Why does it need to be stopped?

MidAmerican Energy is a private company seeking to forcibly take land for their profit. They are currently pursuing approval of the Federal Government for this.

Most of our state and federal elected officials remain silent and avoid our calls. We need you to add your voices to ours so they pay attention to their constituents and not just the well-funded lobbyists.

Huge pumps will suck up and kill game fish and their food. Warmer water will be discharged into the lake from the upper reservoir, and this will change the river’s environment. The fishery will die.

School tax promises are a hoax. The spending and tax revenue estimates for the affected school districts were based on inaccurate and unrealistic assumptions. The White Lake school district was promised large amounts of money from wind farm projects in that county. Little of the money from that project currently stays in that school district.

The proposed substation and transmission lines will open new opportunities for other companies to build and expand wind and solar projects across South Dakota. This will endanger other landowner’s rights, result in more legal battles and change our beloved farm and prairie landscape forever for the benefit of energy companies and consumers in other states. This could directly impact any one of you!

Our drinking water will be decimated by turbidity. Nobody likes cloudy water so purification costs will rise dramatically. This issue will never resolve itself and Randall Community Water price hikes will be common. How will designers handle water runoff currently managed by small lakes and streams in the area of the upper reservoir? Will land outside the reservoir flood for lack of proper drainage? Currently, they have no plan for this!

The scenic view of the west side will be forever changed. No longer will the view be unscarred nature but rather, overgrown slopes of invasive weeds, prison-like barriers to keep people out, and massive steel towers draping ugly transmission lines across our beautiful lake creating an industrial eyesore.

For 6 years, up to 24 hours per day construction noise and lights will reflect off the water for miles up and down the river valley destroying our recreational experience.

The companies hired to study the area will be paid by the project developers. No impartial study will be done and the bias will favor the project.

Wildlife in the area will be displaced and premier public hunting opportunities, that many people rely on, will be gone forever.

Housing, sanitation, schooling and other necessary accommodations will be needed for 1,000 or more temporary workers and their families.

Ice fishing will be dangerous due to swirling water as well as constant changes in lake water surface elevation on Lake Francis Case, making ice more unstable at best.

The proposed upper reservoir and penstock site are in an area known for unstable and shifting soils. What are the plans if the upper reservoir fails? Severe erosion of hillsides, introduction of zebra mussels in upper streams, severe flooding and overtopping Fort Randall Dam similar to what happened at Yankton when Spencer Dam broke on the Niobrara in 2019 are possible.

What happens if government funded carbon credits disappear, investors pull out and the project stalls? There are no plans for reclamation of the land or financial responsibility in the short or long term.

We need your help to stand up for your land and your rights! Your favorite recreational experiences could be next on the corporate hit list, maximizing their profits at our expense! Stand up and join our cause! Contact your legislators! Financially support CAMRPSP!