Oil and Gas Problems

High oil and gas prices have spurred massive new exploration and drilling throughout the country, and North Dakota is no exception.  The federal government has leased nearly every acre of federal minerals in the Badlands.  Many surface residents and landowners do not own their own mineral rights and have no legal right to prevent oil and gas exploration and drilling near their homes and water wells.  Bonding for North Dakota oil and gas wells is dangerously inadequate, and the public could be stuck with the tab for cleaning up after irresponsible developers.

The Charbonneau Creek spill.  The worst salt water spill in North Dakota history occurred last winter and contaminated Charbonneau Creek and an underground aquifer.  The water is nearly as salty as the Dead Sea.  The source of the spill was a leaking Zenergy Corporation pipe carrying the salty water from a production well to an injection well.  The leakage may have continued for two months or more before it was discovered.  The state could have prevented this delay by requiring meters on each end of the pipeline to measure input and output.  Read about the spill in the July 2006 Dakota Counsel.   Call the state’s Oil and Gas Division at 701-328-8020 to urge the adoption of rules requiring meters.

Inadequate bonding.  The Charbonneau spill highlighted the need for better bonding to protect the public from liability for cleaning up after mistakes by oil and gas companies.  Read Jim Kuipers’ report, Filling in the Gaps, on inadequate bonding in several Western states.

Raid on drinking water.  The State Water Commission has allowed Zenergy to sink ten water wells into an aquifer serving many residents of the Alexander area, and wants to sink up to 60 more.  Zenergy obtained the right to sink the existing wells under 12-month temporary emergency permits without a public hearing.  The Water Commission has extended many of the temporary wells past the12-month period in definace of state law.  Water levels in area aquifers are already declining.  DRC has challenged Zenergy’s first application for conditional use water permits.  A decision was issued January 22 by the ND Water Commission recommending that 20 of the 21 pending water appropriations permits be granted. Check out the latest press release

The right to know.  Did you know that an oil company can put a well 330 feet from your front door without notifying you?  That’s what Bruce and Paula Kaye found out when they came back from vacation last summer to find a drilling rig just across their property line north of Belfield.  Thanks to 2005 passage of legislation introduced by DRC, oil companies must notify surface owners within 1/2 mile of the proposed explorations before beginning seismographic operations.  But there are still gaping holes in the state’s notification laws.  Contact your state legislator and ask for a setback from an occupied residence of 1320 feet and adjoining landowner notification.

Oil and gas at your door.  Has an oil company approached you about leasing or selling your minerals, or about signing a surface damage waiver?  Dealing with oil and gas contracts can be a bewildering experience.  Protect your rights.  Don’t sign anything until you understand it, and don’t give any credence to promises that are not in writing. Oil and Gas at Your Door, a good introductory guide on the subject of dealing with oil and gas leasing.

Join DRC.  You can join the effort to protect water and the rights of oilfield residents by becoming a member of DRC.