Independent news from the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance
November 21, 2024
News Media Collaborative

Energy company, tribal task force partner on dust control on Fort Berthold Reservation

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear
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jodi@imfreedomalliance.org https://twitter.com/JodiRave
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Brianna Bragg, left, and Shilo George explore themes such as Indigequeer identity, Two-Spiritness, disability, boundaries, survivance. Photo illustration by Jarrette Werk and Shilo George

MANDAREE, N.D. — An energy company and a tribal task force have partnered to take on dust control on roads in the Mandaree area. With the increased truck traffic on the roads in this area, dust is a major issue. Mandaree is a hotspot for oil development on the Fort Berthold Reservation.

According to a news release from the Three Affiliated Tribes:

Enerplus, a company with an office in the Mandaree area, and the Three Affiliated Tribes’ Road Task Force are coming up with solutions to control the dust and looking at the cost of it.

Shane Henry, government and regulatory affairs for Enerplus, said dust treatment was applied to Bureau of Indian Affairs Route 30. That road is southwest of Mandaree.

Josh Ruffo, environmental coordinator for Enerplus, said calcium chloride, an approved dust control directed to them by the BIA Regional Office, was put on Route 30. Calcium chloride will last up to two or three months once it’s laid down on the road. It can be prolonged by occasionally putting water on it while weather permits. Once spring is here, Ruffo said they will revisit the road.

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Jodi Rave Spotted Bear
jodi@imfreedomalliance.org https://twitter.com/JodiRave

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear is the founder and director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization with offices in Bismarck, N.D. and the Fort Berthold Reservation. Jodi spent 15 years reporting for the mainstream press. She's been awarded prestigious Nieman and John S. Knight journalism fellowships at Harvard and Stanford, respectively. She also an MIT Knight Science Journalism Project fellow. Her writing is featured in "The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity," published by Columbia University Press. Jodi currently serves as a Society of Professional Journalists at-large board member, an SPJ Foundation board member, and she chairs the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee. Jodi has won top journalism awards from mainstream and Native press organizations. She earned her journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

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