One of the proposals for the $1 billion in American Recovery Plan Act money is to use $100 million for a natural gas pipeline from the Bakken to eastern North Dakota.
There appears to be a lot of support among state lawmakers for it.
"There has always been a desire to connect natural gas supplies in western North Dakota to growing demand in the eastern part of the state," said North Dakota Pipeline Authority Executive Director Justin Kringstad. "The challenge has always been the distance."
Kringstad says there is bipartisan support for efforts by the Legislature to use some of the available federal funds to help bridge that gap. He said new businesses in the east are looking for natural gas. Kringstad said it will potentially reduce flaring, and could mean more oil production as well.
The proposal includes matching money from companies that want to provide the service.
"Typically, a pipeline of that size from western to eastern North Dakota, you'd be looking at a project somewhere in the $800 million to $1.2 billion type of investment," Kringstad said.
Gov. Burgum has shown his support for this kind of project. It is part of his "Accelerate ND" investment proposal.