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SUB COMMITTEE UPDATE: Infrastructure Committee
Greater North Dakota Chamber is in the process of developing our policy positions for the upcoming legislative session. This is done through the efforts of roughly 60 volunteers from GNDC member companies focusing on three core areas that impact the business community: Business Climate, Workforce, and Infrastructure. These volunteers have invested their time over the last several months to meet with elected and appointed state officials and other subject matter experts on a variety of issues that impact businesses in our state.
Whether it is roads, water, or energy, infrastructure is important to all industries. The Infrastructure Committee began it’s work with Bill Panos, ND Department of Transportation Director, who discussed funding for roads and bridges, along with the 10-Year Infrastructure Plan.
Kelvin Hullet, Chief Business Development Officer for the Bank of North Dakota, gave us an overview of the programs BND has available for both public and private infrastructure.
We discussed the status of pipelines in North Dakota from Justin Kringstad, ND Pipeline Authority Director. The Natural Gas Pipeline grant program then extended with an application deadline of August 15th.
Water is a factor that needs to be considered for economic development. Andrea Travnicek, North Dakota Water Resources Department Director, gave us an update on the department’s new 5 year strategic plan. One area of focus moving forward will be sustainable water development.
Tony Clark, Wilkinson Barker Knauer Sr. Advisor and former Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner and former Commissioner and Chair of the North Dakota Public Service Commission provided an overview of a study recently conducted in partnership with the Energy & Environmental Research Center regarding resource adequacy. North Dakota electricity demand is likely to grow significantly over the next 20 years. Participation in regional markets gives the state access to outside markets, shared operating costs and other resources to maintain reliability.
Understanding where we are is key to developing an advocacy strategy for where we want to go. We would like to sincerely thank the volunteers that continue to share their time and insights with us as we go through this process. GNDC is here to advocate for our members. To do that effectively, we need to hear about the issues that are important to you.
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