Williams County commissioners voted to approve a declaration of official intent to consider tax‑exempt conduit bonds for Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s proposed Bison Generation Station, a natural‑gas combined‑cycle electric plant proposed near Epping. The declaration does not bind the county to issue bonds and Basin Electric would be the sole obligor on any conduit bonds.

The declaration was requested by Matthew Koehling of Basin Electric, who told the commission the project is planned as a roughly 1,400‑megawatt combined‑cycle natural‑gas plant with an estimated capital cost the company described as about $3.9 billion. Koehling said the facility is intended to serve local load growth and grid stability in northwest North Dakota and that construction contracts and many easements are in place.

"This is gonna be the future of our supply for us in Northwest North Dakota for the next 30 or 40 years," Koehling said. He added the company expects about 40–50 full‑time operations positions when the plant is operating and about 1,000 construction jobs during building.

Koehling described tax‑exempt conduit financing as one component of an "all‑of‑the‑above" financing strategy that also includes public bonds, private placements and member capital. He said typically about 10 percent of a project’s cost is eligible for conduit bond treatment and that Basin Electric was exploring roughly $400 million in potential conduit‑eligible expenses. He emphasized that "Basin Electric would be the obligor on the bonds. We would be the only party that is responsible for repayment of those bonds." He also said Basin Electric would pay the county’s issuance costs and legal fees related to any bond issuance.

Commissioners asked several technical questions, including about expected gas use; a commissioner noted an AI estimate of about 240 million cubic feet per day for a plant of that size, which Koehling did not confirm. Koehling said Basin Electric is working on long‑term natural gas contracts to supply the plant.

Before the vote, county staff told commissioners they are preparing a program and policy document to govern any future conduit financing requests and that staff would return with recommendations, a fee schedule and proposed agreements if and when Basin Electric proceeds. County staff also clarified that the declaration of official intent establishes IRS compliance for later reimbursement but does not obligate the county to issue bonds.

A motion to approve the declaration of official intent was moved and seconded and passed on a roll call vote (Yes: Steve; Yes: Corey; Yes: Poe; Yes: Chris; Yes: Mary). The motion authorizes the county chairman to sign the declaration; county staff indicated further legal documents and approvals would be required before any bond issuance.

Background and permits: Koehling said the project has site approval from the North Dakota Public Service Commission and that rezoning, site grading and major equipment contracts are in place. He said an air permit application remains under review by the state Department of Environmental Quality and that construction activity that would allow vertical building will wait until that permit is issued. Koehling also described completed stormwater permitting and a conditional stormwater management plan from Williams County.

Commissioners and staff framed the county’s role narrowly: issuing conduit bonds, if later approved, would be an issuer‑of‑record role only, not a guarantor of repayment.

Next steps: county staff will continue work on a program/policy document for conduit financing, circulate a proposed fee schedule and bring required agreements and any proposed bond documents back to the commission for formal approval before any bonds are issued.