126 The Official Publication of the North Dakota Association of Oil & Gas Producing Counties
NDAOGPC News Regional Roundup Why We Oppose the Proposed Conservation Amendment There are several reasons why the North Dakota Association of Oil & Gas Producing Counties (NDAOGPC) has decided to oppose the proposed Clean Water, Wildlife and Parks Amendment ballot measure. One of the most important is because it is a constitutional amendment that mandates spending on conservation. This would be the first-ever spending measure enshrined into our constitution. There is a reason we don’t dictate spending in the constitution; it would require that funds be spent for a specified area, whether the need is there or not. We already have a system in place to determine funding needs and levels, and that is our legislative process. This measure would commit five percent of North Dakota’s oil extraction tax, conservatively estimated at $300 to $400 million per biennium, to a massive new conservation fund. It also dictates that anywhere from 75 to 90 percent of the fund must be spent each biennium. “The money mandated for this fund is money that could otherwise be spent on schools, our children’s education, infrastructure, emergency services, tax relief and more,” says Steve Holen, NDAOG- PC president and McKenzie County Public School District superintendent. “Our opposition to this measure has nothing to do with conservation. It is about the lack of flexibility and the large amounts of money that will be required to be spent, whether there are legitimate conservation needs or not.” The spending requirement in this initiative means that whether or not there are conservation needs, the group must spend over $3 million per week on average on projects. Spending by mandate is not a North Dakota value. This type of earmark has no place in our state’s constitution. As stated by Supt. Holen, the issue here isn’t about conservation. We all care about taking care of our natural resources, environment and wildlife. However, this measure, which is largely funded by out-of-state special interest groups, legally requires conservation to have funding precedence over education, infrastructure, health and human services, water needs and other important areas. And, any changes to this constitutional amendment could only be corrected by another statewide vote. Consider the consequences of signing onto a proposed 25-year government mandate to spend billions of dollars. It is difficult to predict what our funding needs will be in 10 years, much less 25 years. We shouldn’t take away the Legislature’s ability to address the most urgent needs as they arise. Funding priorities should be targeted toward immediate needs, not bound by constitutional earmarks. We are among more than 20 diverse groups that are part of the coalition backing the North Dakotans for Common Sense Conservation. We support a common sense and smart approach to conservation, where spending is not mandated through the constitution. North Dakota already invests more than $130 million per biennium in conservation and related efforts across the state. We don’t need a measure that mandates more spending in our constitution. We can’t support a measure that doesn’t measure up. Clean Water, Wildlife and Parks Amendment Funding 2015-2039 $5 Billion $4 Billion $3 Billion $2 Billion $1 Billion $500 M $400 M $300 M $200 M $4.8 Billion $2.7 $3.6 $4.3 Billion Billion Billion $1.9 Billion $1 Billion $296 M 2015 $391 M $427 M $427 M $403 M $356 M $142 M 2019 2023 2027 2031 2035 2039 LEGEND per biennium total-to-date Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem shares his support for the proposed drilling permit review policy with Governor Dalrymple’s amendments. The motion to pass the amended policy was passed unanimously by the Industrial Commission. Policies on Drilling Permit Review, Flaring Reduction The three-member North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC), made up of Governor Jack Dalrymple, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, met at the Capitol in early March for its regular monthly meeting. A packed house awaited the NDIC, concerned with two main topics: a proposed drilling permit review policy and recommendations on policy that the NDIC could implement to reduce natural gas flaring in the state. The drilling permit review policy, which was originally proposed to require a review process for all drilling permits near listed “places of extraordinary significance,” was noted by commission members to have received a large amount of public comment since first being introduced by Attorney General Stenehjem. Governor Dalrymple proposed an amendment to the original policy proposal that eliminated private lands from the policy altogether. The governor indicated that there is value to such a policy in assuring the public that places of significance would be protected over the long-term, though he did not feel that private lands should be included at this time. He added that a potential policy dealing with those private lands was better suited to be handled by the North Dakota state legislature. The NDIC voted and passed the policy with the governor’s amendment. The commission met again in April to discuss the technical aspects of the policy, which will go into effect on May 1, 2014. BASIN BITS | Spring 2014 127