45-5A-1. Legislative findings.The Legislature finds the following:(1)It is necessary for the state to protect the public welfare of South Dakota which is largely dependent on agriculture, and to protect the economic well-being of individuals engaged in agricultural production;(2)Exploration for and development of mineral and oil and gas reserves in this state may interfere with the use, agricultural or otherwise, of the surface of certain land;(3)Surface owners should be justly compensated for injury to their persons or property and interference with the use of their property occasioned by mineral and oil and gas development. Source: SL 1982, ch 304, §1.
South Dakota Legal Code