SIOUX FALLS, SD. — A South Dakota circuit judge recently ruled in favor of local Crooks residents near the site of a proposed Smithfield pork processing facility in Sioux Falls, SD. The lawsuit was filed in August.
Judge Ann Hoffman of the Second District Court granted the plaintiffs’ petition to reverse the conditional use permit (CUP) issued by the Sioux Falls City Council for the proposed Smithfield project because the city failed to comply with its own CUP and with its recently adopted Sioux Falls 2050 plan.
“Although there was mitigation discussed at the public hearings, there was not ‘extensive documentation to prove that external effects are fully mitigated’ as required by the 2050 Plan,” Hoffman wrote. “Smithfield’s conditional use that was approved by the City Council did not conform to the minimum requirements set forth in the zoning ordinance.”
Later in the ruling, the judge noted recent city ordinances stated that single-family residential and heavy industry are “highly incompatible.”
When reviewing the case and CUP, Hoffman said Smithfield did not present reports on building designs, the effect on groundwater, the city fire department, or a site management plan outlining litter and odor control measures.
However, Hoffman did say Jim Monroe, vice president of corporate affairs at Smithfield Foods, told the planning commission for the city of Sioux Falls the new facility would design benefits to “allow for an efficient processing flow to control, capture and eliminate odors.”
“The facility will have air scrubbers and regenerative thermal oxidation systems for odor control. Mr. Monroe also stated the wastewater treatment will be handled on-site and discharged into the river,” Hoffman added. “He also discussed how the site design minimized the impact of truck traffic on nearby residents and how separate entrances for employees and trucks created a more efficient traffic flow.”
The ruling also cited Mark Wilhelm, a senior engineer at Smithfield who was at the planning commission, said that livestock at the new pork plant would be placed in an enclosed barn and odors would not be captured.
Smithfield announced plans in February to build a $1.3 billion plant at Foundation Park over the next three years, replacing its existing facility, once known as Morrel’s, in downtown Sioux Falls which has stood for almost a century. Foundation Park is home to industrial tenants, housing an Amazon distribution center and a CJ Foods frozen-food plant under construction.
Earlier this year, Smithfield anticipated holding the initial groundbreaking in the first half of 2027, with production projected to begin at the end of 2028.
