PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Office of Emergency Management is collecting damage data from residents and businesses that have experienced flood related damage. The information provided will be used to seek a Presidential Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance and a Small Business Administration Rural Agency Disaster Declaration.

Residents and businesses that have experienced flood damage should report their damage using either their local county link or they can also visit the statewide OEM website and select their county.     https://crisistrack.juvare.com/selfreport/sdoem.jsp

Residents who experienced damage will select the residential damage form and businesses who experienced damage will select the commercial damage form. It is important to fill out the form completely and accurately.

Photographs showing the damage are crucial and should be included in the form submission. The deadline for submitting damage data is July 12, 2024. Completing the form does not guarantee that assistance will become available.

 

 McCOOK LAKE, S.D. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight – State and local authorities knew they were placing McCook Lake in the path of record high floodwaters but failed to adequately warn residents of the danger, according to some people who live in the flood-ravaged community.

Authorities rejected the criticism and said they executed a long-established flood mitigation plan that was simply overwhelmed by record amounts of water. They also defended their communications, saying they gave multiple warnings to residents before the floodwaters arrived.

Both sides now face a long cleanup and questions about the future. Dirk Lohry, president of the McCook Lake Association, said the area needs a new flood mitigation plan.

“McCook Lake was sacrificed for the benefit of North Sioux City and Dakota Dunes,” Lohry said. “We don’t really think that’s fair.”

The crisis began last week when three days of historically heavy rain fell on areas as far as 140 miles north of McCook Lake. A pulse of high water flowed south down the Big Sioux River toward its confluence with the Missouri River. Before the Big Sioux reaches that spot in western Sioux City, Iowa, it flows by McCook Lake, North Sioux City and Dakota Dunes in the southeastern corner of South Dakota.

North Sioux City has had a flood mitigation plan in place for decades, which includes building a temporary levee across Interstate 29 at Exit 4, less than 1,000 feet east of some of the 230 homes that line McCook Lake.

After North Sioux City officials activated the plan Saturday, state and local contractor crews helped build the levee. It ties in with permanent levees that protect North Sioux City and Dakota Dunes, which each have several thousand residents.

The levees are intended to divert floodwaters toward McCook Lake. Overflow from the lake goes south to the Missouri River, because the lake was formerly part of the river. It’s an oxbow — a horseshoe-shaped bend that was cut off long ago when the river changed course.

The plan has been implemented before, but never with so much water coming down the Big Sioux River. A gauge at Sioux City showed the river crested early Monday morning at about 45 feet, more than 7 feet higher than the previous record in 2014.

“The results of that are absolutely devastating,” Lohry said Monday.

Gov. Kristi Noem said during a Tuesday press conference in Yankton that at least “a couple dozen homes” were destroyed at McCook Lake.

“We have whole homes that have fallen into the lake,” Noem said. “We’ve got hundred-foot drop-offs from washouts, we’ve got live power lines laying across the roads, we’ve got boats stuck in trees, we’ve got trees that are half-falling over.”

Rescuers worked through Sunday night helping people escape. Authorities said Monday morning they had swept the community twice and found nobody trapped.

Before the flood arrived, Noem led a press conference Sunday afternoon in North Sioux City with federal, state and local officials to talk about their mitigation and response plans.

They said McCook Lake could be affected, but nobody at the press conference issued an urgent verbal warning about the safety of lake residents. Dakota Dunes issued a voluntary evacuation order, but no such order was issued at that time for McCook Lake.

Noem fielded a question Sunday afternoon about how McCook Lake residents should prepare.

“What I would say to them is that, yes, they should be protecting their personal property on McCook Lake,” she said at the time, “because we do anticipate that they will take in water. That’s what we’re preparing for. If we don’t, then that’s wonderful that they don’t have an impact, but they could see water flowing into McCook Lake.”

Noem was working with rapidly changing forecast data for the Big Sioux River that was outdated by the time she announced it. She said during the press conference that the Big Sioux at Sioux City was projected to crest by 1 p.m. Monday at 42.2 feet. The actual crest was earlier and higher, at 10:30 p.m. Sunday and again at 3:30 a.m. Monday when the river reached 44.98 feet.

Jason Westcott, Union County’s emergency management director, said Tuesday in an interview with South Dakota Searchlight that he issued warnings throughout the weekend about potential flooding, both to social media and local media outlets.

“The belief was that the mitigation was going to work effectively,” he said.

When the situation grew unexpectedly dire Sunday evening due to the river rising higher and faster than anticipated, Westcott said he sent warnings to cell phones at McCook Lake and dispatched emergency responders to go door-to-door.

His office also posted an all-caps, bolded message to Facebook at 8:35 Sunday night:

/

’ – !

Northshore Drive, which leads to the high school, was the area of McCook Lake most affected by flooding. By the time of the Facebook post, the Big Sioux was within inches of its crest.

Tyler Wood drove away from his McCook Lake home in “grille high” water with almost no time to spare.

“If it would have been two to three minutes later,” he said, “we wouldn’t have been able to get out of the street.”

Wood said he did not receive an alert on his phone. He said the closest thing he received to an urgent warning was a neighbor encouraging him to move belongings out of his basement about two hours before the deluge arrived.

“Any communication would have been beneficial instead of less than two hours prior to knowing that our house would maybe be a loss,” Wood said. “I know it’s hard to deliver on that, but finding out from neighbors in this situation just isn’t the best way to find out.”

Monday morning at another press conference in North Sioux City, Noem defended the use of the temporary levee.

“I know that because of the levee system that is the emergency plan that’s followed by North Sioux City — and it was planned and followed successfully — that the industrial park and all of North Sioux City was saved from traumatic damage,” Noem said. “But we did see some at McCook Lake, and we saw houses that were significantly impacted.”

Westcott made similar comments at the Monday press conference.

“What occurred yesterday was a result of a mitigation effort,” he said. “Mitigation is designed to lessen the effects of flooding in our area, and also lessen the effects on critical infrastructure. If we did not take the mitigation efforts that we took yesterday, much of North Sioux City would be under water.”

Some McCook Lake residents are now at odds with authorities about access to homes and belongings. Noem and Westcott said Tuesday that much of the McCook Lake area is not safe, and it currently lacks power, gas and sewer service. Extra police have been brought in to keep people out, and Westcott said local authorities will work individually with McCook Lake residents to view their destroyed home or access their partially destroyed home.

Lohry, the lake association president, gives authorities some grace for their handling of an unprecedented situation. He’s not sure anything could have lessened the destruction at McCook Lake, given the unique circumstances.

“There was so much water, it overwhelmed everything,” he said.

But not every future flood will be as severe as this one, and Lohry wants changes to the flood mitigation plan. He suggests a ditch or canal to divert floodwaters from the Big Sioux around McCook Lake to nearby Mud Lake, which is not lined by houses, so the water could overflow there and drain through the state’s Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve down to the Missouri River.

“It requires some thought, but considering the expense of what we’ve gone through right here, I think the plan needs to be revised,” Lohry said. “I think there’s a more economical and safer way to do it.”

 South Dakota Searchlight’s Makenzie Huber contributed to this report.

 

 PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Education has awarded 36 grants totaling $6.4 million to school districts to purchase innovative, industry-grade equipment for career and technical education (CTE) programs.

“We gave schools a definite challenge to carefully examine their needs and let us know how we could help truly set their CTE programs up for long-term success.  Our districts rose to that challenge.  I am excited by the opportunities this grant will afford our students, and in turn our communities and businesses throughout the state,” said Secretary of Education Joe Graves.

CTE programs integrate academic knowledge with technical skills, preparing students for careers through hands-on training and industry-aligned curriculum. By emphasizing real-world applications and essential employability skills, CTE equips students with the tools they need for success in both college and the workforce in fields such as agriculture, healthcare, hospitality, engineering, and more.

The scale of this unprecedented, one-time grant opportunity was made possible by funds available to the department through the American Rescue Plan and the federal Perkins grant.

The recipients of the grants are as follows:

Aberdeen Catholic Schools, $116,848.00;

Aberdeen School District, $240,085.48;

Baltic School District, $218,806.31;

Brandon Valley School District, $221,683.81;

Bridgewater-Emery, $122,011.14;

Custer School District, $226,875.35;

Deuel School District, $50,773.00;

Douglas School District, $243,744.00;

Eagle Butte School District, $222,924.72;

Elk Point – Jefferson School District, $214,151.20;

Faith School District, $228,987.96;

Faulkton School District, $218,575.33;

Freeman School District, $240,194.35;

Groton School District, $244,871.00;

Hanson School District, $141,000.00;

Harrisburg School District, $199,678.72;

Irene-Wakonda School District, $67,649.73;

Kadoka School District, $123,347.56;

Lake Preston School District, $54,220.36;

Madison School District, $179,829.10;

McIntosh School District, $106,384.33;

Menno School District, $208,736.00;

Mobridge-Pollock School District, $105,624.00;

Oglala Lakota School District, $206,150.00;

Parkston School District, $174,075.10;

Rapid City Area Schools, $248,046.18;

Rosholt School District, $86,738.36;

Spearfish School District, $243,080.32;

Stanley County School District, $245,827.26;

Vermillion School District, $219,618.01;

Wall School District, $250,000.00;

Warner School District, $159,200.00;

Webster Area School District, $217,695.00;

West Central School District, $108,615.82;

Wilmot School District, $136,918.52; and

Wolsey-Wessington School District, $117,700.81.

 

PIERRE, S.D. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) – South Dakota voters might decide on Nov. 5 whether to reject a new state law regulating carbon dioxide pipelines.

The ballot measure committee known as the South Dakota Property Rights and Local Control Alliance submitted an estimated 28,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office on Monday, said Jim Eschenbaum, chairman of the organization. The group needed signatures from 17,508 registered South Dakota voters by today’s deadline. The Secretary of State’s Office will now sample the signatures to determine if enough of them are valid.

The group aims to refer Senate Bill 201, which the Legislature and Gov. Kristi Noem approved last winter. Supporters said the legislation will implement new protections for local governments and landowners while providing a path forward for pipeline projects. Opponents view it as a capitulation to pipeline companies.

The bill came in response to an $8.5 billion pipeline proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions, which is headquartered in Iowa. The pipeline would collect carbon dioxide from 57 ethanol plants in South Dakota and neighboring states and pipe it to North Dakota for underground storage. The project could benefit from federal tax credits that incentivize carbon sequestration to fight climate change.

The Iowa Utilities Board approved Summit’s project Tuesday. The company announced shortly afterward that it plans to apply again for a permit in South Dakota next month, after its initial application was denied last year by the Public Utilities Commission. The company’s pipeline application in North Dakota is under consideration, and it still needs an underground storage permit in North Dakota.

The South Dakota denial was partly due to conflicts with county ordinances that require minimum distances known as “setbacks” between pipelines and other features. The project has also faced opposition from some landowners concerned about property rights and safety, including health risks associated with potential leaks.

Property rights were a factor in several Republican primary races in eastern South Dakota earlier this summer. Out of 14 incumbents who lost their seat, 11 of them voted for SB 201.

“I think people realize now that people are paying attention and maybe want representation in Pierre that won’t be sellouts to corporate America,” Eschenbaum said.

What the law says

Among the protections in the new bill is authority for counties to collect a pipeline surcharge of up to $1 per linear foot, with at least half of the surcharge allocated for property tax relief for affected landowners. The remaining funds could be used at the county’s discretion. Companies also must submit an agricultural impact mitigation plan and bury pipelines at least 4 feet deep.

The bill mandates public disclosure of modeling to gauge the impact of a pipeline rupture and ensures that pipeline companies, rather than landowners, are liable for damages caused by the projects.

In response to controversy about out-of-state contractors working for pipeline companies, the law says a land agent must be a pipeline facility employee, a resident of the state, or a real estate agent licensed in the state.

House Majority Leader Will Mortenson, R-Fort Pierre, was the prime sponsor of the bill in the House. The legislation provides additional property rights and money for farmers and counties, Mortenson said. He encouraged voters to support the law if it’s certified for the ballot.

“If you don’t think the pipeline should be held accountable, you should vote no. If you don’t think farmers deserve additional compensation, you should vote no. If you don’t think counties deserve additional compensation from these pipelines, you should vote no,” Mortenson said. “But if you want farmers protected and counties benefited if these pipelines are built, you should vote yes like the Legislature did and the governor approved.”

Setback language

The most controversial part of the new law is its language about the Public Utilities Commission and local setback laws. Prior state law allowed the commission to overrule counties’ pipeline setbacks, although the commission has so far declined to do that.

The new law says a permit from the commission automatically overrules local setback laws, unless the commission specifically chooses to uphold them.

“It took the voice away from county commissioners and gave it to three people in Pierre,” said Eschenbaum, who is a Hand County commissioner. “They basically say we’re not smart enough, that we don’t understand. I think it’s an awful precedent to set.”

Finally, the legislation codifies a “Landowner Bill of Rights” that includes references to rights in other South Dakota laws, including two other pipeline-related bills passed during the most recent legislative session.

If the law is referred to voters, it would join six other measures already approved to be on the ballot.

 

VERMILLION, S.D. – The US Department of Commerce, through the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $5 million grant to the city of Vermillion, South Dakota, to support wastewater treatment facility improvements.

The award was announced earlier this week and it is expected that the grant will invest in resilience to natural disasters and provide additional capacity for future industrial growth. This EDA investment will be matched with $14,996,000 in local funds.

“The Biden-Harris Administration knows that infrastructure is key to building an economy that works for all Americans and helps every community grow,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This EDA investment will ensure Vermillion has the resources needed to create modern and sustainable infrastructure that powers local businesses and creates good-paying jobs in the region.”

The Economic Development Administration works with local communities to support place-based economic development and it is expected that this project in Vermillion will provide critical wastewater infrastructure to help diversify the regional economy, ensure its resiliency, and create jobs.

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the South Eastern Council of Governments (SECOG). EDA funds SECOG to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs.

This project is funded under the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023, which provided EDA with $483 million in additional Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) Program funds for disaster relief and recovery for areas that received a major disaster declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Act as a result of Hurricanes Ian and Fiona, wildfires, flooding, and other natural disasters occurring in calendar years 2021 and 2022. Please visit EDA’s Disaster Supplemental webpage for more information.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)

The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation’s regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA invests in communities and supports regional collaboration in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.

 

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley warns residents impacted by the flooding in southeast South Dakota to be careful about flood-related scams involving fraudulent home repairs and charity appeals.

“These are the times when scam artists prey on those dealing with natural disasters,” said Attorney General Jackley. “They will try and take advantage of South Dakotans’ generosity and say anything to convince you to give them money.”

Attorney General Jackley encourages the public to work with contractors and charities that they know. The Attorney General Office’s Consumer Protection Division also recommends these steps:

*** Do not give into high pressured sales tactics.

*** Be cautious with contractors who solicit business door-to-door.

*** Always get any repair work, construction orders and other types of contracts in writing with expected cost estimates.

*** Compare written bids from several contractors prior to signing a contract.

*** Never pay for the entire job upfront and withhold the final payment until the work is done to your satisfaction.

*** Don’t take a contractor’s word that your insurance company will cover the damage. Check directly with your insurance company.

*** When it comes to charities, give a donation to a local organization that you know.

*** If you have questions about a business or charitable organization, telephone them first to make sure they are legitimate.

*** Talk to someone you can trust before you provide money or personal information to someone who contacts you.

Consumers who believe they may have been a victim of any type of scam should contact the Attorney General’s Office’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-300-1986 or at https://consumer.sd.gov/.

 

SOUTH DAKOTA Undated – The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Wednesday announced the reopening of three waterbodies in southeast South Dakota that had been included on Governor Noem’s previous “no boating declaration.”

 

Lake Henry in Bon Homme County, Menno Lake in Hutchinson County, and Marindahl Lake in Yankton County have all been removed from the declaration.

These waterbodies are all existing no-wake zones, and boaters utilizing these waterbodies should use caution as there is debris still below the surface.

“These three waterbodies are impoundments, which means they are generally going to drain quicker than a natural lake,” said Sam Schelhaas, Law Enforcement Chief. “We want to stress to boaters just because these waterbodies are open they need to still be very careful.”

No boating remains in effect on the waters of:

Lake Alvin in Lincoln County,

Swan Lake in Turner County,

Wall Lake in Minnehaha County,

Lake Vermillion in McCook County, and

McCook Lake in Union County, South Dakota.

Per the declaration, GFP Secretary Kevin Robling has been appointed as the Governor’s designee in order for him to add to, delete, or modify boating restrictions for any bodies of water similarly affected in South Dakota.

 

DES MOIINES, IA – Gov. Kim Reynolds has issued a proclamation for Buena Vista, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Floyd, Fremont, Harrison, Hancock, Humboldt, Kossuth, Lyon, Mills, Monona, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Pottawattamie, Sioux, Webster, Winnebago, Woodbury, Worth and Wright Counties in response to the widespread flooding in Iowa.

The governor’s proclamation allows for the additional targeted suspension of specific regulatory requirements in affected counties to effectively respond to and recover from the effects of this event:

Temporarily suspends regulatory provisions of the Iowa Code prescribing a five-day waiting period for issuance of a replacement copy of an original certificate of title to the owner of a vehicle. Allows a written statement by the owner, in or appended to the owner’s application for replacement copy of original certificate of title, confirming that the original certificate of title was lost or destroyed.

Waives fees for issuance of a replacement copy of an original certificate of title, as applied to an owner or lienholder whose original certificate of title was lost or destroyed.

Waives fees for issuance of a replacement registration card, plate or pair of plates, as applied to any registration card, plate or pair of plates lost or made illegible.

Waives fees for issuance of a duplicate or substitute driver’s license or non-operator’s identification card.

Waives fees for any additional car lot established by an affected new or used motor vehicle dealer and waives the requirement that the car lot be in the city or township in which the principal place of business is located.

Waives fees for any additional travel trailer lot established in addition to the principal place of business by an affected travel trailer dealer and waives the requirement that the travel trailer lot be in the city or township in which the principal place of business is located.

Temporarily suspends regulatory provisions of the Iowa Code prescribing a separate license be obtained by an affected recycler for each county in which an affected recycler conducts business and waive the requirement for a separate license to be obtained by an affected recycler who has established an extension lot to cope with said emergency and waive the requirement that such extension be in the same county as the principal place of business or an Iowa county adjacent thereto.

Waives fees collected by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics or a county recorder’s office for a certified copy or short form certification of a certificate or record, a search of the files or records when no copy is made, or when no record is found on file.

Temporarily suspends regulatory provisions of the Iowa Code that pertain to procurement of goods and services, hours of service for disaster repair crews, and various requirements for the transportation of loads related to disaster repairs.

Temporarily suspends regulatory provisions of the Iowa Code related to the six-month review requirement for family investment program applicants.

Temporarily suspends regulatory provisions of the Iowa Code which requires counties to submit applications for appropriated grants to counties funding.

Temporarily suspends regulatory provisions of the Iowa Code requiring child development homes be located in a single-family residence.