Mayor Smelser Urges Common Sense

Sidney Mayor Bret Smelser has sat on the Oil and Gas Commission for seven years. In those 7 years, he has done impact talks half a dozen times. As soon as there is word that there might be a new play, people assume it's going to be a major play and then you start to hear "not in my backyard".

Smelser would like some common sense put back into the process. At last week's Oil & Gas Commission meeting, he had the opportunity to try to put some common sense into a protest concerning an exploratory well near Belfry, Mont. He said:

If we drill in one area, we should be able to drill in another area. Common sense says we have the oil here in Richland County and we give the state over half the revenue.

Minerals are owned by someone who has the right to extract them. Common sense says, if other locations don't want oil production, those districts should be written out of receiving oil and gas funds from the state.

Common sense says the distribution should be fair, and it is currently not fair for cities and towns.

"Hydraulic fracturing wrecking the environment is an old argument," Smelser said. "Water and land are valuable to all parts of the state. I'm tired of hearing 'not in my backyard'. Take the oil revenue stream out then."

He continued, "The well near Belfry is an exploratory well. The protest was an overreaction. If it leads to a commercial well, the infrastructure is already in place in Billings. It is an insult and an injustice to those of us who are producing the oil and gas. There needs to be a fair playing field and a way to say that if you don't like oil and gas, don't take our money. At the end of the day, people need to think about the distribution of funds. Those oil and gas revenues have been propping up schools throughout the state of Montana. If a community doesn't want drilling, it is not fair for them to receive funds from those of us who are dealing with the impacts."

Smelser is confident that eventually, the legislature will provide relief for the cities and towns which are dealing with the oil impacts. "At some point, the governor needs to sign a bill. Whether we get federal mineral royalties or a portion of the tax revenue, the longer we wait, the further behind we get."

Although Smelser's term as Mayor of Sidney will end December 31, he will continue to serve on the Oil & Gas Commission for at least another year and will continue to try to bring some common sense into the discussion.