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November 3, 2011
i .... :.i :
Hoeven wrong on job plan
To the editor: work. nation, I hope there will be more
When it c0mes tothemost press- As evidently he and his party forward looking leadership than
ing iSStle, of our day, jobs for believe, those oLf OUr fellow citizens Hoevenand his party are displaying
Americans, President Barack who are out of work are the cause of today:
Obama is right, and North , our country's problems. I didn't think it was right some-
Dakota U, S. Sen. John Hoeven is If you are paying attention to time ago when other shortsighted
wrong:"! . what the Republican presidential pol:iticians pandered to their most,
It's that simple, candidates are saying, those who narrow minded constituents by
The 9fes!dent offered a plan to aren't, rich have themselves to telling them that we up here should
put Ame, rm&ns backto work: blame; those who' d0fft have health "JUSt die in the dark," anymore thma.
. ,,witht,.saYing what his alterna - 'insurance should just die in the I think it is right for Hoeven, Rick:
Qiye 'wo.uld/be, other than putting streets, and those who aspire for a Berg and their party to turn their
N0i:e/bh'e) into the pockets of government that does what govern- backs on North Dakota's work-
tho,.h 9/a!ready have become ment shoulddo andleave this coun- ing families and those who are
wealthy Jae.yogd tlae wildest dreams try a better place for our children struggling beyond our borders.
lnost of us have, our senator joined and grandchildren are somehow Weare all Americans. We are in
every membe!:.0 f his party in the selfish, this together.
, Senate to 'use a filibuster to prevent Maybe jobs are, not a problem If we don't all come to that real-
the president's plan from even com- here in North Dakota right now. ization soon, it will not benefit any-
i ing to av0te in that body. But, last time I looked at a map, our one.
Hoeyeri knows; without that pro- state is not an island, Someday, if Greg Hodur
.... cedural" dgdge, the president would unfortunately the proverbial "worm Chair. North Dakota
have prevailed, because North turns" and we lind ourselves need- Democratic-NPLParty
Dakotans and Americans want to ing support from the rest of the Bismarck
' Undev r cti
i eloped g assland areas need prote on
To the editor: treasure. It deserves a more Less ihan 4 percent of the Little
i -'President 'Obama has selected thoughtful management process. Missouri Grassland, a mere 1/10th
t the Little Missouri National The Bakken oil formation coy- of one percent of the area of North.
Grassland as one Of 14 "infrastruc= ers 14,(X)0 square miles or t/5th of Dakota, is managed for its undevel-
I
ture projects" from across the North Dakota, and that doesn't oped qualities. There is nothing
i nation. Most North Dakotans know include the ever expanding Three permanent about that number, it is
the Little Missouri National Forks and Tyler and Spearfish for- only a fleeting administrative pro-
Grassland. as the Badlands, which mations thal any .western North tection. In the early 1970s the nmn-
! we sort (if lump in with that scenic Dakotan knowers ,is. part of our oil ber of acres stood at over 500,000, Chances are good that you have
I stretch that surrounds the three units patch. Direct impacts of that devel- by the late 1970s the acreage had been a tax dodger, Unknowingly, of
of Theodore Roosevelt National opment- both goodand bad - are been cut in half. Today, less than
course.
, Park: .To me this is not an area I'd easily reaching OUt into half our 40,000 acres in four discreet If you ordered bookS from
, see fit to select as an"infi'astructure state's landscapes and communi- parcels, each with knock-your- Christianbook , you didn't pay the
, project,' where permitting and ties. socks-off beauty, are managed for sales tax because Christianbook is
, environmental review processes for The only place where we the their undeveloped qualities, not required to collect the North
, oil and gas development should be people can really have any say in I love North Dakota. We need to Dakota sales tax. Yet, if you walked
, "expedited." this development is on public land, permanently protect those valued into a local store and bought those
The Little Missouri National and even that is limited. Currently remnants that are left. That 1/10th " books, you would be assessed a
Grassland is the largest national 95 percent of the Little Missouri of l percent. If wedon'tclaimthem, state sales tax of five percent plus
• grassland in" public ownership. National Grassland is open to oil while we can, you can bet they're , the local levy.
North Dakota should be proud. It and gas development. Is that not gone. If you bought your gardening
; makesup a tiny 2.4 percent of the enough? Must we "expedite" the Lillian Crook supplies from the Jung's catalogue,
" land area'of North Dakota. It is our process? Bismarck " you would not pay the sales tax.
'
Yet, if you bought the supplies from
' County preparing for southward oil development
a local store, you would pay the
r [ state sales tax.
; :. Now this situation hardly seems
Hettinger County commissioners to situations. Back in 2007 when fair to the local retailer. He (or she)
I recently re'ranged for Lynn Hehn,' we&new that the indtstvy:A/a0't is at a ._five: percent disadvantage.
, diret!f;,o:t'the,state'sat and GaS' Dote "da}e,' we shd That's the Cclndi& v)eche to in
193tJ 'alter a few 'years"o t}xlna
, Divii,4 give i I started s. ,p our inf ...... : ............. " "
New England. There was a Structure ard"planng'for':ifi:e sales. So we passed a sdpplement
, crowd with, well over 100 in atten- future. Now all we are doing is tax with the same rate as the sales
dance all waiting to hear when the China. 1 had asked Helms at the playing catch up. tax and called it the use tax. It was
oil boom is going to hit the far meeting if their department had I was disappointed to see how intended to cover sales to folks who
southwestern corner of North lboked t any Of the sand we have tile final redistricting map has been haaln.t paid tlm sales tax/
,.. Dakota. locally to see if it would work for drawn. The new map that will be While the long arm of the state
Helms made the point that the tracking. He stated that none of our proposed to the special legislative tax commissioner couldn't reach
reason he was there was to encour- sand would work because it is too session on Nov. 7 has Duma County out-of-state retailers under the sales
age New England and the surround- irregular and rough, but they have split into three different legislative tax, it could reach the purchasers
ing small towns to get ready and identified different clay formations districts: 4, 36, and 39. The city of with the use tax. So they - the buy-
prepare, so they will be better in our area that would work to Killdeer was split off from the rest ers of that book from Amazon or
equipped to deal with a huge influx replace the ceramic. This could of the county and put into District those gardening supplies from a cat-
of oil workers, demands on our possibly be a new industry of gigan- 39 with Bowman, Watford City, and alogue- were required by the law to
' Water and roads, and the many tic proportion if some entrepreneur Hettinger. Does that make any compute the unpaid sales tax and
infrastructure issues a town faces jumped in. I would prefer that we sense'? That puts their representa-
when the oil industry moves in. use a North Dakota product instead tion 110 miles away. Do you think
' Maybe some of the problems that of importing all of the product from you will ever get any of those guys
the' Stanley, Killdeer, and Watford China. to come to a meeting in Killdeer?
City have encountered can be The Tyler formation has many of You will not get a chance to vote on While much of America still strug-
avoided if the county develops a the same geologic characteristics of someone to represent you for 6 gles with recession, North Dakota has
land use plan, develops a truck the B'akken, but it's a smaller reser- years, been blessed with an amazing period
bypass route, and starts working on voir, perhaps 15 billion to 50 billion Just this past year Dunn County of growth. We can thank new drilhng
a new lagoon system. And believe barrels of oil. As of today, no one has lost post offices in both Dunn technologies that have opened up the
me the oil is moving South and will has drilled a horizontal well into the Center and Manning and with the Bakken oil formation, and relatively
be here :efore you know it. Tyler formation, but they will short- booming oil economy that was a strong farm prices with a disaster pro-
Helms 'Said the area south of ly. The first0ne is permitted about huge hit, and now the taxpayers groan to help when things onthe farm
Dickinson into northern South five miles west of New England and have to pay to set up multiple voting have gone bad.
Dakota wilt be drilled as soon as oil should be spudded in December if precincts for three different legisla- But it is the Bakken that is really
companies determine what drilling the weather holds. There are two tive districts. Dunn County is a changing the landscape of North
technology works best. He said more in the works. Helms said he major player in our oil industry, and Dakota. This oil play has brought
' they'll first' target the 10,000-foot expects a dozen br more wells will is dealing with many specific local thousands of high-payhg jobs to our
deep Three Forks Formatiom right be drilled each year for the first cou- issues - it could have easily been state. Thanks in large part to this oil
below the Bakken, and then drill the ple of years, kept in one legislative district. With activity, our state treasury is the envy
Tyler Formation, which is about a Once the technology gets figured one major town in a county you of the country.
' half-mile above it. These forma- out anywhere from 35 to 40 rigs don't split it off from the county However, pickup any recentnews-
tions require horizontal drilling will move in very quickly - that's seat. If you want it changed be sure 15aper and you realize there are serious
; technology which frac the rock with when it's so important to have done and contact every legislator you challenges that accompany an oil
i a combination of water under high some planning. As legislators I know and tell them to vote against boom of this magnitude. Roads are
pressure and sand or ceramic hope we can start being more this change and keep Dunn County experiencing damage to such a degree
',t propant which is imported from visionary instead of always reacting as whole as possible, that neither the state, nor local entities,
can keep up. Law enforcement and
o
emergency sewices are overworked,
e
a
ii:ROdeo team.:ranked within top5 .... understaffed, and under-equipped.
........ Housing availability is critical and
" r " rent increases are, as the Williston
¢t DICKINSON- The DickinSon nation with the men team stand- we have the opportunity to be at the
's Herald put it, "tearing the town
,*. 'State University men's and ing No. 3 in the Great Plains top of the standings again this year: apart." Oil waste sites are pitting
*,. , neighbor against neighbor, and social
,' women's rodeo teams both ranked Region. in the region, as well as the nation.'
issues are boiling under the surface.
,. within the, Top 5 in the Great Plains "We have a lot of great talent DSU women's rodeo team mem-
i'-<l. Region, i:e0rding to the National once again, this year in our rodeo ber, Bobbi Grann,junior, is current- While the state has taken some
D' , steps to address these challenges,
i,. Rodeo intercollegiate Rodeo program,' said Eudell Larsen, DSU ly No. 5 in all-around standing
,.- Association'i . head rodeo coach, said in a pre- while men's rodeo team member much more needs to be done ' and
, .... , soon. Local governments are puttin
'A, The DSU women s rodeo team pared statement. "Between the Riley Knoll, senior, is No. 2 in the
additional dollars provided by' the leg-
,,]:.,,!s .currently ranked second in the returning student s and new recruits, natkm for saddle bronc riding...
A Piece of the Past
Boy Scouts in Golden Valley County in 1914 pose for a group photo. The photo was found
in John Strum's collection. The scoutmaster may be George Seeley. The others aren't identi-
fied. (Courtesy Photo)
Retail act more about fairness
N.D. Matters
By Lloyd Omdahl
send it as the use tax to the tax com-
missioner.
A couple of problems with the
use tax law. First, most people
don't realize that the state law
requires them to forward their use
tax to the tax commissioner.
Second. there am too many untaxed
purchases (and untaxed purchasers)
to lnake general enforcement of the
use tax law feasible. An army of
clerks would be required.
So through the years the pressure
has been building to get the out-of-
state catalogue and online sellers to
collect the tax. However, in 1092,
states are now supporting the bipar-
tisan Main Street Fairness Act in
Congress. This act would require
interstate retailers to collect and
remit sales taxes on :their sales
regardless of their locations.
Recently, Tax Commissioner
Cory Fong and Senator Dwight
Cook (Mandan-District 34)provid-
ed an article for newspapers encour-
aging the State's Congressional
delegation to support the Act.
(Senator Cook is a member of the
governing board lor the
Streamlined Sales Tax Proiectl)
They were severely criticized by
soineone who thought this was
• levying a new tax on the consumers.
Not so. The use tax Obligation has
been on the books for 60 years. It
the U . S. Supreme_ Courf ttl: ..... tNr :: 10oks,., tke, factors are. linally coming
the complexity of the sales tax reg- together to make t unnecessary to
ulations in stat, e .nd:thusv,0f !olaexhs 9fair competition for
' ' !lodal'r&di&,2he applicable clich6
local governments was too IJurden-
some. is "leveling the playing held."
For North Dakota, it's more
about fairness than money• We
don't need money. WE are not look-
ing at a new tax but resuscitating an
old one
I am doubtful that sales tax col-
lection Will' .curtail sales by
Amazon,-other online sellers or cat-
alogue marketers. Prices, variety
and product availability will still be
significant factors in consumer
decisions. But fairness isthe issue.
" i
In response, the states have been
reducing this complexity by devel-
oping Uniform practices and defini-
tions in what they now call the
Streamlined Sales Tax Project. A
software package has been devel-
oped to make it easier for interstate
businesses to comply with sales and
use tax laws. Complexity is on the
run.
While working to remove bur-
densome compliance problems, the
harvest'
Let's ensure oil boom is a 'lasting
I believe this special session is an
opportune time to do two things
regarding energy development
impacts. First, I believe we should
immediately add $50 million to the
Oil and Gas hnpact Fund to assist the
counties and communities impacted
by oil development. The $100 million
in the curt'cut fired is not nearly
enough and the state is collecting
plenty of revenues froln oil production
to afford the increase.
Second, the state should create a
"Lasting Harvest" commission to
address the long term needs of energy
impact areas. This comnission would
collect information and develop ideas
on addressing the difficult issues asso-
ciated with this "one time harvest" of
oil. Local governments and public cit-
izens experiencing these impacts first-
hand must have a seat at the table as a
20 year plan is written for oil country
and the state.
The people of Williston,
Dickinson, Watford City, and all the
other communities stood by their
towns when previous booms went
bust. We must stand by them and not
allow these folks to be hurt as a result
of this latest development.
North Dakota can take advantage
of this opportunily, o1" North Dakota
can be taken advantage of. Let's act
now to make the right decisions for
filtUre generations of North Dakotans.
Other Views
By Sen. Ryan Taylor
D - Towner
islature to good use, but are still
unable to keep pace with develop-
ment. The other problems are either
too overwhelming for locd govern-
merits to address, or they are being
addressed in a piecemeal fashion.
In short, the state must be more
pmactive in meeting its obligation to
support energy-impacted areas. When
the legislature convenes November 7.
we are expected to take up redistrict-
ing, flood recovery, health exchanges,
and the University of North Dakota
nickname. But the next full legislative
session isn't until 2013 - and that is
simply too far away to deal with the
impacts and disruption that western
North Dakota is experiencing.
i
I
i
mpact Meeting Part 2:
An "nfi}rmational meeting to discuss plann'ng for future growth and stability
Thursda,/, Nov. 10, 5:30 • Beach Ambulance Garage *72 2rid Ave SE
Ch It, ro Is and coffee will be served
Sponsored by: Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, City of Beach and Prairie West Develo 3ment Foundation