Page 6 ■ Thursday, March 29, 2012


BAKKEN NEWS


Patrol downplays impact of one-lane traffi c at bridge


By NICKSMITH Bismarck Tribune


Law enforcement and oil compa-


nies in western North Dakota expect minimal delays along U.S. Highway 85 south of Watford City with the Long X Bridge being down to one lane. It will take several weeks to re- pair the structure. “The biggest impact is that it’s go-


ing to have is the load restriction for loads of only 15 feet wide or less,” Capt. Alan Billehus with the North Dakota Highway Patrol Northwest Region said. “I don’t think it’ll have a great impact.” The bridge, located 14 miles south


of Watford City, was closed March 18 following the damage caused by a ve- hicle carrying a high load. The bridge was to open on March 19, but the state Transportation Department kept it closed until cleanup at the site could be completed. It was reopened to one lane of traffi c the night of March 19 with fl aggers in place to control traf- fi c until temporary signals at each end are put in place. Billehus said the Highway Patrol


will monitor the area by the bridge as part of its normal patrols, adding that motorists should expect delays. “We do expect there to be some


delays and the time of day will be a factor in that,” Billehus said. Companies operating in the oil


fi eld in the western part of the state don’t expect the potential bottleneck at the bridge to have a sizeable impact


on efforts to travel through the area. “I don’t really think it’s going to have a lot of impact,” Jeff Wirth, North Dakota operations manager for Hess, said.


Wirth said most of the company’s


operations are to the northeast near Keene so they don’t expect to have a high volume of traffi c having to pass through the area by the bridge. A Schlumberger representative


in Williston said the company does have some trucks that travel along that stretch of Highway 85 but they too don’t expect any serious impact to their work. Jamie Olson, North Dakota De-


partment of Transportation spokes- person, said motorists should expect a delay in being able to cross the Long X Bridge but it shouldn’t be too lengthy of a wait.


Olson added that if any major traf-


fi c backup is caused by the placement of the traffi c signals, there’s always the option of adjusting how long of a cy- cle the signals are programmed for. U.S. Highway 85 is a major north-


south route in western North Da- kota, with the stretch from Williston south to Belfi eld seeing a substantial increase in traffi c with growing oil ac- tivity in the western part of the state. State DOT offi cials in Williston ex- pect the bridge to be down to one lane for at least six weeks. (Reach reporter Nick Smith at 701- 250-8255 or at nick.smith@bismarck- tribune.com.)


BAKKEN BREAKOUT WEEKLY


Proposal would end rural property tax exemption


By DALE WETZEL Associated Press


State lawmakers are considering a


proposal that would cut the property tax bills of all North Dakota homeowners while eliminating a property tax exemp- tion for farm residences. It would replace an existing two-year, $341.8 million subsidy plan that pro- vides money to fi nance reductions in North Dakota school districts’ property tax rates. Rural lawmakers on the Legislature’s


Taxation Committee, which discussed the idea March 23, said they expect op- position to the plan’s suggestion to eliminate a long-standing property tax exemption on farm homes. North Dakota farmers and ranch-


ers pay property taxes on land they use to raise crops and graze cattle, but their homes and the land upon which their homes sit are exempt. Rep. Craig Headland, R-Montpelier,


said farmers’ property tax bills already rise as the value of their property in- creases. Eliminating the tax exemption for their homes would be another bur- den, he said. “You’re going to essentially give


21,000 North Dakota residents a proper- ty tax increase on their house,” Headland said March 23. The committee’s chairman, Sen. Da-


vid Hogue, R-Minot, said the plan would extend property tax credits to all resident North Dakota homeowners. The credits would ease, if not eliminate, the impact of the removal of the farm-residence tax exemption, Hogue said.


The Taxation Committee will vote lat- er on whether to endorse the proposal. It is preparing suggested bills for the 2013 Legislature, which begins in January. The present property tax subsidy plan benefi ts all North Dakota real estate owners. It lowers the property tax bills of homeowners, farmers, ranchers and business people, and benefi ts property owners who live outside North Dakota. Only North Dakota resident home-


owners would benefi t from the new pro- posal, which would reduce the market value of their homes before the property tax is calculated. One suggestion would knock $75,000


off a home’s market value before its property tax is added up. The approach would exempt a home worth $75,000 or less from property taxes and knock down the bill for a house valued at $100,000 by more than 70 percent. A $75,000 credit against the value of


all North Dakota homes would reduce local governments’ property tax collec- tions by $364 million over two years, the state Tax Department estimates. Under the plan, the Legislature would provide money to local governments to make up the difference. Hogue said the idea would focus


subsidy benefi ts on homeowners, who are the most vocal source of complaints about their property tax bills. “This would be more effi cient,” Hogue


said. “There’s always been a recognition that property taxes on a pipeline, or on a commercial building, is different than on a residence for somebody who is on a fi xed income.”


S.D. puts records online to promote oil production


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PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota is making great strides in putting drill- ing and geological records on the Internet as part of an effort to expand ex- ploration for oil and gas and join in the production boom that has hit North Dakota and other nearby states, State Geologist Derric Iles said March 21. The information has been put online so companies interested in exploring for oil and gas can quickly search scanned images of paper permits, drilling records and maps of underground rock formations, Iles said. People can use an interactive map to search a particular area and get infor- mation on specifi c wells drilled in the past, Iles told scientists and engineers at the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ annual conference on the environment and groundwater. More information will be added to the state’s website in the future, he said. (On the Web: www.sdgs.usd.edu/sdoil.)


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