We are living in a state of deceit.
In 2020 when Kristi Noem introduced SB157 she called it “South Dakota is open for business”. That bill should have been called “South Dakota is up for sale.” That bill wiped out most of the rights of any opposition to wind and solar by gutting the County Conditional Use permitting process. The evidentiary hearing process, which gave opponents a right to be heard has not been used since SB 157 passed. This paved the way for SB 201.
When the South Dakota legislature passed SB 201 this spring, it was total deception. The lawyers, lobbyists and multinational and foreign corporations that wrote the bill called it the “Landowners Bill of Rights.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The so called “rights” they listed were already granted to us in our Constitution and other laws already on the books. What they didn’t mention was that SB 201 says: “A permit for the construction of a transmission facility within a designated area supersedes and preempts any county, township, municipal, or any other governmental unit land use, zoning, or building rule, regulation, or ordinance.” Look up SB 201 Enrolled (paragraph 49-41B-28) and read it yourself. The PUC will take control of all permitting and the County and any local control will be deemed null and void.
And the even worse deception comes from the Attorney General’s explanation of Referred Law 21 (which is SB 201). When you go to the polls to vote you will not see a single word about local control being superseded by the “State.” Instead, it talks about sharing a $1/foot tax credit and how the operator of the pipeline is responsible for drain tile damage and a bunch of other miniscule items like the easements must be in writing. Everything to deceive you into thinking it’s good for the landowner, when in fact this bill is a takeover of our property rights by China, Black Rock, Saudia Arabia and Warren Buffet. Why are they doing this? Another deception, the so called “Inflation Reduction Act” was really the “Green New Deal Jackpot” as it provided $369 billion including billions in tax credits for boondoggles like carbon pipelines, wind turbines, EV charging stations and solar panels.
This is serious folks. They want our land. They are going to build millions of acres of wind turbines, solar panels and transmission lines across the Midwest. Summit Carbon Solutions is the Trojan Horse that will pave the way for making this happen with eminent domain. And if you’re not a landowner, don’t think you’re exempt. They’re coming for your gas range, your gas fireplace and your diesel pickup. Once we lose our property rights, our land and our homes are not ours anymore. Vote NO on RL21 and stop our corrupt South Dakota Government from selling out our state and its citizens.
Gregg Hubner
Avon, South Dakota
