North Dakota Faces Boom-Town Dilemma as Oil Tumbles: Muni Credit
A derrick hand is lowered down in the Bakken shale formation on July 23, 2013 outside Watford City, North Dakota.
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The city at the heart of North Dakota’s energy boom is asking for $80 million of state money to upgrade streets, improve a landfill and expand city hall to serve a population that’s grown by two-thirds since 2010.
Now, lawmakers in Bismarck may find themselves putting their faith and their funds in Williston’s unbridled growth even as crashing crude prices have chopped $4 billion off the state’s forecast for oil and natural-gas tax collections in the next two years.