An oil flare in Mandaree, on the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota. Photo by Talli Nauman / Native Sun News
Leaders from the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation have scaled back plans to regulate the energy industry on their portion of the North Dakota reservation. The West Segment Regulatory Commission planned to conduct background checks, require drug tests, monitor chemicals used by developers and improve oversight of oil drilling. But the regulatory body will now only ask companies to register and pay a fee to support existing laws on the reservation. "We're being very cautious and easing into this," John Mahoney, an attorney for the commission, told the Associated Press. The West Segment of the reservation has seen a huge increase in energy development. It accounts for about 12 percent of the more than 1.1 million barrels of oil produced daily in North Dakota, a state official told the AP. Get the Story:
Tribal panel eases additional oil drilling regulations on part of North Dakota reservation (AP 7/28)
Tribal Officials Reject Oil Changes (KX News 7/28)
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