HB 1103: Higher Property Taxes, Worse Water Protection
by Garth Wadsworth, Public Policy Director, Elevate Rapid City
When Rep. Scott Odenbach introduces legislation to restrict water rights, he doesn’t mention the impact on your property tax bill. But make no mistake—HB 1103 will have a direct and lasting impact on housing affordability that will drive up property taxes for current Black Hills residents, while doing nothing to protect water sources.
Here’s how it works: By artificially constraining water supply, you restrict housing construction. Less housing supply = increasing home assessments. Higher assessments = higher property taxes for everyone.
Last year, Rep. Odenbach sponsored legislation to investigate Black Hills development. His intention was to restrict all development. Fortunately, this effort was defeated. HB 1103 is another attempt for restricting all development: eliminate an obscure geologic exemption that gives the Black Hills some flexibility when accessing deep aquifers. We can’t build houses without water permits.
This is about pulling up the ladder. Odenbach has his property. He’s established. Now he wants to shut the door on everyone else trying to build a life in the Black Hills. But here’s the problem: this is a free country. We can’t stop people from moving to South Dakota. They’re coming whether Odenbach likes it or not.
So what happens when people keep arriving but we’ve strangled the ability to build housing? Either they bid up prices on existing homes (inflating your property taxes), or they resort to scattered development on individual exempt wells—exactly the outcome that’s worst for aquifer protection, water quality, and community planning.
HB 1103 does the opposite of what it claims. The bill says it protects water, but it will actually increase contamination risks. By making it more expensive and difficult to for regulated water systems to get permits, we push development toward smaller, dispersed clusters of private wells. These private wells are not subject to the same regulation and oversight. Water distribution systems serving 15 or more households must go through rigorous permitting and monitoring. Individual private wells don’t. By pricing regulated systems out of the market, HB 1103 pushes new development toward these unregulated wells—which is exactly the worst outcome for protecting our aquifers.
Current Black Hills residents should be furious. This isn’t about responsible water management—DANR already handles that effectively. This is about one legislator’s anti-growth agenda, not environmental protection; the end result will cost us all in higher property taxes and greater risk to ground water.
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As Elevate Rapid City’s Senior Public Policy Director, Garth Wadsworth works with community stakeholders to plan for strategic growth and quality of life in the region.
This is spot on analysis. Odenbach migrated into the hills, got his piece of the pie and doesn’t want anyone else to have any. He’s just [we can redact this – pp] with a big mouth, like all the other far right nut jobs.
Garth’s problem is people in Rapid don’t want 10,000 new people moving there. They like what they have.
Odenbach wins on this issue every day of the week.
Exactly. We don’t.
Who is “we?”
Sadly, the only real supporters of this bill were a disgruntled east river water development leader and Odenbach. The data provided by these anti-growth numbskulls was sketchy at best and designed to strike fear into the committee members. Everyone admits that west river is headed for a major groundwater problem in the distant future. They also admit that DANR is doing a great job of protecting this vital resource. Bottom line, we can’t hamstring cities from drilling new wells to support the needs of our citizens while ensuring fire mitigation just because a small group of people are scared to provide opportunities for new housing and new/expanded businesses. The last I heard this a free country and folks can live wherever they want – just not in Odenbach’s Black Hills
What does Jay have to gain? Hmmm, West River is starting to talk about bringing Missouri River water west………Let’s just have Odenbach throttle development down because there are still unfinished projects that need tax payer dollars East of the River so we don’t have to be sending money out West. Well played.
Don’t overthink it. Jay and Scott are two peas in a pod.
Garth is correct. Parlay Odenbach’s bill with Curt Voight’s SB 144 which freezes taxes on the Baby Boomer generation’s home with ABSOLUTELY NO income limitations and put a fork in any chance of home ownership for the younger generation. Someone will have to pay the higher property taxes for all the “old money” from Voight’s bill and it will be the rest of us young people, if we can afford property taxes at all based on Odenbach’s bill.
Curious if Voight falls into the categories that he wrote into his bill?
(1) Is at least sixty-five years of age;
(2) Has owned the owner-occupied single-family dwelling for at least ten consecutive
years;
(3) Has been a resident in this state for at least twenty-five years; and
(4) Has no delinquent real property taxes for any real property owned by the individual
in this state.
It’s wild when we have West River Legislators who vote to fund the Lewis and Clark Project to bring Missouri River water to Sioux Falls (Tony Randolph) yet vote against even starting the conversation to bring already permitted Missouri River water to West River (Ismay, Hunt, Randolph, Rice).
Should run a bill to make Scott Odenbach move back to Eureka.
Hey Scott and Garth! Pick up the phone and talk to each other. Get together for a beer. You’re sounding a lot like Tim W & Krist-you-know-who…discussing major policy via a microphone. We have water issues. Get out of the sand box.
Elevate invited Odenbach to all of its events and he never comes. Emails from Elevate to him go unread. This is a one-sided communication problem.
Why was Sioux Falls and Aberdeen allowed to develop beyond the recharge rates of their aquifers and get Missouri River water on my dime but Weat River can’t?
I had to laugh. During the Committee hearing, Representative Rice, exclaimed that she has a business in Rapid and it costs her $500/month on her bill to water the lawn……………..I was very proud that she actually used correct grammar and completed a sentence……….but cmon….These folks in Rapid want to water their lawns and in the same breath she says we need to clamp down and make sure we aren’t overusing the aquifers. Folks, we are in trouble if we keep sending this nonsense to Pierre. East River loves us for it.