Gov. Kristi Noem has signed a bill into law allowing South Dakota’s presiding governor to enter into agreements with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Previous state law identified the EPA as the federal authority over nuclear power, but that’s now under the jurisdiction of the NRC.
Supporters of House Bill 1071 say the bill updates the legal language, and is the first step of a process in potentially having nuclear power in the state.
The bill does not establish nuclear power plants but instead allows the governor to move the state into "agreement state" status. States with this status can establish nuclear projects through cooperation with the NRC.
There are not any nuclear projects currently in the works in the state.
