Most government agencies, both national and local, understand the importance of all oil hauling in North Dakota for developing a sound energy plan. This plan will depend on the total cost of finished product development, including costs for mining, transportation, and processing. Each of these components requires an understanding of the associated impact on the environment. As the government and the oil industry attempt to loosen our dependency on foreign oil, they reach a barrier if their processes interfere with the environmental factors of the communities involved. Designating areas for mining and processing can be difficult. Control and safety measures must pass strict regulations. Studies into the existing wildlife and other environmental factors can take years before property is opened. However, the greatest risk of environmental problems does not come from the standing facilities, but from the transportation between the facilities.
Oil hauling in North Dakota has always been a challenge to mitigate the risk of environmental problems. Many factors affect the ability the haul oil in a cost-effective manner. Some have to do with the transport containers themselves, and their integrity with the vibrations of traveling over expansive roads. Others have to do with the fact that the risk is not localized to a particular area, as the mining and processing facilities are. Essentially every community that lies on the transportation route is at risk. A huge spill could devastate a community. Those communities are blissfully unaware of the potential problems that could occur if they live near an interstate or another part of the transportation route. However, the governments are very aware and require strict handling of the product during oil hauling.
One such route travels from the oil fields in Alberta Canada to the processing facilities in Texas. All of the state and provincial governments are aware the potential problems with hauling oil. This route not only uses standard trucking but also transport by train and by oil pipe. The number of incidents has been impressively contained. The governments of found out through the few isolated incidents that occurred the high costs of an oil spill.
This situation illustrates the importance of truck oil hauling in North Dakota. It is the most flexible and easy to set up method. A trucking infrastructure can be put in place much more quickly than a pipeline. However, the trucking companies that run these operations must meet exacting standards.
