State board weighs uranium exploration near Craven Canyon amid disputes over water, cultural sites, and process

HOT SPRINGS – A federal lawsuit alleging due process and language-access violations immediately suspended the state hearing on a proposed uranium exploration project near Craven Canyon, after days of contentious testimony over water quality, cultural protections, and public participation. The case before the South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment concerns whether Clean Nuclear Energy Company (CNEC) can drill exploratory uranium holes in the southern Black Hills near Edgemont, in an area that includes cultural sites, rock art panels, and recreation land.

The hearing was adjourned until further notice after Elizabeth Lone Eagle, an official intervenor representing herself and other pro se Lakota speakers, filed the suit Wednesday. The complaint argues Lakota first-language speakers were denied meaningful interpretation and translation during the permit process and seeks emergency court action to halt or correct the proceeding so affected community members can participate.

Clean Nuclear Energy Company, a non-operating subsidiary of Nexus Uranium, is seeking an exploration permit for its Chord project, which covers 3,640 acres. The immediate drilling area is 88 acres, with proposed holes reaching roughly 400 to 550 feet.

Even before the adjournment, the hearing had been marked by repeated disputes over procedure, evidence, scheduling, and who was controlling the proceedings.

On the stand, company witness Mike Blady, an executive of Nexus Uranium, defended water sampling near the project area and cited a RESPEC technical memorandum concluding groundwater in the uranium bearing formation does not meet drinking water standards and is not suitable for domestic use.

Intervenor attorneys challenged those conclusions, focusing on an older 1980s sample and a more recent consultant-collected sample. Bruce Ellison, a Rapid City attorney appearing as an individual intervenor, led much of the questioning.

“My objection is that this is an incompetent report, because it’s not based upon documented information,” Ellison told the board. “It’s based upon in part the sample that was done in 1984 and this sample that was taken in 2023, but there’s no paperwork, as the witness just admitted.”

Board Chair Bob Morris repeatedly overruled Ellison’s objections. Ellison said he was challenging the foundation for the testimony and how the witness knew what he claimed to know.

Blady also addressed questions about radiation exposure from drill cuttings and core samples. He said he was not concerned about unsafe radiation levels to workers or the environment, citing the low-grade nature of the mineralization.

On cultural and environmental impacts, Blady said CNEC worked with state agencies and contractors on cultural, biological, wildlife, and hydrogeologic studies. He said the company accepted restrictions recommended after consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office, including no exploration in one corner of the project area and weekly archaeological monitoring during drilling.

Blady said consultant reports placed the nearest rock art panel about 800 feet from the project boundary, with the closest proposed drill pad roughly 1,000 feet away. Intervenors objected that those distances were based on secondhand consultant information.

Dust and traffic on Elbow Canyon Road also drew attention. Blady described the gravel road as carrying both local and recreational traffic and said CNEC’s exploration activity would generate less dust than ordinary vehicle use there.

The company said each drill pad would disturb about 0.08 acres, for a total of just over three acres if all 38 pads are built. CNEC’s reclamation plan calls for plugging boreholes with bentonite grout, replacing top soil, reseeding, and treating noxious weeds.

Later, state counsel moved to introduce letters of support from the Edgemont Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Edgemont. Opponents objected, arguing the board had already declined to treat other expressions of community sentiment as relevant to the permit decision. They noted that residents of Hot Springs, the town hosting the hearing, and the rest of Fall River County voted to approve a citizen-initiated ballot measure declaring uranium mining a public nuisance. Fifty-six percent of Fall River County voters approved the initiative,

“If you accept this, then you are essentially suborning hypocrisy,” one intervenor argued. “You already ruled that local ordinances are not relevant. Therefore, for a city that is outside of this area, it is also irrelevant, and a chamber of commerce is not a governing body.”

Another attorney also questioned whether one city resolution had actually been adopted, saying council minutes showed it was tabled the same day the resolution was dated.

Blady also acknowledged that consultants had located incomplete drill logs from the early 1950s by Craven Coal documenting earlier exploration in the area. Tribal attorney Steven Gunn and Ellison argued the logs were critical to testing the company’s claims and objected to proceeding before they were produced.

Gunn also questioned who controls CNEC, and Blady testified that he is the company’s sole director.

Blady also testified that Basin Uranium merged with Nexus Uranium in September 2024 and that Nexus ceased to exist after the merger.

Audio problems also dogged the hearing. Several exchanges involving counsel, witnesses, and the Lakota interpreter were difficult to hear. A microphone hadn’t been provided to Ellison during the early portion of the proceeding.

On the third day, Wednesday, Ellison continued questioning Blady about the scope of the project and the area it could affect. After returning from break for the afternoon testimony, the board announced they would instead be going into executive session. Upon returning, they unexpectedly announced that the permit hearing had been adjourned until further notice. Tribal attorney Steven Gunn said that meant the hearing, originally scheduled through Friday, was over for now but likely did not mark the end of CNEC’s effort to win approval.

Lone Eagle said she filed the federal lawsuit because of what she described as due process violations.

She told Native Sun News Today the violations were “not just during this hearing but violations that began as far back as last August regarding this case.”

The lawsuit names the South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment, the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Bob Morris in his official capacity as hearing officer, David McVey in his official capacity as Minerals, Mining and Superfund Program Administrator, Hunter Roberts in his official capacity as DANR secretary, and Clean Nuclear Energy Corporation. It seeks an emergency order to halt or correct the proceeding and ensure meaningful participation for the affected community.

The complaint argues Lakota first-language speakers were effectively excluded from the EXNI 453 (permit application tracking number) permit hearing over a project that could affect land, water, and sacred sites in the southern Black Hills. It says the state failed to provide meaningful interpretation and translation despite months of requests and planning.

According to the filing, that failure meant Lakota speakers missed pre-hearing deadlines and could not fully participate as witnesses testified and exhibits were introduced. The suit seeks emergency federal intervention requiring meaningful language access before the case proceeds.

(Contact Marnie Cook at cookm8715@gmail.com)

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