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Coal Plants in South Dakota

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The two new coal plants proposed to be built in South Dakota are projected by NRDC to generate 952,670 tons of contaminated coal waste, including 994 tons of toxic metals. South Dakota ranks 2nd in waste production expected from new coal plants, and 2nd in toxic metals from those plants.

South Dakota ranks 44th in the country for contaminated coal waste, with 97,300 tons of waste reported to the U.S. Energy Information Administration in 2005. The state also ranks 43rd in toxic metals contaminating its coal waste, with 82 tons of toxic metals, based on NRDC estimates.

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Statistics for New and Proposed Plants in South Dakota

Plant	County	Estimated tons of coal waste	Estimated tons of toxic metals
NextGen	Walworth	512,954	535
Big Stone	Grant	439,675	459

Statistics for Existing Plants in South Dakota

Plant	Owner (primary)	County	Tons of waste	Percent of waste disposed	Tons of toxic metals
Big Stone	Otter Tail Power Co	Grant	97,300	82.3%	82

Percent of waste disposed indicates the proportion of contaminated coal waste disposed of in landfills, ponds, or on- or off-site disposal facilities. For detailed information on how each plant reported its waste disposal in 2005, see the detailed data Excel spreadsheet.

Sources: Permit applications for new plants; Energy Information Administration data; NRDC estimates. The most recent data available from the EIA is from 2005 and it is possible that operational changes at particular plants will have changed the yearly waste volumes and disposal methods. Click here for detailed glossary of terms and our methodology.

last revised 3/12/2009