North Dakota
Initial test finds 'forever chemical' in Mount Rushmore drinking water at level exceeding new limit • South Dakota Searchlight
A sample of Mount Rushmore National Memorial’s drinking water had levels of a “forever chemical” exceeding new limits established by the federal government.
Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, or PFOS, is a member of the synthetic chemical group known collectively as perfluorinated alkylated substances, or PFAS. The chemicals have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s and don’t break down easily in the environment or in the human body. Research indicates PFAS exposure may be linked to negative developmental and reproductive effects, and an increased risk of some cancers.
A 2023 test of Mount Rushmore’s drinking water showed a PFOS concentration of 9.8 parts per trillion, more than two times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s new limit of 4 parts per trillion. The EPA finalized limits for several types of PFAS last month.
The result doesn’t necessarily mean Mount Rushmore is out of compliance with the EPA’s new rule, which will be implemented in phases. Current testing is preliminary. Tests won’t count toward the new limits until 2027, and the EPA will use annual running averages to determine compliance. The EPA won’t begin issuing violations until 2029.
Proposed EPA ‘forever chemicals’ regulation could cost SD millions for testing, cleanup
The current sampling is part of a multi-year, nationwide testing effort by the EPA. The South Dakota Association of Rural Water Systems is conducting a majority of the testing in the state.
In publicly available results published so far, Mount Rushmore is the only site in South Dakota to test above the new EPA limits for forever chemicals. Additional Mount Rushmore sampling results will be published in the coming weeks and months. Elsewhere in South Dakota, some of the chemicals have been detected at levels below the new EPA limits.
PFAS from firefighting foam was previously known to have contaminated groundwater at military installations in or near locations including Rapid City and Sioux Falls, leading to mitigation efforts in those areas.
In an emailed statement, Mount Rushmore National Memorial spokesman Earl Perez-Foust said the National Park Service is monitoring the results and considering any mitigation that may be necessary.
“This could include treatment or considering a new water source,” Perez-Foust said. “Public health and safety is always our top priority.”
Reverse osmosis, granular activated carbon, nanofiltration and other methods have been identified as methods of removing PFAS from drinking water, according to the EPA.
The exact source of the contamination at Mount Rushmore is unknown, said Galen Hoogestraat, a hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Dakota Water Science Center.
“In general, PFAS sources can come from anywhere humans are interacting with the environment: food wrappers, water-resistant clothing, common products and waste,” Hoogestraat said.
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For over a decade, Hoogestraat has studied perchlorate contamination in Mount Rushmore’s groundwater and local streams from former fireworks displays at the memorial. He said the amount of perchlorate in the water has “dropped substantially” in the last decade.
Hoogestraat said the memorial provides water to over 2 million visitors every year from a “very small postage stamp of an area in the Black Hills,” because the memorial is limited to using water from within the park boundaries.
That source is a fractured rock system that collects rain and groundwater, which makes it susceptible to contamination.
“There’s very little soil on top of the rocks, so there’s very little filtration of anything that comes from the surface — good or bad,” Hoogestraat said.
That can create volatile test results, since concentrations of contaminants can vary based on the seasons and weather conditions.
“There needs to be more sampling done to assess the variability around this,” Hoogestraat said, “and wrap our arms around the trends of this: Is this a long-term, persistent thing, or will this be variable over time?”
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SIOUX FALLS — Ali Stephens had 17 points and 13 rebounds and 8th-seeded Omaha defeated 9th-seeded North Dakota 49-39 in the first round of the Summit League women’s tournament.
The Fighting Hawks had a tough time putting the ball in the hoop all night long, scoring just three points in the first quarter and having only marginally better luck from there.
UND (7-24) shot just 23.5 percent from the floor (12-for-51) and made 1-of-20 shots from outside the arc. Walker Demers and Mackenzie Hughes had 10 points each to lead the Hawks, with Demers adding eight rebounds.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
Regan Juenemann had 10 points and five rebounds for the Mavericks while Avril Smith had seven points and 16 rebounds and Sarai Estupinan eight points, five assists and three rebounds. Omaha (6-26) shot the ball slightly better than the Hawks, going 16-of-53 from the field (30 percent) and 8-of-23 (35 percent) on 3-pointers.
With the win, the Mavs earn a date with top-seed North Dakota State on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
The Bison won both regular season matchups by more than 50 points.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
Oral Roberts 84, Kansas City 62 — Don’t look now but the team that started the conference season 0-10 and at one point lost 15 of 16 games might be the hottest in the Summit League.
Oral Roberts picked up their fourth straight victory on Wednesday night in the conference tournament opener, routing Kansas City at the Premier Center in the 8/9 “play-in” game.
Ty Harper had 22 points to lead the Golden Eagles (10-22), who took a 44-21 lead by halftime and never looked back. ORU shot 50 percent from the floor and made 13-of-27 3-pointers while the Kangaroos shot just 34 percent and made 6-of-24 from deep. Martins Kilups had 17 points for the Eagles and Connor Dow added 14.
Jayson Petty had 14 points to lead the Kagaroos, who finish the season 4-27. It was their final game under coach Marvin Menzies, whom the school announced earlier this season would not return next year.
With the win ORU advances to face top-seed North Dakota State on Thursday at 6 p.m.
The Golden Eagles lost to NDSU 86-58 in Tulsa on Jan. 24 but they took the Bison to overtime in Fargo on Jan. 3 in a 79-77 loss.
Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at mzimmer@siouxfallslive.com.
North Dakota
The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion to the ND State Auditor – North Dakota Attorney General
04 Mar The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion to the ND State Auditor
in Opinions
March 4, 2026
Media Contact: Suzie Weigel, 701.328.2210
BISMARCK, ND – It is the opinion that federal law does not prevent the state from auditing P&A and even though P&A possesses confidential records, N.D.C.C. § 54-10-22.1 and 42 C.F.R. § 51.45(c) authorize the state auditor and the employees of the auditor’s office, to review the records without detriment to P &A.
Also, whether Rule 1.6 of the North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct for licensed attorneys prohibits P&A from disclosing to the State Auditor the contents of a client file for the purpose of conducting a non-financial performance audit under N.D.C.C. ch. 54-10 when the requested file includes information about individuals and businesses in the private sector who chose to contact P &A.
This issue was already addressed in a 1995 opinion of this office regarding P&A. The 1995 opinion highlighted that P&A has authority to contract with private attorneys to represent private individuals. 17 During that performance audit, auditors asked to see billings from the contracted attorneys. 18 P&A redacted the names of the individuals represented by the contract attorneys under the rules for attorney-client privilege or attorney-client confidentiality. 19 The names of individuals seeking services of P&A are protected under N.D.C.C. § 25-01.3. The opinion stated:
Thus, P&A’s records which indicate to whom its services were provided are available to the State Auditor for performance audit purposes. The State Auditor has
been given access by P&A to its records other than the attorney’s billings. Therefore, the State Auditor already has access to the names of the persons to whom P&A
provides services. State law requires that the State Auditor and his employees must keep such information confidential.
Here, P&A has not identified a specific record. Given that, I rely on the past opinions declaring that records made confidential by N.D.C.C. § 25-01.3-10 are available under N.D.C.C. § 54-10-22 to the State Auditor and the Auditor’s employees for audit purposes.
Link to opinion 2026-L-01
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