Pre-hearing scheduled for contested uranium case amid rising opposition

RAPID CITY – The Black Hills Clean Water Alliance (BHCWA) convened its August monthly meeting on Saturday, addressing several pressing environmental concerns across the region, from uranium exploration permits to nuclear waste storage proposals.

The meeting’s primary focus centered on Clean Nuclear Energy Corps’ (CNEC) proposed uranium exploration in the Craven Canyon area, which has now become a contested case through the state. “The proposal has generated significant opposition,” said Carla Rae Marshall from the BHCWA, “with thirty-five individual interveners joining the legal challenge alongside two major organizations—the Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance and the Sierra Club—and two tribal nations, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

The hearing, which had originally been scheduled for August 20 and 21, 2025, has been postponed. Instead, the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Board of Minerals and Environment (DANR) announced that a pre-hearing conference has been scheduled for August 21 at 11 AM Central Daylight Time (CDT) at the Matthew Environmental Training Center in Pierre. This is in response to motions filed in July by intervenors who requested a pre-hearing.

While attorneys for representative parties must appear in person, other parties and the general public can participate via dial-in access. The BHCWA plans to coordinate intervener participation through email communications. “The non-intervenors and the public can call and listen in by dialing in to the conference and listen to the proceedings online.”

One of the motions expected to be decided at the pre-hearing is whether to move the hearing from Pierre to western South Dakota. Marshall said ideally, the hearing should be held near the location of the proposed project – Rapid City, Hot Springs, or Pine Ridge. Another motion is the impact of the Fall River County Ordinance against uranium mining that was passed in 2022.

Solitario Resources has proposed the Ponderosa exploration drilling project which has attracted substantial public attention, receiving 1,774 comments during its review period.

Dr. Sandy Range, Founder and Director of the Grandmothers’ Village Project, Inc., wrote a lengthy submission standing in firm opposition to the project. “Once again, Indigenous lands, waters, and treaty rights are being threatened for the profit of an industry that represents a mere fraction of South Dakota’s economy – and whose record of environmental harm is both undeniable and devastating. The proposed four hundred plus drill holes, each thousands of feet deep, not only risk permanent contamination of the watershed, but also desecrate ceremonial grounds and traditional lands held in spiritual and cultural reverence. The Black Hills are not a mining zone but are the heart of spiritual life for many Nations.” She said the potential for pollution, noise, light, dust, and deforestation is not trifling but an “assault on the health of the land and the legacy we leave for future generations. From Pactola to Pe’ Sla, the people have made their voices clear. This project is unwanted. It is unsafe. And it is unjust. I respectfully urge the Northern Hills Ranger District and all relevant decision-makers to reject the Ponderosa Project permit.” She asked they instead invest in protecting the state’s tourism and recreation economy and safeguard it’s ecology.”

Marshall said that the Forest Service estimates it will have a decision by next month.

Additionally, Solitario Resources has proposed the Golden Crest project on the West Rim of Spearfish Canyon which is currently under consideration.

Concerns were raised about potential changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) under the Trump administration, which could impact how environmental assessments are conducted and if public comments are considered in future projects.

A proposed graphite mining project near Pe’ Sla, a sacred site, has generated over 2,100 public comments. Pete Lien and Sons Inc., which began as a limestone quarry in 1944, is a land optimization, mining, mineral processing, and ready mix concrete business. In recent years, tribal nations have purchased land around the sacred area to protect it.

Mackenzie Roberts was one of the concerned citizens who said the project is a threat to public health and the environment. “The Forest Service has abandoned public trust for even considering it. This violates treaties, lacks and de-centers tribal consultation, and your website provided an incorrect number to the public for more information. The lack of transparency, the exclusion of communities and an unjust comment period deprive this project of any sense of good ethics, justice, or public stewardship.”

Julian Rule also expressed concerns about the proximity of the Rochford Exploratory Mineral Project to “one of the most sacred places to the Dakota people but also the possibility of contaminating water in the upper Rapid Creed watershed, noting that the drill pads are located very near water sources “There is also the potential for contamination or cross-contamination of underground water sources and other negative environmental impacts,” said Rule in his submission.

The Forest Service decision is expected in October.

Updates on Dakota Gold’s activities focused on their Richmond Hill and Wharf operations. Monitoring these activities remains challenging due to restricted access to company properties, limiting the community’s ability to track environmental impacts.

BHCWA announced they do have ongoing community outreach to provide education to community members about ongoing environmental threats.

They also will soon be debuting their new t-shirts, which serve both as awareness tools and fundraising opportunities.

The meeting addressed broader regional issues, including a proposed nuclear storage facility near the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming that would impact the Arapaho and Shoshone tribes as well as the Madison Aquifer which underlies eight states in the United States and Canada. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) says the Madison is an important water resource in the northern plains states where surface water supplies are limited and population is increasing. Wyoming lawmakers have tabled the permit decision.

Environmental updates included the BLM’s assessment to potentially rescind Biden-era restrictions on new coal mines in the Powder River Basin, raising concerns about expanded fossil fuel extraction.

Participants discussed ongoing challenges with radioactive waste, including a nuclear waste dump south of Edgemont and abandoned uranium mines throughout the area. The Darrow mine’s radioactive water contamination was highlighted as a particular concern, especially following recent storm impacts. Archaeologist Linea Sundstrom, born and raised in the Black Hills, said there was a nuclear waste dump in the Black Hills. “That was from when they cleaned up the uranium mill that was right on the Cheyenne River there in Edgemont, they buried it in a vault and now it just looks like a cow pasture.”

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversaw cleanup efforts of the uranium mill tailings which had been used as fill material in residential areas around Edgemont. Contractors removed the contaminated soil, tailings and building materials from affected properties. About four million tons of contaminated material were moved to a specially constructed disposal cell two miles south of the mill site.

The meeting concluded with encouragement for continued community engagement and vigilance in protecting the Black Hills environment. BHCWA emphasized the importance of staying informed about upcoming hearings and maintaining active participation in environmental protection efforts.

Marshall emphasized as multiple projects advance through permitting processes, sustained community involvement remains crucial for protecting the region’s water resources and sacred sites from industrial development.

(Contact Marnie Cook at cookm8715@gmail.com)

The post Pre-hearing scheduled for contested uranium case amid rising opposition first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

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