April 24, 2019

Burgum signs ‘pore space’ bill

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

Following approval by both Houses of the North Dakota Legislature, on Thursday, April 18, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed Senate Bill 2344, that many claim is a public taking of property rights.
“This legislation went through seven subcommittees, more than 15 hours of hearings and numerous amendments to address landowner concerns and create certainty for underground injection, which has the potential to enhance oil recovery and further improve the environmental sustainability of North Dakota’s coal industry,” Burgum said. “With the clarifying amendments, we’re confident that the bill protects landowners and preserves their compensation opportunities.”
Dubbed the ‘pore space bill,’ SB2344 sought to clarify issues related to pore space in underground rock formations and who had the right to use that space.
While the bill’s final version took out language that would have allowed for the temporary storage of natural gas in the ‘pore space’ to help reduce natural gas flaring in North Dakota until additional pipelines and natural gas processing plants can be built, it left in place language that would deny landowners with saltwater disposal wells within a unitized field compensation for the injection of oilfield wastewater unless they had an existing contract. And the new law would also deny landowners from making claims against oilfield companies that inject wastewater into disposal wells adjacent to their land and that used their ‘pore space.’
“This is the worst piece of legislation that the Legislature has passed in my lifetime,” stated Dennis Johnson, a Watford City attorney who testified against the bill and represents landowners in McKenzie County and northwestern North Dakota. “It’s pure socialism. It takes away private property rights and gives them to the state.”

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