By Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight
January 24, 2025
PIERRE — Work to respond and recover from the June 2024 flooding that ravaged the southeastern corner of South Dakota, including McCook Lake, will cost the state government nearly $3.5 million, according to state officials.
The costs associated with the flood make up the majority of Emergency and Disaster Fund costs impacting the state in the fiscal year 2024, which ran from July 2023 through June 2024. The South Dakota Department of Public Safety is requesting nearly $5 million in general funds from the state Legislature to cover anticipated expenses from the flood and other state emergencies this year.
The bill is a regular occurrence in the Legislature to adequately fund disaster response in the state. Last year, the Legislature appropriated $4.28 million.
Kristi Turman, deputy secretary with the state Department of Public Safety, told the Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee on Friday at the Capitol that the expenses are for state agencies that respond to disasters, and for covering the state’s share of public assistance funds for local governments and utilities to fix infrastructure damage. The Federal Emergency Management Agency pays for 75% of eligible recovery work, while the state pays for 25%.
FEMA approved $2.9 million in community recovery funds for South Dakota’s June 2024 flooding. As of November 2024, 84 projects were approved. The infrastructure-focused program is separate from the $14.7 million in FEMA grants and loans to assist South Dakota individuals and businesses in recovery.
The June 2024 flooding followed several days of record rainfall, with some of the worst damage happening in the community of McCook Lake, where dozens of homes were destroyed or damaged. The state recently received notice of a potential lawsuit over its allegedly deficient response to the McCook Lake disaster.
Other anticipated bills to be paid from the fund in the coming year include $350,000 related to sending the South Dakota National Guard to the Texas border between April and June 2024 (which was the latest of multiple border deployments ordered by Gov. Kristi Noem during the past several years) and older disasters that are still open cases, such as $1.1 million associated with a 2019 blizzard and flooding.
Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has ordered the state National Guard to the Texas-Mexico border three times since 2021. Noem had spent a total of $2.7 million from the state’s Emergency and Disaster Fund on those deployments through last spring. Additional border deployments were federally ordered and funded. The cost of one of Noem’s deployments was partially offset by a $1 million donation from Tennessee billionaire Willis Johnson.
Makenzie Huber is a lifelong South Dakotan who regularly reports on the intersection of politics and policy with health, education, social services and Indigenous affairs. Her work with South Dakota Searchlight earned her the title of South Dakota’s Outstanding Young Journalist in 2024, and she was a 2024 finalist for the national Livingston Awards.
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: info@southdakotasearchlight.com.
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