Big Changes for ND

In a report from CBS News and an article in the Washington Post the general consensus seems to be that rapid growth from the oil boom in North Dakota is having a huge impact on the communities and economy. Some of these changes are positive and some negative.

Financially it seems this oil boom is going to be a good thing for North Dakota, but will the quality of life suffer for it?

Video found on You Tube posted Nov 28, 2010 by AlJazeeraEnglish

As told in a report from CBS News  North Dakota is known for its beauty of the plains and the brutal nature of its winters.  North Dakota has long been the least populated state in the country, but is changing every day. People, mostly men, pour in from across the nation.

“There are Help Wanted signs at every street corner, but there is no easy way to handle a boom quite like this.

Suddenly, there's prosperity and there's rural renewal, but there's traffic, dust and strain.”

One resident said "Life has changed, (and) not for the better.” For example, when the owner of the land does not own the mineral rights to the oil below they feel like they’ve been invaded. Even with $10k-$15k per well they’d be happier without the money and the wells.

Williston, N.D. is the epicenter of the oil boom. The population there has more than doubled in two years. Another resident says there's a downside to the prosperity. "We're a small town. We just aren't equipped to have 25 to 30,000 people here, and now they are expecting 60 (thousand). We just aren't equipped for that many people to be here."  She just wants things to be back the way it used to be. "Not to be mean, but I'd like these people to leave.” 

These changes aren’t just affecting North Dakota people, “there are those newcomers who run out of options and take refuge in their cars or RVs, public camp sites, or at Wal-Mart for the night.”
“Williston now deals with a 200 percent increase in crime that overwhelms local law enforcement. From 2009 to 2011, DUI arrests in Williston increased 40 percent, criminal complaints 31 percent”. The crime alone is reason enough for me to rethink the whole way they (oil companies) are going about this.  Maybe a slower, smaller approach would be better for the city?
The people of North Dakota say; "We're going to be the richest state per capita shortly. We have an endless amount of money in our treasury. We have full employment and opportunity in a way that other states would beg to have. You know, the question is what do we do with it? And do we survive it? And do we manage it properly?"



In an article in the Washington Post Officials say “the city’s population has doubled in the past decade to some 30,000 residents and the average wage has risen from about $32,000 in 2006 to about $80,000.”  This sounds a little more positive than the last report I read (and wrote about). There definitely are pros and cons to this situation in North Dakota. The question still remains; are the benefits going to outweigh the risks?
“Williston expects an influx of about 1,200 students this year, bringing enrollment to about 3,800 from about 2,600 last year. School officials are hiring 52 new teachers to add to the 190 they already have. They also are adding dozens of mobile classrooms and reopening an elementary school that closed a dozen years ago when the region’s first oil boom went bust and enrollment fell.”  Although this is good news, “about 15 people have turned down teaching jobs due to the lack of housing or because they can’t afford to live in Williston, school superintendent Viola LaFontaine said. Pay for teachers hasn’t kept up, although they are desperately needed.”
“Lanny Gabbert, a high school science teacher and president of the Williston Education Association, said the salary for new teachers went up by $1,500 under the present contract. But that sum has been more than offset by the increased cost of living in Williston. Gabbert said rent for one of his fellow teachers jumped from $500 per month to $900 this year for the same apartment. “I count my blessings,” she said. “Not only have we gotten a lot of applications, we’ve gotten a lot of good applications. There are people who want to teach in Williston.”