McCook Lake bill advances with $1 to allow discussion

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A bill that could help pay for clean-up and restoration at McCook Lake has $1 attached to it, but it doesn’t mean lawmakers would only be willing to spend $1.

The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee voted 12-1 Tuesday to send House Bill 1108 to House Appropriations with no recommendation and a $1 amount. The bill originally had an up to $2 million figure attached.

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“This is a very worthy bill,” committee member Democrat Rep. Kadyn Wittman said. She recommended the $1 amount to allow the House Appropriations to set an amount it would deem appropriate. Particularly, since the bill’s sponsor Republican Rep. Chris Kassin is a member of House Appropriations.

Kassin and two members of the McCook Lake Association spent several minutes Tuesday morning outlining the reasons HB1108 is needed. Parts of houses, furniture, pipes, cars and other debris spilled into the lake during the historic June flooding. Now, that debris needs to be removed and portions of the shoreland may need to be restored, bill supporters said. The lake association and others are working with the state, Kassin said.

Kassin said that the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks Department is working on a request for proposals on cleaning and restoring the lake, but he’s concerned that there may be a need for additional money.

“I think the state owes these people a response,” Kassin said. “I think this is a responsible way to do it.”

Committee member Republican Rep. Tim Goodwin said he wanted to hear more from the GFP about what its plan was before voting on HB1108. His motion to table action on the bill died without a second.

The GFP is reviewing the scope of the problem and plans to take bids on dredging material from the lake in April, with work starting after that, Kassin said.

What is already known of the lake’s condition includes thousands of cubic yards of dirt material, pipes, trees and other debris dumped into McCook Lake after floodwaters from the Big Sioux River were diverted into the lake in June, said Dirk Lohry, the president of the McCook Lake Association.

“The lake was sacrificed to protect the industrial park of North Sioux City and Dakota Dunes,” Lohry said.

The dumping of floodwaters into the lake was part of a flood mitigation plan from the 1970s when the lake had only small shacks and limited housing, bill supporters said.

“Was a recovery plan included in that original 1970s flooding plan?” committee member Republican Rep. Drew Peterson asked.

“There is no recovery plan,” Lohry said. The area did flood in 2014 but McCook got lucky then because a levy farther upstream broke and diverted water elsewhere, he said.

The association is working with partners to develop a new flood mitigation plan that would prevent flooding at the lake, Lohry said.

The lake is unusual because it is owned by the state government. But, a pumping system that releases water and takes in water is funded and operated by volunteers and funded privately, said Chris Bogenrief of the McCook Lake Association.

North Sioux City has donated to that pumping system but about $100,000 for operating expenses comes from private money, Bogenrief said.

The pumping system was a voluntary choice and it’s not state government’s role to help pay for it or replace it, said Duncan Koch with the South Dakota Bureau of Finance Management. The BFM opposes the bill.

“That should be funded by McCook Lake volunteers,” Koch said.

State government would be setting a precedent if it set up a fund to help clean and restore McCook Lake, Koch said. The GFP is already working on a plan, he said. FEMA is also involved.

Wittman asked if state government had any flood contingency funds for any lakes in the state.

Koch said he was not certain.

In response to Wittman’s question about the process for applying and receiving money from his bill, Kassin replied that North Sioux City would receive the public money. “This is not going to individual property owners,” Kassin said.

FEMA is helping individual homeowners and businesses, Bogenrief said. About 101 houses were damaged and so far, 21 houses have been demolished in the clean-up work, he said.

What has North City Sioux City been contributing to the flood response? asked committee member Republican Rep. Julie Auch.

The city of North Sioux City is helping to pay for replacing infrastructure such as a road by the lake and utilities, Bogenrief said. He believes the city is spending $2 million at a minimum on that work.

Committee chairman Republican Rep. Marty Overweg said it was difficult for the committee to ask questions knowing the damage the flooding did. He asked if there was any pending or planned lawsuits against the state because of the flooding and what is the monetary amount.

Lohry said he didn’t know of any monetary amount but is aware that a class action suit is planned. There are lawyers who say that the lawsuit has little or no chance of being successful, according to Lohry.

After Wittman made her motion to send the bill on with $1 and no recommendation to the House Appropriations, committee member Republican Rep. Spencer Gosch said he supported the no recommendation.

“A member of appropriations can explain the bill and the issues better in that committee,” Gosch said.