--- title: North Dakota Bakken Crude description: Can a state at the center of the oil boom regulate the industry that propelled it to prosperity? canonical: https://time.com/3104110/amid-federal-safety-push-north-dakota-considers-new-energy-regulations/ author: Alex Altman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-13T10:00:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:37:38.666Z article:section: Politics og:title: North Dakota Bakken Crude og:description: Can a state at the center of the oil boom regulate the industry that propelled it to prosperity? og:url: https://time.com/3104110/amid-federal-safety-push-north-dakota-considers-new-energy-regulations/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe6e1c3249d3ba10/69869f4acd6848f3bf096075/ap845446357576.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3648 og:image:height: 2052 og:image:alt: Rail Delays og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: North Dakota Bakken Crude twitter:description: Can a state at the center of the oil boom regulate the industry that propelled it to prosperity? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe6e1c3249d3ba10/69869f4acd6848f3bf096075/ap845446357576.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Amid Federal Safety Push, North Dakota Considers New Energy Regulations > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=1c59b186-42ae-43f9-a455-897aee04892c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=1c59b186-42ae-43f9-a455-897aee04892c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=1c59b186-42ae-43f9-a455-897aee04892c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Aug 13, 2014 10:00 AM UTC  An oil-tank train with crude oil from the Bakken shale fields of North Dakota travels near Staples, Minn., on April 15, 2014 An oil-tank train with crude oil from the Bakken shale fields of North Dakota travels near Staples, Minn., on April 15, 2014 Mike Cronin—AP  by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Aug 13, 2014 10:00 AM UTC After multiple derailments of tank cars carrying crude oil, the federal government is weighing new rules to bolster the safety of trains transporting flammable material. But the safety push could run into trouble in North Dakota, the state at the heart of the oil boom and the source of much of the crude sliding along the nation’s rails. As the shale-oil boom accelerated in recent years, a series of derailments have raised questions about the safety of oil trains. In July 2013, a 74-car train carrying crude oil crashed in a small Quebec town, killing 47\. Four months later, broken tracks led to a derailment in Alabama; a month after that, 20 cars of crude exploded after a collision outside Casselton, N.D., forcing residents to evacuate. In April, 17 tanks derailed near downtown Lynchburg, Va., sending a plume of fire spitting into the air outside a children’s museum. Late last month, the U.S. Department of Transportation released a series of proposals to safeguard oil cars traveling from the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota to refineries around the country, often more than a thousand miles away. Among the proposals were phasing out tank cars that have proven vulnerable to explosions, imposing speed restrictions, and requiring trains to notify local first responders as they pass through states. “Safety is our top priority,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx of the department’s proposal, which he called the “most significant progress yet in developing and enforcing new rules to ensure that all flammable liquids, including Bakken crude and ethanol, are transported safely.” But in North Dakota, such liquid has been the lifeblood of a surging economy. Since the advent of new technology that helped companies tap the Bakken formation, North Dakota has enjoyed a massive energy boom. The unemployment rate has dropped to 2.7%, the lowest in the nation. Incomes are rising. And a sparsely populated state sprawled across the harsh northern prairie is suddenly adding well-paying jobs faster than it can fill them. As the U.S. economy slumped into recession and struggled to fight through a sluggish recovery, North Dakota was a rare bright spot on a bleak economic horizon. Which may be why Foxx’s comments didn’t go down so well in the state. Last week, when he and U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz attended an energy policy summit in the state capital of Bismarck, Governor Jack Dalrymple jumped on the perceived criticism,[ asking why](http://www.grandforksherald.com/content/us-transportation-secretary-says-risk-level-higher-bakken-crude-transport) Bakken crude has been singled out in federal studies. “The risk level is higher than we’ve seen in other parts of the country,” Foxx said, according to local [reports](http://bismarcktribune.com/bakken/energy-talk-focuses-on-bakken-crude-volatility/article%5F1db32cb8-1ebe-11e4-a9f5-001a4bcf887a.html). “We’ve got to raise our game on safety.” But it is a matter of dispute whether shale oil from the Bakken is more volatile than traditional oil, and thus prone to explosion. As Washington considers new regulations, the state is undertaking its own study of whether and how companies should treat oil at the wellheads before transporting it. In the coming weeks, the North Dakota Industrial Commission will hold public hearings to solicit input about the possibility of new requirements, says Alison Ritter, a spokeswoman for the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources. The session will be just the second public hearings on energy in the past three years. It is unclear whether the state is prepared to effectively regulate the very industry that propelled it to prosperity. The Industrial Commission is composed of three of the state’s top elected officials: Governor Jack Dalrymple, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. All are Republicans. Dalrymple has been a friend of oil and gas concerns. His 2012 election victory was aided by $287,965 from the oil and gas industry, a total that surpasses than any other industry, according to [data](http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=139320) compiled by the National Institute on Money in State Politics. The governor’s office did not directly return multiple requests for comment. Lynn Helms, the state’s top oil and gas regulator, has industry ties of his own. The director of the Department of Mineral Resources, Helms spent years working for energy firms before taking a job with the Industrial Commission in 1998\. This is not uncommon, but critics say it raises questions of whether the regulator should also hold responsibility for promoting oil production. “How can you regulate an industry, and make sure they’re following all the rules and safeguards on Mondays,” says Kenton Onstad, a Democratic representative in the North Dakota legislature, “and then on Tuesday go out and promote it? It should be either one or the other.” New requirements for treating crude at the well sites could be costly for the energy businesses that operate in the Bakken. Industry groups say the formation’s crude has no unique dangers and should not be subject to special regulations. The North Dakota Petroleum Council, an industry group, paid engineering and chemical analysis firms about $400,000 to produce a report on the characteristics of Bakken crude. The study determined it did not pose any greater risk for rail transport than other types of crude or transportation fuels. “All of this data does not support the speculation that Bakken crude is more volatile or flammable,” said NDPC vice president Kari Cutting. Ritter said the Industrial Commission would be expected to issue a decision within 30 days of the public hearing. “The goal,” she says, “is to make crude as safe as possible for transport.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3104110/amid-federal-safety-push-north-dakota-considers-new-energy-regulations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3104110/amid-federal-safety-push-north-dakota-considers-new-energy-regulations/"},"headline":"Amid Federal Safety Push, North Dakota Considers New Energy Regulations","datePublished":"2014-08-13T10:00:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:37:38.666Z","description":"Can a state at the center of the oil boom regulate the industry that propelled it to prosperity?","url":"https://time.com/3104110/amid-federal-safety-push-north-dakota-considers-new-energy-regulations/","keywords":["energy","North Dakota"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe6e1c3249d3ba10/69869f4acd6848f3bf096075/ap845446357576.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Altman","jobTitle":"Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/alex-altman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe6e1c3249d3ba10/69869f4acd6848f3bf096075/ap845446357576.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rail Delays","caption":"Rail Delays","creditText":"Mike Cronin—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/energy/","name":"energy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3104110/amid-federal-safety-push-north-dakota-considers-new-energy-regulations/","name":"Amid Federal Safety Push, North Dakota Considers New Energy Regulations"}}]}] ```