SD / county FIPS 46107 / county research

Potter County, South Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Potter County is 144.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 18 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (6), Gas station (mapped facility) (3), Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility) (2). 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: 45.0685, -99.9471.

How this county ranks in South Dakota

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Potter County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	New cases	467.2	453.4	1.03x	358.7 to 600.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	144.3	143.2	1.01x	96.7 to 213.3	2020-2024

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 Potter County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	4,643.3	9,842.6	-53%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	80.7	75.3	+7%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	104.9	96.9	+8%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde10.78 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde0.76 per million
Benzene0.46 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit6
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Brownfield property2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Public airport1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Chs Gettysburg Feed, Gettysburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069293062 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Avera Gettysburg Hospital, Gettysburg
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070633443 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Community Care Clinic, Gettysburg
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978231 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Chs Gettysburg Feed, Gettysburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 5744WCHSGT513EC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Associated Milk Producers Inc., Hoven
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid.
TRI facility ID 57450CSSCL44COM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Ampi - Hoven, Hoven
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $178,934.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012173254 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Gettysburg Muni, Gettysburg
Public airport. O.
Record ID 0D8 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Hoven, City Of, Hoven
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006692392 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tolstoy, Town Of, Tolstoy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009791779 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lebanon, City Of, Lebanon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030486873 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Gettysburg, City Of, Gettysburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070048544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nh 0212(165)224 Potter County, Gettysburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071279441 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Associated Milk Producers Inc - Hoven, Hoven
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110045433544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Gettysburg Collision Center
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/12944462426 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Sinclair
Gas station (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/12944462428 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Hoven Repair & Towing
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/12944463247 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Clark
Gas station (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/9894391005 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Cenex
Gas station (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/769136535 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1

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 Potter 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 Potter 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.

Scan an address in Potter County View on the heat map All South Dakota counties