South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Gov. Dennis Daugaard opposed in letters to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers all of the Corps’ activities related to reallocation of and charging for surplus water taken from the Missouri River reservoirs.

The Governor’s opposition includes the following reasons:

under this proposal, the Corps would control management of the water used for current and future municipal and industrial use. The ability for states to manage their own water supplies for the benefit of their citizens is a state’s right that has long been recognized by the federal government;
it is a state's right to have jurisdiction and access to natural flows through their state water right programs;

existing uses in South Dakota are less than the natural flows so the Corps has no jurisdiction or authority to charge for water used in South Dakota.

Upstream states have already paid a heavy price for the Missouri River reservoirs when more than 500,000 acres of our most fertile river bottom lands were permanently flooded. To impose all reservoir operation and maintenance costs on upstream states alone adds insult to that injury. Read the Governor’s entire letters:

August 27 letter for the Corps at their public meeting in Pierre

October 4 letter about Corps proposed reallocation studies

October 9 letter about Corps draft surplus water reports

DENR's Oil and Gas Initiative

The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is promoting exploration and development of South Dakota’s oil and gas resources through its oil and gas initiative. A major component of the initiative is to make state-held information pertinent to the exploration and development of oil and gas resources searchable and readily available online. Click here or on the map to get started. For help using the interactive map, a slide show tutorial is available.

Therefore, DENR has developed an online, “one-stop shop” for oil and gas information which includes a searchable and interactive map. The map puts geologic information from 1,900 oil and gas holes, 62,245 water well completion logs, 34,350 drill holes, and 1,555 observation wells simply a click away. Online, searchable databases are available at the addresses listed on the fact sheet below.

Oil and Gas Initiative Fact Sheet

Gov. Daugaard Announces Nearly $21 Million for Environmental Projects

PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Dennis Daugaard announced today that the state Board of Water and Natural Resources has approved nearly $21 million in grants and loans for drinking water, wastewater, storm water, drainage, landfill, and recycling projects. The board met Thursday in Pierre.

The $20,668,880 total includes $1.3 million in grants and $19.3 million in loans, with nearly $1.6 million of the loan total in principal forgiveness. For more...