January 24, 2020
Letters, South Dakota

Enforcing the laws?

Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan | www.yankton.net

I’ve heard the budget is tight in South Dakota – except for money for industrial wind farms. Recently, four of them received another $13 million in sales tax dollars they won’t have to pay, but the taxpayers of South Dakota will.

South Dakota state government has been rated among the most corrupt state governments in the nation by the NGO Coalition for Integrity (2018) and the State Integrity Study (2015). The main reason for their poor ranking is no oversight. In the last month, five wind projects received about $18 million in tax breaks from Gov. Noem and the Board of Economic Development. That’s $18 million for roughly 40 full -time jobs; that’s $450,000 per job created.

If you read Bob Mercer’s “SD Board OKs Millions In Refunds To Wind Farms” article January 15, it says: “A related law requires the board to consider whether the project would have happened in South Dakota without the incentive.” Then read on: “The board discussed the loans and reinvestment payments behind closed doors Wednesday, then moved in open session to approve them without discussion.”

These five projects already exist, are approved or under construction. Did the board follow the law?

Recently, the PUC didn’t even enforce their own conditions they placed on Crowned Ridge. There is no oversight.

The budget is tight in South Dakota unless you’re a wind developer or the governor’s daughter.

Gregg Hubner, Avon


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2020/01/24/enforcing-the-laws/