Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1924. / Vita. Published also as Studies in history, economics and public law, ed. by the Faculty of Political Science of Columbia University, vol. 114, no. 1; whole no. 254.

Water demand has increased exponentially since 2007 in western North Dakota. This increase can largely be traced to the advancement of technology in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) which has led to one of the largest oil booms in the country. Along with the recent oil boom, water depots have expanded and played a significant role in providing water for fracking. Using decentralized agent-based modeling (ABM) to model water allocation among water depots, a scenario analysis obtains results for four scenarios. Policy suggestions, based on the scenario analysis, include allowing greater access to LSMR water sources and restricting SW and GW use for the oil industry to reduce water scarcity in the Bakken. These results support allowing greater access to LSMR water sources for the oil industry as desired by the North Dakota State Water Commission (SWC), and other elected officials in the past decade.

This study used county-level yields and panel data (1950-2006) to explain the Impact of climate change and weather variability on North Dakota agriculture by estimating the effect of variation in temperature and precipitation on the yields of four major crops: com, durum, soybeans and wheat. In addition to yields, the study examined Impacts of climate change on crop gross revenues per acre for all 53 counties in North Dakota. An econometric model was developed to infer statistical relationships between weather variability and crop yields. Fixed and random effects models were employed to estimate the impacts of climate variables (temperature and precipitation) on crop yields. The Hausman test statistics was applied to test the preferred panel estimation approach: fixed versus random effects. Using mean values of precipitation and degree days for all counties, we calculated percentage changes in estimated crop yields for six climate change scenarios. The historical price data for the four crops (com, soybeans, spring wheat and durum) were used to generate per acre gross returns under the six weather-change scenarios in order to provide preliminary evidence about the effects of precipitation and temperature changes on farmer returns for the four crops.

The transportation of anhydrous ammonia, which is classified as a hazardous material, poses risk to the transporter, surrounding communities, and the environment. The commercial transportation of anhydrous ammonia is highly regulated, while the private transport is not subject to the same degree of mandates. Given the regulatory policies, the current locations of licensed dealers of anhydrous ammonia within North Dakota may be leading to a scenario where a private transporter has an incentive to disobey these policies and thereby expose him/herself, the surrounding communities, and the environment to unnecessary risk. Three stylized counties were constructed to represent the attributes of the eastern, central, and western counties of North Dakota. Attributes included transportation infrastructure, population distribution, and crop composition. Mathematical programming techniques were then utilized to determine the number and optimal location of licensed dealers of anhydrous ammonia within these counties. The results were then compared and contrasted with the current locations of licensed dealers throughout North Dakota to determine if the regulatory policies are sufficient in that they are not encouraging unsafe actions of the transporters and thereby endangering the transporters, surrounding communities, and the environment. The results indicated that the current regulatory structure associated with the transportation of anhydrous ammonia is sufficient to limit incidents.

There is a pattern of growth throughout agribusiness in North Dakota in which agricultural products ranging from commodities to machinery have all seen growth since 2000. Exports have contributed to most of this production increase. Agribusinesses across North Dakota are exporting to many areas of the world. With the help of the North Dakota Trade Organization (NDTO) many companies have developed trading relationships with clients in other nations. The purpose of this research is to measure the value of NDTO export promotion on North Dakota agribusiness [through the use of marketing, export programs, and counseling]. If the data supports the use of the NDTO, firms may be encouraged to use the services provided by the NDTO when export issues arise. This thesis uses a Tobit left censored model to bring the data together to produce empirical results which can be associated with the NDTO and its impact on a firm's total exports. Firm-level export promotion was found to be insignificant. However, small and medium firms were shown to benefit from the use of the NDTO through an average increase in 2008 export revenue of about $16,095 and $269,317, respectively. Furthermore, this is a $6.44 and a $107.73 return on dollar investment for small and medium firms investing in the services of the NDTO, respectively.

Western North Dakota law enforcement agencies have experienced dramatic changes in the policing landscape as a result of an oil boom. These agencies were forced to deal with a rapidly growing population that brought different cultural expectations and a substantial rise in crime. Using Klinger’s (1997) framework of formal and informal policing behaviors, the current study explores how policing styles have changed in these agencies. Researchers interviewed 101 officers from eight agencies to determine how the oil boom impacted the way they conduct their work, interact with citizens, and handle calls for service.

Education, employment, housing, and substance abuse pose significant problems to the successful reentry of individuals released from prison. The current research project utilized a natural experiment, an oil boom in a Midwestern state, to examine changes in offender reentry and recidivism outcomes overtime. The first part of the study compared a sample of offenders released from prison prior to the oil boom to a sample of offenders released from prison during the highest peak of the oil boom. Comparisons were made on variables known in the literature to be predictive of recidivism during the reentry process; these include risk, education, employment, housing, substance abuse, and treatment. Recidivism was measured as a new conviction, technical violation, and re-incarceration. The follow-up period for both samples was two years. The second part of the study incorporated the perspectives of probation and parole officers. All officers in the Midwestern state were surveyed on their perception of offender reentry and how it may have changed as a result of oil boom influences. Officer attitudes, philosophies, and supervision strategies were analyzed in relation to their perceptions on offender reentry and the oil boom.

Subsurface drainage (SSD) has been used to remove excess water from fields in the United States upper Midwest for more than a century, but only since the last decade in the Red River Basin of the North in North Dakota (ND). The water leaving from a SSD system can affect both the quality and quantity of water that flows to a surface water system. Therefore, determination of the water balance components is the first step to study the impact of SSD on water quantity, while evapotranspiration (ET), one of the most important components in the water balance, needs to be accurately measured for SSD field. A field experiment was conducted to study the water balance in SSD and undrained (having no artificial drainage system) fields in southeast ND. The field had three different water management systems: 22 ha undrained (UD), 11 ha subsurface drained, and the remaining 11 ha subsurface drained and subsurface irrigated. The ET rates were measured directly using an eddy covariance (EC) system for the SSD and UD fields. The changes in water table were monitored in 8 wells installed in both fields. Rainfall, SSD drainage volume, and soil moisture at six different depths at two locations were measured in both fields. The measurements were conducted in the growing seasons of 2009 and 2010. The ET rates were calculated for two different field crops: Com (Zea Mays) in 2009 and soybean (Glycine Max) in 2010. Crop coefficient (Kc) value was also developed using the ET measured by the EC system and the reference ET (ETref) estimated using the American Society of Civil Engineers Environmental and Water Resources Institute (ASCE-EWRI, alfalfa) method. The ETref was also estimated using the ASCE-EWRI grass and the Jensen Haise (JH) methods. The results indicated that the water table in the SSD field was lower during spring and fall than that in the UD field. The shallow water table and high soil moisture content in the spring and fall have resulted in higher ET rates in the UD field. In the summer, SSD field has favorable soil moisture at the root zone depth; the ET in the SSD field was 30% and 13% higher than that in UD field in summer 2009 and 2010, respectively. For the entire growing season, the ET in the SSD field was 15% higher compared to UD field and the difference was minimal in 2010. Though there were differences in the ET values, they were not statistically different. However, difference in magnitude of ET during summer 2009 yielded a statistical difference. During the peak growing season in July and August, the Kc values were greater in the SSD field due to healthy crops. / USDA (Grants CSREES NRI 2008-35102-19253) / USDA NRCS / North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station / North Dakota State Water Commission / North Dakota Water Resource Research Institute / North Dakota Department of Health

Herbaceous perennials represent a considerable portion of potential biomass feedstocks available for the growing bioenergy industry. Their chemical composition and biomass yields, which are important in determining ethanol potential on an area and mass basis, vary with plant variety and type, environment, and management practices. Therefore, a study was conducted to assess the variability of lignin and carbohydrate content, biomass yields, and theoretical ethanol yields on an area basis among different herbaceous perennial species combinations grown in Minot (2008) and Williston (2008, 2009, and 2010), North Dakota (ND). After wet chemistry compositional analysis was done, the carbohydrate contents were used to determine theoretical ethanol potential on a mass basis. Using the dry-matter yield, the theoretical ethanol yield on an area basis was also calculated for these biomass species. Total carbohydrate content for the biomass samples in Williston and Minot varied from 45 to 61% dry basis. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at a= 0.05 showed that carbohydrate content varied between years and environments. Also an interaction plot shows that no biomass species had consistently higher or lower carbohydrate content in the different environments. Switchgrass (Panicum vigatum L.) grown as single species or together with other perennial grasses had higher dry-matter yield and theoretical ethanol yield potential in Williston irrigated plots while mixtures containing intermediate or tall wheatgrass species (Thinopyrum spp.) produced better yields in Minot non-irrigated plots. Variability in theoretical ethanol yield on a mass basis (3.7% coefficient of variation (CV) in Williston and 9.7% CV in Minot) was much less than the variability in dry-matter yields (27.5% CV in Williston and 14.8% CV Minot). Therefore, biomass production is much more important than composition in choosing species to grow for ethanol production. Recently, many studies have focused on developing faster methods to determine biomass composition using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Other NIR models have been developed on single biomass feedstocks but a broad-based model for mixed herbaceous perennials is yet to be developed. Therefore, NIR calibration models for lignin, glucan, and xylan were developed with 65 mixed herbaceous perennial species using a DA 7200 NIR spectrometer (950 - 1,650 nm) and GRAMS statistical software. The models for lignin and xylan had R(2) values of 0.844 and 0.872, respectively, upon validation and are classified as good for quality assurance purposes while glucan model had an R(2) of 0.81 which is considered sufficient for screening. The R(2) and the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) results showed that it is possible to develop calibration models to predict chemical composition for mixed perennial biomass when compared with results for models developed for single feedstock by Wolfrum and Sluiter (2009) and Liu et al. (2010). Studying the variability in predicting constituents using NIR spectroscopy over time (hours and days), it was observed that the average CV was between 1.4 to 1.6%. The average CV due to repacking (presentation) alone was 1.3%. The CVs for NIR predictions ranged between 1.4 to 5.7% while for wet chemistry ranged between 3.8 to 13.5%; hence, NIR predictions were more precise than wet chemistry analysis.

Presently the state of North Dakota is enjoying tremendous economic expansion as well as an increase in population. The development of the Bakken Oil formation has introduced a new set of opportunities and presented a new set of challenges. By studying past boomtowns, ecology, and design, a path for planning, recruitment and maintaining communities with a sustainable approach can be explored. The purpose of this research is to guide current and future stakeholders in the area of energy development communities and wise growth planning. The many articles and books that are devoted to social science, ecology, design and population recruitment will aid in presenting a case for realizing a sustainable future for the state of North Dakota and the use of its natural resources.