NDPC:VoteAgainstCRAisaVoteAgainstNorthDakotaandStatePrimacy

TessaSandstromtoNDPC 12:14PM

NEWSRELEASE
FORIMMEDIATERELEASE
May10,2017

VOTEAGAINSTCRAISAVOTEAGAINSTNORTHDAKOTAANDSTATEPRIMACY

Bismarck,N.D.ThefailureoftherepealoftheBureauofLandManagements(BLM)finalrulesregardingmethaneemissionson
federalandtriballandsisanaffronttoNorthDakotaandstateprimacy,saysNorthDakotaPetroleumCouncilPresidentRonNess.

Theindustrysupportsthegoalsofcapturinggreaterquantitiesofassociatedgasandreducingwastebutthisduplicativeand
unnecessaryrulecomesatanenormouscosttothestateseconomy,taxrevenuesandprivatemineralowners.

WeareextremelydisappointedinSenatorHeitkampsdecisiontodaytovoteagainsttherepealofthisrule.Hundredsofenergy
employeesandnumerousbusinesses,chambersofcommerceandtradeassociationswrotetoexpressconcernfortherule.Despite
this,SenatorHeitkamphaschosentostandwiththeenvironmentalactivistsandtheDemocraticpartyinWashingtonratherthanthe
oilandgasworkersandpeopleofNorthDakota.

Thisrulewillprovidenoenvironmentalbenefits,willonlyincreasecostsforstateandfederalgovernmentsandtheindustry,andwill
furtherburdenalreadyovertaxedfederalemployeesanddilutetheirabilitytoperformessentialduties.Instead,SenatorHeitkamp
couldhavebeenthedecidingvotethatwouldhaveallowedtheBLMandotherfederalagenciestomakealarger,moreimmediate
impactonreducingflaringandventingbyfocusingonfixingpermitting,infrastructureandpipelinedelays.

Justyesterday,SenatorHeitkampapplaudedtheU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgencysdecisiontograntthestateprimacyand
regulatoryauthorityoverCO2injectionwellsandthecertaintyitwouldbringforNorthDakotaenergy.Herdecisiontodayisacomplete
reversalofthatstance.NorthDakotaalreadyhassomeofthemostcomprehensiveregulationsaddressingflaringandwasteinthe
nation.Overthepasttwoyears,NorthDakotahasadoptedaseriesofstrictgascapturetargets.Atthesametime,theindustryhas
voluntarilymadehugestridesinnaturalgascapturebyinvestingmorethan$13billioninnaturalgasinfrastructuresince2006.Asa
result,flaringhasdeclinedbymorethan54percentinjustthreeyearsevenasnaturalgasproductionhasincreased.Thisprogress
willonlybethreatenedbythecontinueduncertaintyandbureaucraticredtapebroughtonbytheBLMrule,discouraginginnovation
andcomplicatingtheprocessforapprovinginfrastructurethatwillultimatelyensurethecaptureofmoreofourvaluablenaturalgas
resources.

WearegratefulforSenatorHoevenandCongressmanCramershardworkandsupportforNorthDakotaEnergyandenergyworkers.
Welookforwardtoworkingwiththemtopursueotheravenuesofrescindingthisdetrimentalrule.

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AbouttheNorthDakotaPetroleumCouncil
Since1952,thePetroleumCouncilhasbeentheprimaryvoiceoftheoilandgasindustryinNorthDakota.ThePetroleumCouncil
representsmorethan500companiesinvolvedinallaspectsoftheoilandgasindustry,includingoilandgasproduction,refining,
pipeline,mineralleasing,consulting,legalwork,andoilfieldserviceactivitiesinNorthDakota,SouthDakota,andtheRocky
MountainRegion.Formoreinformation,gotowww.ndoil.org.


MediaContact:
TESSASANDSTROM
DirectorofCommunications

T.701.223.6380
EnergyOfNorthDakota.com|NDOil.org