Increased oil and gas production in North Dakota means increased waste materials, and North Dakota is proposing that those materials be brought to South Dakota for disposal. Thursday the House Ag and Natural Resources Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 59 which addresses this. The bill, as written, prohibits the disposal of certain oil and gas field wastes across South Dakota. Supporters of the bill say that as North Dakota reaps the benefits of the oil boom, South Dakota will pay a hefty price and face possible contamination. While not everyone wants to see South Dakota become a dumping ground, some say they want to explore it as an option as a means of economic development in their county.
Dean Wagner is a Harding County Commissioner and is also on the Planning and Zoning board. He says he is not supporting or opposing the proposed legislation, but is instead asking that his county get the chance to look into developing waste disposal facilities as a way to bring in revenue.
“We feel that with the power of DENR and local government control we already have the tools to deal with each site on an individual basis, and that Senate Bill 59 would inhibit - not benefit our state and county. We feel that disposal sites need to be dealt with on an individual basis and not lumped into one bill. One cannot deny that new oil and gas technologies are being developed every day, and with that in mind, is it wise to stop progress in our state,” says Wagner.
Wagner says Harding County would implement strict rules regarding waste disposal if it were permitted by law. He adds that one interested landowner has already submitted an application to use his land to house these oil and gas by-products. There was no final decision on the bill - legislators felt they needed more time to research the issue and deferred further discussion to Tuesday, February 25th.