Stark County favors water depot idea

Talk about it

During a meeting at the Stark County Courthouse on Thursday, Planning and Zoning Board members made a move to alleviate the scramble of trucks looking for water.

There has been an increased demand for water because of recent oil industry activity.

Board members recommended that Nick and Luann Letang are allowed to install a water depot about a mile west of Highway 22 and a half-mile south of the Dunn County line.

“This looks like a decent area to have this at,” Chairman Russ Hoff said. “There is not a lot of traffic there right now and it is not far off the road.”

Board member Jay Elkin agreed.

“I believe this is an appropriate area,” he said.

The 5-acre plot would house a 20-by-20 foot facility with dual loading stations.

Element Solutions representative Brandon Ames, who is designing the project, said he did not have an estimate of how many trucks would use the facility.

“If I knew when and where they were going to frack, I would be able to tell you, but you just don’t know,” he said. “We plan for being able to stack 18 to 20 trucks at a time.”

Elkin was concerned trucks might get backed up and crowd county roads.

Ames said the design has worked hassle free in more than 30 depots throughout North Dakota and Montana, but the facility could be expanded if needed.

Most of the discussion was about use by the oil industry, but Nick Letang said this depot would be available to the public and would be free for use by local fire departments.

Surface water would be drawn from the Green River and will transport the water through a half-mile-long pipeline.

Nick Letang said their land is appropriated for 900 gallons per minute from the North Dakota Water Commission, but they would not use nearly that much.

The board members made the applicants aware that the county would not be responsible for dust control or snow removal. The special use permit is a five-year renewable permit.

Ames said he didn’t know how long the depot would be in use and said it would be returned to farmland after.

“We want to make this the least invasive as possible,” he said. “Our goal is to keep it simple and clean.”

The application will be reviewed for final approval by the Stark County Commission during a meeting on Tuesay at 8 a.m.

Tags: water depot, dunn county, nick letang, luann letang, oil, energy