billings county – Dustin Monke

Changing perceptions: CEO of company building $900 million Davis Refinery emphasizes environment

BISMARCK — Meridian Energy Group CEO Bill Prentice said his company wants to make southwest North Dakota home to an oil refinery that could change the industry, and he’s ready to win over the people trying to prevent them from doing that.

Meridian has proposed building the Davis Refinery in Billings County just west of Belfield and three miles from the outskirts of Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s South Unit.

The $900 million refinery would initially convert 27,500 barrels of Bakken crude oil into gasoline, diesel fuel and various refined products, and could expand to handle 55,000 barrels a day. However, Meridian’s plan expectedly has been met with pushback from park officials and environmental advocates across the state who believe the refinery would impact the park’s pristine air quality.

Prentice, speaking Tuesday at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference, emphasized his company’s commitment to the environment and said in an interview that the industry eventually has to change mindsets of what it means for an oil refinery to move into an area.

“I think it’s going to define how the hydrocarbon processing industry looks at being a neighbor of everybody,” Prentice said of the Davis Refinery. “There’s no longer going to be this solution that you kick us out into some industrial ghetto. This industry has to know how to build a plant that can be right there (near the park), and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Continue reading “Changing perceptions: CEO of company building $900 million Davis Refinery emphasizes environment”

62 miles of debate: Proposal to make Highway 85 four lanes through southern Bakken with excitement, questions

A semi truck hauling oil is followed by two vehicles on U.S. Highway 85 while going through the small town of Fairfi eld about 16 miles north of Interstate 94 on Saturday morning. A street sign denoting the highway was recently clipped by a vehicle and is now crooked.

FAIRFIELD, N.D. — Joe Kessel is blunt when he talks about a proposed project that would make U.S. Highway 85 four lanes from Interstate 94 to Watford City, N.D.

“Why haven’t they got it done yet?” he asks with a hearty laugh.

The Billings County Commissioner lives a half-mile off the well-traveled Bakken Oil Patch thoroughfare only about four miles south of the McKenzie County line and said he deals with oilfield traffic every day. He even believes the drop in oil prices over the past year hasn’t created that much of a slowdown along the highway.

The public will get a glimpse of the 62-mile project proposed by the North Dakota Department of Transportation for the first time this week when public scoping meetings are held at 5 p.m. Monday at Belfield City Hall and at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Watford City City Hall.

Jamie Olson, the NDDOT’s public information specialist, said there’s no telling how long the four-laning process would take, but said it could last upward of a decade. There’s also no dollar amount attached to the project yet, as it must go through multiple approval steps first.

“It’ll take a long time once they complete that environmental (assessment) portion of it,” she said. “That’ll help to answer some of those questions: How long are we looking at? What are the options?”

Continue reading “62 miles of debate: Proposal to make Highway 85 four lanes through southern Bakken with excitement, questions”

Billings County sheriffs continue search for fugitive

RURAL BILLINGS COUNTY — The Billings County Sheriff’s Department has identifi ed the alleged fugitive authorities are searching for throughout western North Dakota.

The search continued Friday for Jeff Robertson, who is suspected of rolling a stolen pickup truck off U.S. Highway 85 in northeast Billings County on Thursday and then fleeing the scene.

Billings County Sheriff Pat Rummel said they have identifi ed Robertson as the suspect, though his age and city of residence is unknown. He is described as being white, and around 6-foot, 180 pounds and is balding with sandy brown hair.

The Billings County Sheriff’s Department found an employee identification card in the pickup, which it used to confirm Robertson as the suspect who allegedly exited the pickup following the accident after interviews with witnesses.

Rummel said the department has found articles of clothing believed to belong to Robertson, who allegedly stole a 1996 blue Ford F-350 in Billings, Mont., and rolled it off the highway 12 miles north of Belfield.

“We’re just trying to follow his trail to see where he went,” Rummel said.

Continue reading “Billings County sheriffs continue search for fugitive”

Authorities search for man in Billings County: Alleged car thief who fled scene of accident still on the loose

NEAR GORHAM — Several local law enforcement agencies, including the Southwest Tactical Team, spent all of Thursday afternoon and evening searching for a man who allegedly rolled a stolen pickup truck he was driving on Highway 85 about 12 miles north of Belfield and fl ed from the scene.

The man, who as of 9:30 p.m. still hadn’t been located, is described as being white, and around 6-foot, 180 pounds with sandy brown hair. According to a witness, he was last seen wearing a red-brown plaid shirt and had an arm injury likely caused by the rollover, Billings County Sheriff Pat Rummel said.

The 1996 blue Ford F-350 pickup, which had been reported stolen in Billings, Mont., came to a rest on its side in a ditch after the rollover. According to a witness, Rummel said, the man exited the vehicle and ran into a sunflower field west of the highway near milemarker 87.

Authorities are unsure if the man is armed, but said.22-caliber shells were found in the pickup. Because of this, authorities are asking the public not to approach anyone fitting his description and to instead call 911 immediately.
Continue reading “Authorities search for man in Billings County: Alleged car thief who fled scene of accident still on the loose”