Sidney Herald - Daines Tours Oil- Related Businesses

By Sarah Bloom

Many eastern Montana residents remain frustrated with the talking heads in Washington, D.C., but U.S. Rep. Steve Daines, R-Mont., is determined to open the government's eyes to what is really going on across the country.

"There's a lot of talk back (in Washington) about what's going on here," Daines said. And visiting the area secured what he had already thought. "It seems like there's a longterm potential out here as far as we can see."

Most people would agree that unless one is witness to the Bakken and all that surrounds the oil fields, that they couldn't fathom the issues surrounding it. With Congress nearly 2,000 miles away from Sidney, Daines deemed it necessary to take the long haul back to his home state during the freshman congressman's two-week recess.

A fifth-generation Montanan, Daines was present in the private sector as a businessman before stepping foot into D.C. With deeply-rooted familial lines all over Montana, Daines believes the problems this country faces, including oil dependence across the seas, can and should be solved by utilizing the country's own natural resources. "We need the government to get out of the way, and the private sector will reboot this economy again," Daines said. "The greatest barrier we have in this country is the people in Washington, D.C."

Kick-starting the country's independence starts in Montana, and it's a message that the congressman says he continues to stress to D.C. Daines said utilizing the state's resources, including hydropower, wind (which holds the highest wind potential in the country), oil, coal, and natural gas and combining them with one of the best work forces in the nation, is "a recipe for success."

Spending one week in western Montana, Daines traveled to different locations along the eastern part of the state in his second week. On Tuesday, he spent one-on-one time with Sidney business owners to get a better feel for what is actually going on.

Daines' first stop was S/L Services, a company that provides the oil field with a wide range of services. The congressman wanted to get a feel for the longevity of the oil play and what's taking place in the MonDak region.

"It has been interesting," Les Shandy, president of S/L Services, Inc. said. "I don't think anything is slowing down anytime soon." Shandy estimates it could be up to 10 years before everything is put in place in the Bakken. That means 10 years of solid working opportunities.

The company's backbone of work is specializing in building gas plants, but it has had high volume of construction and general pipelining.

Daines not only believes creating awareness about the Bakken would eventually free the country of dependence on foreign oil and increase national security. And it all springs from right here. "We're sitting right in the middle of it, right here in Montana and North Dakota," he said.

A huge barrier in getting the rest of the country's approval for not only furthering work in the Bakken, but plans to develop and build the Keystone pipeline, are environmentalists who say this kind of work destroys the surrounding environment and natural settings. But some beg to differ.

"We're Montanans, we're not going to rip up our own state," Shandy said. "When I hear about it on the news, it's just not right."

Daines agreed. "Most Montanans are true environmentalists," the congressman said. "Nobody here wants to compromise the environment we live in." A majority of oil field workers enjoy hunting, fishing or hiking. Daines said that if what the opposing environmentalists were saying was in fact true, none of those activities would be so available.

"We are 10 years away from being energy self-efficient," Daines believes. "That's a pretty exciting vision."

After Daines visited S/L Services, he traveled to KC Sand & Transport and discussed the company's role in storing and transporting sand designed for frack operations.

"If I have a good idea and surround myself with the right people, chances are it's going to work," Keltz Hall, co-owner of KC Sand & Transport, said. Hall started the business, alongside Cole Wirth, from the ground up.

One of the frustrations that Hall expressed to Daines was his disbelief in Congress. "How can a group of people have so much power in an elected position?"

Daines said he couldn't sympathize more with the comment. "(President) Obama does not believe in state rights," Daines said. "Most of us that live in this part of the country believe in state rights." Both agreed that people so far have no idea of what actually goes on here. "I don't understand New York issues, so let New York take care of its own issues," Daines said simply, insinuating that Montana's issues differ greatly from every other state.

"It's nice to see someone come out here and not listen to what someone else says," Hall said.

The trip ended with an intimate sit down chat between Daines, Hall and Tom Pavek, who is in charge of human resources and services for KC Sand & Transport, where they bounced ideas off each other in hopes of finding a better way to open communication lines between Montana residents and Washington, D.C.

In his freshman year, Daines is trying to better understand his state's issues so he can translate it easier to those back east. Visiting with individuals across the state have opened opportunities for direct connections.

"Stay engaged," Daines expressed. "If you don't, someone else will. Keep your voice heard."

Source