A Rationale for an Attitudinal Survey of Rural Landowners a Decade and a Half Since Fracking Descended on North Dakota

Introduction

In the late 1800s, North Dakota emerged as a beacon of opportunity in the west, beckoning settlers with promises of fertile land and the allure of fulfilling the American Dream. Marketed as a “garden land,” it offered not just soil to cultivate, but the promise of community amidst a peaceful environment. Waves of settlers began to arrive and shape what would be the social and economic landscape of the state for over a century. 

Agriculture materialized as the dominant industry and a slow-paced life was favored over the hustle and bustle of urban areas. Owning and farming land was a measure of success and a means of generational prosperity. However, the rapid development of the oil and gas industry through the 21st century in North Dakota came as a seismic shift to this way of life. 

Oil and gas industry leaders were highly motivated to develop in North Dakota due to the presence of the Bakken Shale Formation, which lies beneath what had been traditionally viewed as agricultural land. The formation harbors an estimated 7.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil (USGS, 2013). Extraction of this resource became feasible with modern technologies like horizontal drilling, commonly known as fracking.

Impacts of the Bakken Oil Boom

 Developers entered the state rapidly in the early 2000s such that oil production in western North Dakota increased from 0.48 million m³/month in 2005 to 7.5 million m³/month in 2020 (O’Brien et al., 2024). Overall, the onset of this added industry was beneficial to the state economy, producing  30.8% of the state’s gross business volume and adding 3.9 billion in labor income between 2018-2020 (Bangsund & Hodur, 2022). However, there are also a lot of negative ramifications and complexities associated with the industry, many of which surround resident safety and rights.

Oil and gas well development is physically destructive to the land which it must pass through. It requires heavy machinery and drilling deep into the ground. In addition, fracking disturbs the natural sub-surface stratification of oil, gas, and brine – a concentrated, salt water mixture. As a result, fracking often brings oil, gas, and brine to the surface as an emulsion which must be further separated (Peterson, 2023). It is estimated that every individual well produces approximately 143, 848 barrels of brine by-product (Kondash et al., 2017). Once brine is separated from oil and gas, it must be disposed of. If not done properly, spills can cause soil and water contamination. Soils which are impacted by brine are hard to recover and are generally unproductive. Thus, to avoid environmental degradation, landowners rely on the diligence of oil and gas companies in ensuring equipment and pipeline maintenance.

In addition to oil and gas production impacts on land, there are many post-production concerns like well-plugging. If wells are not properly plugged after production, it can lead to groundwater contamination and it presents a safety hazard to anyone who encounters the property where the abandoned well lies. It is estimated that North Dakta alone has 100,000 unplugged wells (Seelig, Johnson, 2021). One of the reasons for this is because plugging wells is expensive. Plugging a single well in North Dakota costs approximately $130,000 on average and full reclamation costs nearly double. It is often the case that wells are approved without proper assurance by the company that they are financially capable of fulfilling all post-production obligations (Carbon Tracker, 2021). Many wells end up being insured by “blanket” bonds which provide a fixed amount of security for the plugging and remediation obligations of an unlimited number of wells operated by a company. Some sources estimate the amount of money secured by these bonds only adds to 1% of plugging costs in the largest oil and gas producing states (Carbon Tracker, 2021).

The Effect on Landowners

Given these complexities, it is clear that land ownership is more complicated than ever. When landowners are approached by the oil and gas industry with contracts offering compensation for land use, they must weigh benefits with disadvantages. This evaluation demands lots of time and energy for education on the intricacies of the industry and potential implications on land and rights. Landowners may face legal challenges over entitlements they had never considered before such as pore space rights. They may even be presented with notices of eminent domain, where the government takes over private property for public use (i.e. pipeline development).

In addition to these initial stresses, the effects of the oil and gas development last long past production. Fracking and other oil and gas developments have been associated with lowered soil, water, and air quality (Deziel et al, 2022), conditions which are extremely harmful to landowners, but often come with a lack of onus assigned.

Why Survey North Dakota Residents

There is lots of ongoing research to assess the environmental and economic impacts of the oil and gas industry. However, there is little research on the human impact of this industry, particularly how it affects farmers, landowners, and other individuals involved in the process. We want to address this knowledge gap by conducting an attitudinal survey of North Dakota residents who have experienced first-hand effects of the oil and gas industry. 

This survey aims to capture the experiences, perspectives, and concerns of citizens impacted by well development in North Dakota. It seeks to highlight the issues which are most important to stakeholders and provide a baseline assessment of attitudes towards the oil and gas industry at the current time. The results of this survey could help shed light on both the social and economic consequences of the oil and gas industry, but will focus particularly on environmental impacts like soil degradation and water contamination. It will also attempt to clarify the long-term effects of oil and gas from a perspective that is outside the industry and provide a more holistic understanding of responsibilities and concerns from all interested parties. 

The Take Away

The oil and gas industry has been prominent in North Dakota for over two decades. Methods have shifted from conventional drilling to fracking, and new wells continue to appear in the state. It is important to maintain an updated record of stakeholder views and attitudes towards this industry as it grows and changes.

While this industry provides undeniable economic benefits to many residents and the overall state economy, negative environmental impacts can cause economic hardship in other industries like agriculture. Impacts also vary on a very small scale, and local issues may go unnoticed without the assessment of individual views. Balancing forward progress of the oil and gas industry with public health and environmental safety is a complicated task, making assessments like the one suggested here vital.