About This Tracker
A free, independent record of the data center rules in every South Dakota county, city, and town, built from public records.
Who Maintains This Tracker
David Olson started the Pennsylvania Data Center Ordinance Tracker (padatacenterordinances.org) in 2026 while reviewing the data center rules his own township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, was considering. He found that there was no single place to see what other communities had already adopted, so he began collecting the ordinances himself.
In November 2026, South Dakota residents asked whether the same resource could be built for their state, and the South Dakota Data Center Ordinance Tracker is the result. It is an independent project that follows the same published standard. It takes no position for or against any project. South Dakota residents and organizations contribute documents and corrections, and they are contributors, not publishers.
David has spent more than 15 years in federal cybersecurity, most recently as a chief information security officer, and has taught cloud computing and cloud security as an adjunct professor since 2016. That background in governance, risk, and compliance shapes how the tracker works: every entry is tied to a public record, every rating follows the same published standard, and corrections are always welcome.
What This Tracker Does
For every county, city, and town in South Dakota, the tracker records whether a data center ordinance has been adopted or proposed, what it requires, and where to read it, so that people can compare approaches across the state.
- Residents can find their county, city, or town, read its ordinance, and see which protections it includes.
- Local officials, attorneys, and planners can compare their ordinance with the strongest in the state and draft a stronger one with the Ordinance Builder.
- Reporters can use the statewide numbers, data, and images on the For Reporters page.
How to Use the Tracker
- Find
Look up your county, city, or town to see whether it has a data center ordinance, what it requires, and where to read it.
- Compare
See how each ordinance is rated against the 52 criteria of the Tracker Standard, including the Ten Core Protections.
- Strengthen
Use the Ordinance Builder and drafting resources to write a stronger ordinance.
Why Data Center Ordinances Matter
What Residents Are Asking For
Data centers became a public question across South Dakota in 2026. A 500-megawatt data center has been proposed on rezoned land in northeast Sioux Falls, and a 430-megawatt campus was proposed near Toronto in Deuel County before the company set it aside.12 In January 2026, Sioux Falls residents gathered 5,012 signatures in 20 days in an effort to send the rezoning to a public vote, short of the 6,704 required.3 Yankton County adopted a six-month moratorium in July 2026 after 10 residents spoke for it and none against,4 and Rapid City received nearly 950 responses to a survey on its proposed rules.5 In Rapid City, residents named water use as a top concern, and the proposed rules there address power use, water use, noise, and distance from homes.6
Why Every County and City Needs an Ordinance
South Dakota law leaves these decisions to local government. Senate Bill 135, signed in March 2026, says the state may not take away or limit the power of counties, cities, and other local governments to restrict, prohibit, or otherwise regulate data centers.7
That is why each county and city needs written rules. When zoning does not mention data centers, a project can be proposed under a general category, and local leaders have few standards to apply. In August 2026, for example, the Minnehaha County planning director told the planning commission that the county zoning ordinance did not address data centers and that a developer could apply through a planned development.8 An ordinance lets the county or city decide where data centers may go and set standards for noise, water, setbacks, and other impacts.
Sources
- South Dakota Searchlight, data center proposals in Sioux Falls and Deuel County, January 30, 2026
- South Dakota Searchlight, one project unchanged and another set aside, April 2, 2026
- Dakota News Now, petition drive falls short of required signatures, January 30, 2026
- KCAU, Yankton County Commissioners approve six-month data center moratorium, July 22, 2026
- KOTA, Rapid City delays vote on proposed data center regulations, November 4, 2026
- KOTA Radio, Rapid City residents voice concerns over proposed data center regulations, October 16, 2026
- 2026 South Dakota Session Laws, chapter 190 (Senate Bill 135)
- KELO, proposed zoning rules on data centers in Minnehaha County, August 24, 2026
How the Information Is Gathered and Checked
Where It Comes From
Every entry is drawn from public records, including zoning ordinances and amendments, meeting minutes and agendas, planning commission records, and local news reports. Ordinances are rated from their full text against the 52 criteria of the Tracker Standard, and every rating is reviewed before it is published. Where a county ordinance, not the local government’s own, supplies the data center rules, the entry is labeled County Rules Apply or County Rules May Apply and is counted apart from municipal adoptions.
How Entries Are Verified
Every entry links to at least one official or published source, and the tracker never states a date or requirement that its sources do not support. Entries with scheduled hearings or votes are rechecked at least every two weeks, and each entry shows the date it was last verified.
Updates and Corrections
If an entry is out of date or incorrect, please submit a correction or email [email protected]. Corrections are reviewed within 30 days, and a confirmed correction appears in the next update.
Submit a CorrectionThe tracker is a summary of public records, not legal advice.
Using This Data
The tracker’s own work, including its statuses, summaries, ratings, maps, and data tables, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Anyone may copy, share, and adapt it for any purpose, including in news stories, public comments, draft ordinances, research, and commercial products, as long as they give credit, link to the license, and say whether they changed anything.
Suggested credit: Source: South Dakota Data Center Ordinance Tracker, sddatacenterordinances.org, licensed under CC BY 4.0 (data checked [date]).
Giving Credit
Name the South Dakota Data Center Ordinance Tracker and link to sddatacenterordinances.org wherever the data appears, and link to each local government’s page where you can. Include the date you checked the data, because statuses and ratings change as local governments act.
Changes and Endorsement
If you change, combine, or summarize the data, say so, and do not present a changed rating or summary as the tracker’s own. Using the data does not mean the tracker endorses you, your organization, or your position. Questions can be sent to [email protected].
What the License Covers
The license covers the tracker’s own work only. Ordinances, minutes, and other documents linked from the tracker belong to the local governments and organizations that published them. The full data is available on the For Reporters page.