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Meade County, South Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Meade County is 140.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Leukemia deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 135 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (66), Rail grade crossing (29), Gas station (mapped facility) (16). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 in a million, driven mainly by formaldehyde.

Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000 people. A cancer signal is marked significant when the lower bound of its 95 percent confidence interval is above the U.S. rate. Facility counts use active federal records located inside the county boundary. Approximate county center: 44.5618, -102.7843.

How this county ranks in South Dakota

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Cancer deaths and new cases versus the United States

Source: NCI and CDC State Cancer Profiles, both sexes, all ages. Sorted by the ratio of the county rate to the U.S. rate.

Cancer rates for Meade County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	Deaths	10.4	5.7	1.82xSignificant	6.1 to 16.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.6	17.9	1.37x	17.4 to 33.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	15.1	11.3	1.34x	9.8 to 22.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	22.6	18.5	1.22x	16.1 to 30.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	27	23.8	1.13x	19.6 to 36.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	54.1	51.8	1.04x	44 to 66.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15	14.5	1.03x	9.7 to 22.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	461.1	453.4	1.02x	429.2 to 494.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	140.8	143.2	0.98x	123.7 to 159.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29.1	30.2	0.96x	21.8 to 38.3	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	17.9	18.7	0.96x	12 to 25.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.3	13.9	0.96x	8.6 to 19.9	2019-2023

Mortality measures versus the U.S. county median

Source: County Health Rankings, built from CDC National Vital Statistics System death records. The comparison value is the median of all U.S. counties.

Mortality measures for Meade County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,283	9,842.6	-26%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.5	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	70.5	59.8	+18%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	n/a	6.2	n/a	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	80.8	96.9	-17%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	13.4	28.6	-53%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde11.25 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.69 per million
Acetaldehyde0.85 per million
Pahpom0.63 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 351 days: 342 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 36, peak 71.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

135 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit66
Rail grade crossing29
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Public airport8
Brownfield property6
Small hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
EPA air quality monitor1
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 33.6. NPL Site.
EPA site ID SD2571924644 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
U.S. Dod Usaf, Ellsworth Afb, Ellsworth Afb
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, Benzene and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,270 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 57706SDDSR1161T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Usaf - Ellsworth Afb, Ellsworth Air Force Base
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064596833 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Former Edwards Property, Sturgis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965051 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Elementary School, Sturgis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970786 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Full Throttle Saloon, Sturgis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071982013 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Langin Autos, Sturgis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071982118 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Meade School District 46-1, Sturgis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986039 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sturgis School Property, Sturgis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986040 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sturgis, City Of, Sturgis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000737668 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Sturgis Muni, Sturgis
Public airport. O.
Record ID 49B (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Faith Muni, Faith
Public airport. O.
Record ID D07 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Fort Meade Va Medical Center/Black Hills Health Care System, Fort Meade
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012859629 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Dakota Arms, Sturgis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008058902 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wonderland Homes Water & Serv, Rapid City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009791136 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Faith, City Of, Faith
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009791298 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Summerset, City Of, Summerset
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010952326 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Meade School District 46-1, Sturgis
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011685514 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Foxridge Wastewater Treatment Facility, Fox Ridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020148936 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Takini School Wastewater Facility, Howes
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020661381 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Weston Heights Sanitary District, Rapid City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022543461 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Buffalo Chip Campground Llc, Sturgis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024811943 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sturgis Water Department, Sturgis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054131701 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Blackhawk Water User District (Wtp), Blackhawk
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056352156 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hansons Pond, Piedmont
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071275114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Meade County

South Dakota state cancer registry
Cancer incidence counts by census tract or ZIP code, by cancer type and year (de-identified). Any cancer cluster inquiries or investigations in Meade County, and their findings.
South Dakota vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
South Dakota health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
South Dakota environmental agency and the U.S. EPA regional office
Compliance history, inspection reports, notices of violation, penalties and enforcement actions for each facility above, cited by EPA FRS registry ID.
South Dakota drinking water program
Violation notices, sampling results and sanitary surveys for the public water systems serving the county, including any system serving a correctional facility.
Department of corrections or county sheriff
Water testing, grievances and environmental health inspections for the correctional facilities listed above.

Each Envyrofax address report includes a printable records request worksheet with the custodian and the exact request wording per finding.

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