ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Our View: Oil prices in freefall as airport declines

Occasionally, The Press Editorial Board looks at the good, bad and ugly news that recently made headlines throughout our region and state.The GoodFrenzel fills empty commission seat: The Dickinson City Commission turned to a trusty old hand to fi...

Occasionally, The Press Editorial Board looks at the good, bad and ugly news that recently made headlines throughout our region and state.
The Good
Frenzel fills empty commission seat: The Dickinson City Commission turned to a trusty old hand to fill a seven-month vacancy by appointing Joe Frenzel as its fifth commissioner on Monday. Frenzel has done this before, and he’s spent several years as an elected commission member in the past. He knows the city well and is plugged in to what’s happening. But his best attribute: he doesn’t want the job after next June. Frenzel has made it known he has no intention of running for the seat next year, so he’s not trying to get a leg up on anyone else.
Special waste landfills to begin taking radioactive materials: The headline sounds bad on the surface: “Radioactive oilfield waste in North Dakota landfills OK’d.” But when it comes down to it, the state needs to own the mess it makes. This week, a legislative committee signed off on new state Department of Health rules rules that will permit oilfield waste with radioactivity levels of up to 50 picocuries per gram. It’s up from the previous limit of 5 picocuries per gram the state used to allow, but far lower than most states allow in their special waste landfills. Now, oil drilling in North Dakota will always produce radioactive material. This is nothing new. But to say this is going to destroy the environment is a gross overstatement. If we want the benefits of oil drilling - even when the industry is in a down cycle - we have to own the negatives, too.
The Bad
Break-ins abound: Over the past couple of months, Dickinson has suffered a rash of burglaries with multiple guns being reported missing and storage units reportedly broken into. Last weekend, 32 locks were severed with boltcutter and 29 storage units were entered at the Econo Storage lot in north Dickinson. Multiple storage units have been hit throughout town and police are investigating. This, it’s believed by many, stems from the economic downturn in the area and ties into Dickinson’s ever-rising drug problem. We encourage swift police action in these cases.
Declines at airport: A slowdown at the Dickinson Theodore Roosevelt Regional Airport has gone hand in hand with the oil slowdown. Delta Air Lines officially pulled out of the airport on Dec. 1, citing declining boardings, and has left the Dickinson Airport Authority wondering what its next step should be to help increase boardings. Gone is a twice-daily flight to Minneapolis, leaving only flights to Denver through United Airlines. While we’re happy United is sticking around, our airport needs another option. We’re not sure what that answer should be, or if a suitable one even exists yet. But, Dickinson can’t be complacent with its airport and hope for the best. Even if it can’t grow in the near future, it needs to chase growth for if - and likely when - the oil industry cranks up again.
The Ugly
Oil prices in freefall: A bad year in the North Dakota oil business looks to keep getting worse. The state’s drilling rig count dropped to 58 this week as West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices fell to a six-year low of $35.62 a barrel. As rig counts continue to drop and oil production levels off, expect 2016 to be a year of culling and cuts by in state government, the oil industry and private business throughout North Dakota - and not just in the west.
Trouble with the law: The McKenzie County Sheriff’s Department continues to have issues, and is now embroiled in three court cases involving its sheriff and deputies. Last week, Deputy Travis Bateman was charged with felony reckless endangerment for using his vehicle to crash into a fleeing motorcycle, ejecting and injuring the driver and his passenger, according to court documents. On Monday, McKenzie County Sheriff Gary Schwartzenberger pled not guilty to allegedly misusing public funds during a work trip to Las Vegas. Deputy Michael Schmitz is going to trial in May after being charged with misdemeanors for lying to officers about prescription drug use and his role in a domestic and divorce case. While we understand that the crazy oil boom times made for trouble hiring for Oil Patch law enforcement. But, McKenzie County commissioners need to put their sheriff’s department on notice. That area is still rapidly expanding, having quadrupled in population since the beginning of the decade despite the slowdown, and crime comes with that growth. Its oil industry will be the last to go away - if it ever does. McKenzie County absolutely needs its law enforcement to be putting criminals in court, not showing up as defendants.
The Dickinson Press Editorial Board consists of Publisher Harvey Brock and Managing Editor Dustin Monke.

What To Read Next
Get Local

ADVERTISEMENT