Mining expansion meets foothills resistance over transparency gaps, erosion of local control, and property risks

MNI LUZAHAN SENIOR CENTER – Roughly thirty people gathered for the final Save The Black Hills (STBH) Dinner, hosted by the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance (BHCWA) with COUP Council pitching in to prepare and serve food. BHCWA has been sounding the alarm about new and proposed gold mines in Spearfish Canyon, mining near sacred sites, and the push to restart uranium mining in the Southern Black Hills—while also bringing attention to other projects that too often advance without genuine public involvement.

This coalition has been growing for decades but with the recent boom in mining interests, it has grown significantly. In attendance were residents, community representatives, and newly organized advocacy groups from across the Black Hills, who have just now been discovering the scope of mining proposals emerging near their homes and are concerned about the potential impacts these projects may have in their communities

Most recently, Piedmont residents found out about Simon Contractors 300-acre limestone mine through brief public notices in the newspapers after the fact, according to Dakota News Network (DNN), despite promises on their website of transparency. The French-owned company received approval from the state and private landowners to allow limestone extraction on ten parcels along I-90, with operations expected to continue for nearly two decades. BHCWA Executive Director Dr. Lilias Jarding explained to attendees that under current state law, regulations for sand, gravel, limestone, lithium, other pegmatites and other construction aggregates don’t require public notice, public participation, or a hearing before a mine is licensed,

Protect Piedmont ‘s Future was quickly organized by residents to rally against the mine and advocate for local preservation and responsible development against industrial impacts. Residents’ concerns about air, water, traffic, tourism, and property values, are valid. In a video post on the Protect Piedmont Facebook page, standing outside the chainlink fence that prevents trespassing in the Hideaway Hills neighborhood where numerous homes sit abandoned, group representative and Piedmont resident Chris Greenberg explains, “There had been an old gypsum mine here, then the state of South Dakota allowed them to build homes. I spoke with a homeowner who is upside down about three-hundred grand. There’s got to be rules for this kind of thing. There have to protections for the citizens. We need our state and county to protect us from things like this.”

In April 2020, a major sinkhole formed and collapsed in the neighborhood in Black Hawk. Homes were evacuated immediately. It was found that the homes had been built over an abandoned, state-operated gypsum mine. More testing found the damage was massive and the land was deteriorating rapidly putting the more than 150 homes in the neighborhood at risk.” Since then, property values have plummeted.

“I’m against the mine at this location,” said Bob Burns from Piedmont Planning and Zoning, referring to the Piedmont Mine. He said there are more appropriate places the company could mine but understand that this location close to the road is convenient. “It’s not in my backyard but it’s just in a very inappropriate location. If there were county ordinances governing this like what Lawrence County has, then the mine wouldn’t have been allowed. There’s so many things wrong here. For instance, the steepness of the slopes closest to the other houses and the effect on the rest of the community land values. A mining ordinance, like the one that Lawrence County has, wouldn’t have let them build there. Meade County doesn’t have an ordinance because the state would not let them pass an ordinance. That’s kind of crazy. The state gives the authority to the locals to control mining because they don’t want to do it. And then they forbid Meade County from doing it.”

Mike Davies, who owns property in Whitewood and lives between Sturgis and Whitewood said he came to the meeting because he too is concerned about increased mining along the I-90 corridor. “We weren’t aware of anything until a realtor knocked on our door and wanted to buy four of our properties. Since then, we’ve learned that between Sturgis and Whitewood that mining companies own over two-thousand acres out there along the interstate, and they’re looking for limestone, which is between 60 and 100 feet deep on the foothills along the interstate. We don’t know what their plans are for sure, but what the realtor told us is that they want to mine within ten years in our area.”

“We have to starting thinking about the foothills and the Black Hills as one entity, otherwise we’re going to lose them.” When asked why he has become involved, Davies expressed the same sentiments of many residents. “When it’s in your backyard, you see it a whole different way, with a whole new sense of urgency. I would just ask people to think about what would happen if there was a mine that opened up across the fence from their place. How would they feel about the dust, the noise, the blasting and the loss of property values. Is this what we want for our community? Is this what we want for our Black Hills? If we don’t do anything that’s what we are going to get.”

The Protect Piedmont newsletter included a lengthy letter from former Meade County Commissioner, Piedmont resident ,and owner of Aker Woods Alan Aker, which was addressed only to his Piedmont neighbors who are not opposed to the quarry, said that he has made his own agreement with Simon to quarry only 25 acres of his 210 acre tree farm. He said the quarrying will be of short duration compared to others in the area and will preserve the “viewscape” by not quarrying to the top of the hill which will remain timbered and the same elevation.

Simon Construction has a community information page on their website about the Piedmont Mine. Stressing the importance of transparency, responsibility and respect, Simon says the page is designed as a community resources as the project progresses. They say they will employ modern dust and noise suppression technologies that keep operations safe and compliant with regulators.

The Piedmont community meeting on November 20, 2025, was packed, but Simon Contractors did not attend.

(Contact Marnie Cook at cookm8715@gmail.com)

The post Mining expansion meets foothills resistance over transparency gaps, erosion of local control, and property risks first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

Visit Original Source