CWAG ENERGY SUMMIT

Attorney GeneralWayne Stenehjem

February 2012

The Oil BoomTHE IMPACT OF BOOM DEVELOPMENT ON PUBLIC SAFETY

- PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE -

Black Gold Rush

Boom Times• ND is the fourth largest oil-producing state in the nation;

• ND has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation (3.3%) and the highest number of employers who are hiring.

• In 2010, the oil and gas industry reported $1.49 Billion in taxable sales & purchases.

• The State Land Department received $85.2 million in oil royalties and $295 million in lease bonuses to trust funds managed by the department;

• In 2009, the petroleum industry paid $822 million in state and local taxes.

• December 2010 - 6,008 wells. Each new well has an estimated $3 million annual impact.

The Boom• Population increase –

– Williams county population increased by approximately 34% since 2006

• City of Williston 2006 population approximately 12,000; estimated to grow to 40,000+ by 2015.

– Watford City population grew from 1,744 to 7,500.– Dickinson population up from 15,000 to 22,000 in

2011• predicted to increase to 35,000 by 2015.

– Disproportionate number of single males, 20-39.

“We’re going to have to basically pick up the city of Mandan [pop.

18,000] and drop it into the city of Dickinson and do it in four to five years. That means adding all the roads, all the fire, all the police,

and everything else.”

Shawn Kessel, Dickinson City Administrator(Jan 27, 2012, Williston Herald)

• Housing shortages– Man Camps

– Wal-Mart parking lot

– Hotel rooms scarce

• Oil companies lease entire hotel by the quarter

• Housing costs increased– Loss of low income and single family rental units

• Senior Citizen housing - rent increased from $700 to $2,000/month for 2-bed apartment; vacated apartments then rented to oil companies. (Williston Herald, 9-11-11)

• Infrastructure– Sewage

– Schools

– Construction

– Traffic

– Law enforcement

“Almost 1,000 longtime [Williston] residents have left in the last two years, fed up with the city’s newly acquired crowding and traffic problems. ‘Those are the people that built our churches, went to our PTAs. They built our community. It’s tough to lose those people. We’re getting more back in, but we’re losing our core.’”

Brad Bekkedahl, Williston City Commissioner (Jan 27, 2012, Williston Herald).

It’s good that it’s been a mild winter, or we’d have been picking

up dead bodies everywhere.”

Scott Busching, Williams County Sheriff

Law Enforcement• Influx of transient population

– Traffic – Accidents

• Out of state registered sex offenders– Address verification

• Crime increase– Crime reports

• Public safety fears– Concealed weapons

Law Enforcement Stretched Thin

2008 Williams County 2011

15 DUI/APC 167

832 Inmates booked in jail 1886

626 Warrants received 1280

186 Accidents 436

440 Traffic Citations 1360

294,857 Vehicle mileage 453,687

• 1st Time Concealed Weapon License Applications

NEXT STEPS

• Land Board – Energy & Infrastructure

• Oil royalty rate increase • Emergency Services & Response grants

• Industrial Commission– Housing Incentive Fund– Low Income Housing programs

• Mortgage foreclosure settlement