Context:
"Proposed South Dakota facilities would draw from the Missouri River system
The same waters our relatives have depended on for twelve thousand years
Watershed already strained by Pick-Sloan dams and competing industrial demands
Semi-arid region serving agriculture, municipal supplies, and ecosystems under climate stress
Thermal Pollution and the Walleye We Depend On
Discharge Temperatures:
Data center cooling systems discharge water 10°C (18°F) or more above ambient river temperatures
Temperature increases of just 1-2°C can alter fish communities, disrupting growth, reproduction, and migration timing
Walleye Requirements:
Need water temperatures between 55-70°F for feeding and survival
Lake Oahe and the Missouri River mainstem are cold-water fisheries with naturally reproducing walleye populations (no stocking needed)
Lake Oahe walleye fishery draws more than 50,000 anglers annually
Produces trophy fish in the 10-14 pound class
Thermal Pollution Impacts:
Warmer discharge water holds less dissolved oxygen while increasing fish metabolic demand
Warm-water fish like smallmouth bass expand into walleye habitat as temperatures rise, creating competition
Thermal pollution from industrial facilities has already produced impacts comparable to projected climate change effects
Energy: Fossil Fuel Expansion Behind the "Clean Energy" Claims
Current South Dakota Energy:
81 percent from renewable sources (wind and hydropower from Pick-Sloan dams built on flooded tribal land)
Developers cite this as justification for siting data centers here
Reality of Data Center Energy Demand:
Single hyperscale data center: 100-500 megawatts (equivalent to powering 80,000 to 400,000 households)
Bob Sahr, East River Electric Cooperative: these loads "eclipse some of the largest cities in South Dakota."
Xcel Energy: more than 7 gigawatts of data center requests across the service area, with no way to serve all in a reasonable timeframe
New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure:
Black Hills Energy is constructing Lange II: a 99-megawatt natural gas plant near Rapid City
August 2025 Black Hills/NorthWestern Energy merger explicitly prioritizes data center growth
When data center demand exceeds renewable capacity, utilities build fossil fuel generation to fill the gap
Ratepayers subsidize infrastructure that primarily benefits Wall Street owners
Tax Breaks, Regulatory Gaps, and Who Pays the Real Costs
State Revenue Losses to Data Center Subsidies:
Texas: $1 billion annually
Virginia: $732 million in fiscal year 2023 (enough to fund the entire state judicial system)
Illinois: $370 million yearly
Iowa: $151 million plus local property tax abatements
Subsidies flow to Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta (among the most profitable corporations in human history)
South Dakota Situation:
Senate Bill 177 (2025 session): sales tax exemptions for data center equipment, failed by a single vote (17-18)
Applied Digital stated explicitly: Without tax breaks, the Deuel County project isn't viable in South Dakota."
Deuel County has no zoning ordinances (giving developers leverage to proceed with minimal local oversight)
Federal Regulatory Dismantling:
Trump’s July 2025 executive order directs agencies to create categorical exclusions exempting data centers from environmental impact statements under the National Environmental Policy Act
Order instructs the Army Corps of Engineers to establish nationwide permits for wetland impacts
Directs EPA to "expedite permitting" under the Clean Air Act
South Dakota has no state-level environmental review law comparable to those of other states
Regulatory pathway for massive industrial facilities is being cleared, while communities receive no meaningful opportunity for input
Mni Sose, Tribal Sovereignty, and the Continuation of Extraction
Treaty Rights and Water Ownership:
The Missouri River watershed includes the homelands of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Yankton Sioux Tribe, and Rosebud Sioux Tribe
The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty set the Great Sioux Reservation’s eastern boundary at the low-water mark of the Missouri River's east bank (Oceti Sakowin owned the river itself within treaty boundaries)
Winters Doctrine (1908): tribes hold reserved water rights dating to the creation of reservations, senior to most other claims, cannot be lost through non-use, extend to future needs
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