SD DANR fines city of Hermosa for water discharge violations
November 18, 2022
PIERRE, S.D.–The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources has fined Hermosa $13,000 for Surface Water Discharge permit violations.
The city of 373, located about 20 miles south of Rapid City, failed to submit documentation before spraying wastewater on agricultural land. It also failed to monitor that wastewater and went over the allowable spraying limits.
Some towns rely on lagoons for storing wastewater. Those lagoons tend not to fill because of evaporation. However, loading wastewater into trucks and spraying it onto agricultural land is an option if they do.
Hermosa also received the fine for violation of E. coli limits that can be in public waters and failure to submit water quality monitoring reports.
