Citizens Successful on Call to Protect Their Right to a Fair Hearing
SD Board of Minerals and Environment Will Hold Mining Permit Hearing in Rapid City
After countless citizen letters, phone calls, and emails to Governor Daugaard and state legislators, the South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment changed its mind and will hold the large scale mining permit hearing for Powertech Uranium Corp. in Rapid City, rather than Pierre.
The South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment held a pre-hearing conference on May 23 in Rapid City for the mining permit Powertech Uranium Corp. is seeking in order to mine uranium in the Black Hills. The conference was intended to solicit public input and to set a date and location for the hearing. When interested intervenors arrived, however, they found the Board had already made a decision about when the hearing will be held and proposed the hearing be held in Pierre, rather than in the Black Hills where the majority of interested parties live.
Under large public pressure, however, the Board moved the hearing location. Dr. Rebecca Leas, a retired health professional and Dakota Rural Action member, responded to the announcement stating, “I am very happy about the site being changed to Rapid City to accommodate the many working people, families, ranchers and citizens who want to have a say and be present for the large scale mining permit hearing.”
The Large Scale Mining Permit is only one of several permits Powertech Uranium Corp. will have to get in order to mine uranium for the proposed Dewey Burdock project. A hearing for two others, both water permits, are already scheduled for two weeks in October. The SD Board of Minerals and Environment decided they will hold their hearing September 23-27, making it nearly impossible for intervenors to adequately prepare for, or attend, both.
Unfortunately, the Board did not change the hearing date, and citizens will be forced to prepare for both throughout the short summer.
“I was disappointed about the obvious concern by the chair about the statutory date,” says Dr. Leas. “Where is the concern about our representation?”
The Black Hills Chapter is a community-based affiliate of Dakota Rural Action members. The Black Hills Chapter organizes around local food, community, renewable energy, natural resources, sustainable agriculture and land preservation issues. The Chapter’s current campaign is to stop uranium mining in the Black Hills and members led the effort to change the hearing date and location.