ND House votes down industrial water tax measure
ND House kills industrial water tax bill; measure would have raised about $10 million annually
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- North Dakota's House has defeated a measure that would have charged industrial water users an excise tax.
The House voted 57-36 Tuesday to kill the bill.
The measure was aimed at taxing oil and gas companies for water drawn from underground.
Fresh water is needed to support oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing, a process that uses pressurized fluid and sand to break open oil-bearing rock 2 miles underground.
Budget analysts say the tax would have raised nearly $20 million over the next two years.
