At a weekly legislative news conference Friday, Democratic Party leaders responded to questions about South Dakota’s ability to sustain resources in light of climate change.
Representative Bernie Hunhoff says large projects such as uranium mining in the southwestern part of the state and a proposed refinery in the southeast are not studied comprehensively.
Hunhoff says salespeople come in and pitch a project, and the state’s response to it is piecemeal.
“The counties look at how it affects their tax base, and the cities look at do they have the housing, and everybody looks at their own little piece, but nobody is gathering all the information to make a good decision. And water development is an excellent example of that, or the water capabilities. We need a scorecard that takes all those things into account: the revenues, effects on water, effects on the environment, effects on the workforce, housing.”
To address competing interests of agriculture and industry, especially where large amounts of water are used, Senator Jason Frerichs says water rights belong first to those who come first. And he says South Dakota State University is doing research at its agricultural research station that needs to be funded at a higher rate.