WASHINGTON (AP) - The owners of the Great Plains Synfuels plant presented the federal Energy Department with a symbolic check Monday for $39.2 million.

Dakota Gasification Co., a subsidiary of Bismarck-based Basin Electric Power Cooperative, owns the Beulah-based plant that makes natural gas from lignite. It bought the plant from the federal government in 1988, agreeing to pass on tax breaks and share revenue with the federal agency through 2009.

The amount of revenue shared with the government is based on a formula that takes into account natural gas prices and other economic indicators, company officials said in a statement.

The state's congressional delegation met with company officials and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman for Monday's Capitol Hill ceremony. Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan and Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., praised the plant.

"We need to work to develop those resources in a sustainable way to help move our country toward energy security," Dorgan said. "The Dakota Gasification Co. should be a model in those efforts."