Oil, natural gas exploration holds promise

I want to continue a thought that I shared in my last column, and that is the exciting premise of oil and natural gas exploration in Idaho.

As the session has progressed, the Legislature’s knowledge has been growing exponentially, due to being exposed to all facets of the industry, and, more importantly, the interaction between Idaho, its citizens, and the industry. As with the proposal to return federally controlled lands to Idaho, developing the natural resources within our borders will be an incredible boon to the economy of our state, as well as the counties and cities where the resources are found.

In the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming the impact of developing natural resources has been exceptional. The tax burdens have been, and remain, light thanks to the continual input of severance taxes, and royalties from state-owned land. The economic climates are more stable, due to job creation and royalty payments, but, more importantly, the infrastructure of the states and their budgets are well funded. North Dakota now has a billion dollar budget surplus; Montana and Wyoming are experiencing similar results.

A fear that some have is that Idaho will experience the staggering increase of population that North Dakota and other states have seen. While there will undoubtedly be some migration with a growing economy, our development will not be nearly as broad in its scope and we have many people who have left Idaho to find work that will be able to come back to their home state.

What is being forecast is slow steady growth that will add jobs and dollars to our economy. What this translates into is larger tax revenues for the state, and, hopefully, a deadening of the continual cry for more funding from the various agencies. Because much of the land to be leased is state owned, the school endowment fund will benefit greatly from this development and provide relief for the rural districts hit so hard by the loss of SRS funds from the federal level.

As many of the kinks are being worked out at the state and local level, there is still much resistance at the federal level to allow us to use our land, or more specifically the resources underneath Idaho land. By federal law, the BLM is required to hold quarterly lease sales for mineral rights. To date, the BLM is putting off the entities interested in nominating land and prolonging the process to preclude companies from beginning to develop the resources. Legislation is moving through both the House and Senate to prepare Idaho to facilitate the anticipated industry growth and wells have been started in Payette that should be producing in early spring if everything goes as planned.

The primary company developing these resources has made significant investments in Idaho and will continue to do so as they prepare to develop the industry for the long term. Hundreds of people have been employed and over $10 million has been invested, all without tax breaks or incentives. Ninety percent of the labor and materials used to date have come from Idaho, and more than $10,000 has been donated to schools and charitable organizations.

I am very optimistic about the positive economic impact this industry will have in Idaho. While we in the north may not derive the increased benefit of having the wells in our part of the state, we will benefit from the increase in state revenue and growth of employment opportunities. Thank you again for the privilege of representing District 1 in Boise and, always feel free to contact me with any thoughts or concerns.

Rep. Sage Dixon can be reached in Boise at: sdixon@house.idaho.gov or by phone at 1 (800) 626-0471.