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Council hires water-rights lawyer as MCWC contests Dell Rapids' aquifer application
Summary
The Dell Rapids City Council approved hiring Gunderson Palmer (GPNA LLC) to represent the city in an administrative hearing after the Missouri River regional provider MCWC contested Dell Rapids’ application for additional groundwater rights.
The Dell Rapids City Council voted to retain Gunderson Palmer (listed in the meeting as GPNA LLC) to provide legal representation at an administrative hearing before the South Dakota Water Management Board over contested water-rights applications.
DGR Engineering’s Trent Bruce gave the council a detailed update on the city's water-rights posture and the rationale for hiring outside counsel. Bruce said Dell Rapids currently has historic peak-day usage of about 830,000 gallons per day and an allocation of roughly 1,000,000 gallons under a 1986 contract with MCWC. He said the city has about 930,000 gallons of its own water rights in the Sioux Quartzite Aquifer (noting quality issues relative to MCWC-treated water) but had requested approximately 1.86 million gallons per day in a new application to the state to cover future needs and flexibility. The state issued rights and the public-notice contest period followed; MCWC formally contested the city’s application, asserting potential adverse impacts on the adjacent Big Sioux Aquifer.
Bruce explained the contest triggers an administrative hearing before the South Dakota Water Management Board and recommended the council engage experienced counsel. Staff presented an engagement letter for an attorney identified in the meeting as Mr. Noss (with Gunderson Palmer); the letter’s hourly rate for the lead attorney in the document is $285 per hour (the staff memo had an earlier typographical $280 figure). Resident Bill Schmidt raised the discrepancy; staff confirmed the executed letter controls and that the attorney’s rate is $285 per hour, associates $250, and paralegal/legal assistant work $130 per hour, as written in the engagement letter.
The council voted to approve the engagement letter on a motion by Councilmember Wendy, seconded by Councilmember Chuck. Staff said most of the evidentiary data the lawyer will use already exists in the state Department of Natural Resources’ file because DNR prepared studies supporting issuance; the lawyer’s role will be to defend the city’s legal justification and present the statutory basis for the requested rights. Staff said the matter will be scheduled before the Water Management Board in May after additional meetings with MCWC.
No formal opposition or alternative counsel proposals were recorded during the meeting.
