars to state coffers in property taxes to use on whatever projects are of most benefit to the residents in each state.

Mr. Fallon’s statements are big on rhetoric and short on any concrete ideas. Whether he likes it or not, oil and natural gas will remain a major component of the national energy mix for decades to come.  Oil from the Bakken will continue to be transported through our region, whether it is through oil pipelines or oil trains, as they do so right now.

We urge Iowa lawmakers to complete the vital work at hand, approving the state budget, and to refrain from letting politics and empty rhetoric infringe on the review process for the Dakota Access Pipeline currently underway at the Iowa Utilities Board. Allowing external influence to infringe on an impartial review of the project would set a very dangerous precedent. Poison pill legislation is not the way to attract investment and promote the growth that Iowa and our region needs.

North Dakota residents had a chance to learn about the Dakota Access Pipeline project and get their questions answered at yesterday’s Public Service Commission in Mandan. The project garnered support from a diverse set of stakeholders, from local government officials, to state groups, to landowners. Other supporters included local labor groups as well as members of the greater ND Chamber of Commerce.

One of the residents in attendance, Clark Norton of New Salem, emphasized the role DAPL would play in removing oil from rail:

“I think if we could get some of this off the railroad and put it under ground, I think we would be a lot better off.”

The sentiment was echoed by Wes Gunsch, a Mercer County landowner and county commissioner. He suggested that the pipeline would relieve some congestion on the state’s roads, saying:

“State roads are just deteriorating and we showed get some relief for those roads pipelines are the best way to do it.”

Dwight Wrangham, of the Landowners Association of North Dakota reminded the audience what statistics already prove:

“I believe [the pipeline] is the safest most efficient way to move hundreds of thousands of barrels of North Dakota’s product to market each day.”

Other landowners expressed having positive experiences with land agents contracted by the company. Roger Kaseman, a landowner who signed an easement with the company, told an AP reporter at the event :

“We had a long list of questions concerning safety and liability and the impact on the land long-term. They answered every question in detail and to our satisfaction.”

The Dakota Access Pipeline is a significant piece of the expanding energy infrastructure the Midwest needs to assure its long-term growth and economic success. The MAIN Coalition supports this project and urges the PSC to do the same.