Remi Bald Eagle runs for Public Utilities Commission

EAGLE BUTTE – Remi Bald Eagle, a citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, is the Democratic Party candidate for the South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner (PUC). He is challenging long-time PUC member Gary Hanson, a Republican from Sioux Falls.

“I have a deep love and concern for the land here in the state of South Dakota and it feels like this land is unprotected,” said Bald Eagle on his reasons for running for a seat on the PUC. “Too often projects are rubber stamped quickly by the Public Utilities Commission without the thought on what impact they will have.”

Bald Eagle has served as chair for the South Dakota Democratic Party’s Environment and Natural Resources committee and has vehemently opposed mining in the Black Hills, fracking for oil, and oil pipelines.

As a member of the PUC, Bald Eagle would be able to impact the construction and regulation of the already-approved pipelines. “I would make every effort that every piece of that infrastructure is actually serving the people of South Dakota,” he said.

Along with fighting against non-renewable resource development that impacts South Dakota’s land, Bald Eagle supports the continued development of renewable energy infrastructure in the state. “South Dakota is great that it creates a lot of clean energy,” he said. “70% of the energy created here is renewable, but only 30% of the energy used in South Dakota is renewable which means that we are selling off all of this clean energy to other areas of the country.”

One outlet that Bald Eagle intends to pursue increased use of renewable energy in South Dakota is supporting local energy producers. “We need to empower consumers to be producers,” he said. “We need to come up with effective legislation and policies that allows individuals to create and store power locally.”

Bald Eagle cites a system known as net metering that will empower local energy producers. Net metering is billing system that allows people to produce their own energy to power their home and use it anytime by transferring any unused energy back into the power grid. Any unused energy that a local producer transmits back into the grid is usually given back to the producer in the form of kilowatt-hour credits which can be used later for little cost or no cost at all.

Immediately after high school, Bald Eagle worked for Clean Harbors where he travelled nationally and internationally to clean up oil spills and other hazardous material spills. He has also served 22 years in the military and has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Currently, Bald Eagle works as the Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in which he acts as the liaison between the tribe and state, federal and internationally governments.

“The fight for us to remain on this planet starts today and we need to be bold,” said Bald Eagle. “I would like voters to know that they are putting their vote in for a person that keeps the land and the people as priority.”

South Dakota’s Public Utilities Commission regulates companies that manage energy, telecommunications, and grain warehouses in the state. The PUC is also in charge of the states Do Not Call Registry. Commissioners serve 6-year terms.

(Contact Travis at travisldewes@gmail.com)

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