Among the eight measures North Dakotans will consider at the polls on Nov. 4 is a constitutional designation of 5 percent of the state’s oil extraction tax revenue to a Clean Water, Wildlife, and Parks Trust and a fund of the same name commonly known as Measure 5.
Of the revenue, 90 percent would be deposited into the fund and 10 percent placed into the trust, but 75 percent of the conservation fund would be slated as mandatory annual spending. Proponents of the measure say the fund would provide grants to improve water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, parks and outdoor recreation areas and would be governed by members of the North Dakota Industrial Commission. A citizen accountability board would be appointed for three-year terms to review grant applications and make recommendations to the commission. The initiative requires that voters could decide every 25 years whether to continue the fund’s financing.
On Sept. 29, Gov. Jack Dalrymple unveiled his plans to provide more than $80 million for major improvements to the state’s park system and statewide conservation enhancements in the next biennium. His plans call for investing $30.4 million in new funds to expand and improve state park amenities and bumping the Outdoor Heritage Fund from $30 million to $50 million. Dalrymple calls the proposal “fiscally sound and sustainable.” The announcement is the result of several years of work by the state’s Department of Parks and Recreation to develop master plans for system-wide park enhancements. Dalrymple stressed that the capital improvements will not add significantly to the state’s ongoing budget obligations.
“Because of the state’s financial position, we can make these significant investments and continue to meet our ongoing commitments of high quality education, low taxes, and many other demands on our growing state,” he said.
When pressed about his position on the Clean Water, Wildlife and Parks measure, he said his plan “is a better way to go.”
“This is the plan and this is the approach that I feel is the right way to go in enhancing conservation and outdoor recreation in North Dakota,” Dalrymple said. “I don’t think we need to have constitutional measures to help us manage and oversee our initiatives in the areas of recreation and conservation.”
The state Legislature has historically funded state parks, but capital projects have been closer to $4-$5 million over a biennium.
“This $30 million is a great improvement,” said Mark Zimmerman of the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department.
Among other improvements, Dalrymple’s proposal includes constructing about 180 new campsites throughout the state’s park system along with various cabins, and building a family retreat lodge at Lake Sakakawea State Park.
The state’s Chamber of Commerce as well as many statewide organizations and farm groups oppose the measure and North Dakota Petroleum Council, NDPC, President Ron Ness asked industry leaders at the council’s annual meeting on Sept. 24-25 for their financial support to help fund an opposing campaign. He said that out-of-state interests initiated the measure and are spending millions of campaign dollars including designing advertisements that resemble the graphics used in NDPC advertisements.
“In fact, you’d think it’s an Oil Can! ad when you see their ad - it’s slick,” Ness said (see story on page 1).
At current revenues, the measure’s provisions would require $2.8 million to be spent each week. Since one of the uses of the funds is to purchase land for conservation, landowners are concerned about what the measure would do to land prices.
“My four boys may be interested in farming for a career. If they decide they want to expand our farm or buy new property to venture out on their own, how can they compete against a fund that has an endless pocketbook?” Val Wagner who farms south of Jamestown wrote in a Sept. 28 letter to the editor of the Grand Forks Herald. “I am a big fan of clean water, I appreciate the beauty (and tastiness) of wildlife, and my family and I enjoy spending time at the parks frequently. But I believe we can address these issues without risking the future of agriculture.”
Rep. Al Carlson of Fargo called the measure “a dangerous thing,” saying no one should be allowed to take such a large sum from the treasury in this manner.
“That is absolutely not the way government should run,” he said.
State Sen. Connie Triplett, as part of a panel at the NDPC annual meeting to discuss upcoming legislation, addressed the measure saying she is in favor of it because the federal government has had to cut back on its Conservation Reserve Program, CRP, due to a lack of resources.
“I would hope this would be a mini CRP program to support agriculture and clean water and parks,” Triplett said. She added that although the funding mechanism is different from the water resources trust fund which collects 20 percent of the 6.5 percent oil extraction tax, the dollar amount would be about the same.
“It’s the same amount of dollars going to water development projects and we haven’t run out of a need for those,” she said.
Ness told Petroleum News Bakken that Triplett’s comments were “quite shocking” in the midst of discussing the urgent infrastructure funding needs within western North Dakota. Since 75 percent of the fund must be spent each year, Ness said the measure lacks the necessary checks and balances.
“The water budget goes through the Legislature and while they have an allocation ability on those funds, they are a state agency and they’re under the scrutiny of the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee,” Ness said. “So there’s a big difference.”
