Data-center law in South Dakota

SDCL §§ 11-2-13, 11-2-14

Applies to both

Authorizes a county governing body to adopt a zoning ordinance regulating building height, lot coverage, population density, and the location and use of buildings and land for trade, industry, residential, or flood-plain purposes, and to divide the county into zoning districts whose regulations must be uniform within a district and consistent with a comprehensive plan.

A data center sited outside city limits obtains its zoning approval, and any conditional-use permit or variance, under this county chapter rather than under the separate municipal-zoning chapter, SDCL ch. 11-4, which reaches only incorporated municipalities.

Source: Full text of law

SDCL ch. 49-41B, esp. §§ 49-41B-1, 49-41B-2, 49-41B-4

Applies to both

Requires a Public Utilities Commission permit before a utility may begin construction of an energy conversion facility (a new facility or facility expansion designed for or capable of generating 100 megawatts or more of electricity, wind and solar facilities of that size defined and permitted separately), an AC/DC conversion facility, or certain transmission facilities; review includes a local review committee within a ten-mile siting area, public hearings, and an environmental impact statement, and an approved permit supersedes conflicting local land-use controls except as the chapter itself provides.

A data center's own building and computing equipment fall outside the chapter's facility definitions, but a utility or developer that builds a dedicated 100-megawatt-or-larger generation source, or a qualifying new transmission facility, to serve one triggers this permitting process.

Source: Full text of law

SDCL §§ 11-10-5, 11-10-6

Effective 2026-07-01 · Applies to both

Where a county or municipality adopts its own ordinance prescribing construction standards for a non-residential building, that ordinance must comply with at least the 2024 edition of the International Building Code, though the local government may amend, modify, or delete provisions before enacting it (SDCL § 11-10-5).

Where a local government has not adopted such an ordinance, the 2024 International Building Code itself is the default design standard for any covered building whose construction commences after July 1, 2026 (SDCL § 11-10-6); a data center sited in a county or township with no local building-code ordinance is governed directly by this default rule.

Source: Full text of law

SDCL § 34A-1-21

Applies to both

Requires a permit from the Board of Minerals and Environment, or the secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources acting on the board's rules, before installing, altering, or using machinery, equipment, or another article that may cause or contribute to air pollution; operating without a required permit is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and violating a permit condition is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

A data center's backup or standby generator fleet permits under this general section, since South Dakota has no data-center-specific air-permitting provision.

Source: Full text of law