Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead is the deepest underground laboratory in the United States — and among the deepest in the world.
As a dedicated research facility, SURF hosts experiments in physics, including dark matter and neutrinos, as well as biology, geology and engineering. SURF also hosts a low background counting facility and will house the massive underground neutrino detectors of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility and Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.
The world-leading research taking place at SURF is changing the understanding of the universe and the planet. It also has a tremendous economic impact throughout the region and the state of South Dakota.
An economic impact report was completed in 2021 for SURF and the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority, which operates the lab with the U.S. Department of Energy. The report showed that through operational spending and job creation — both direct hires and jobs generated by large science projects on-site — SURF creates a ripple of impacts throughout the state.
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“The SDSTA is proud to play a major role in advancing South Dakota’s economy. This study demonstrates that the state’s investments in SURF are paying off,” said Mike Headley, Executive Director of the SDSTA and Lab Director of SURF.
“In addition to the economic impacts, the science being performed at SURF is truly world-leading and is putting South Dakota on the map with the international science community. We’re also leveraging this research to educate learners of all ages about our work, including learning opportunities for science teachers and our kids.”
The economic impact study demonstrates just how large those impacts are in job creation, household earnings, and spending for activities and experiments at SURF, including the LBNF/DUNE.
From 2020 to 2029, SURF’s net economic impact is projected to reach $1.6 billion, creating $572 million in household earnings for South Dakotans and 1,052 jobs annually. Approximately 90% of the impacts will be seen in Western South Dakota.
SURF's impact on tax revenue are also expected to total nearly $20 million over the next decade for state and local government, the report showed.
Although SDSTA and Fermilab are tax-exempt organizations, a portion of the increased economic activity created by SURF will be subject to state and local taxes. Over the next decade, SURF will generate a total of $9.2 million in additional state sales tax revenue, $2.9 million in additional municipal sales tax revenue, $7.0 million in state contractor’s excise tax revenue, and $850,000 in other revenues, including state tourism tax revenue and payments for permit fees and government services. This new revenue will grow from approximately $600,000 in 2020 to over $1.2 million in 2029, the report showed.
Currently, nearly 200 people are employed by the SDSTA. Additionally, through the construction of LBNF, Fermilab has employed an average of 160 people annually in the region to date.
Researchers and other visitors to SURF also have a significant impact on the economy. Each dollar spent by the SDSTA, Fermilab, employees, contractors and researchers, supports additional business activity, jobs and payroll across the state, leading to even larger economic benefits.
SDSTA’s capital expenditures to expand SURF’s capacity for new experiments also inject money into the state and local economies. Additionally, a partnership with Fermilab to construct and operate part of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility at SURF will result in significant spending and employment in South Dakota in the coming decades.
SURF also hosts a number of visiting researchers who contribute to the facility’s economic impact when they spend money on meals and accommodation during their stay.
The lab makes a direct impact on the South Dakota and Western South Dakota economies when SDSTA and Fermilab purchase goods and services from local vendors and employ workers. SURF vendors and employees, in turn, increase their own expenditures, recirculating funds through the economy and generating indirect economic impacts.
