Rapid City Council Uranium Resolution Denied Petition To Be Heard in Powertech Permit Hearings
Press Release from the Office of the Mayor of Rapid City
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2013
Mayor Sam Kooiker
City Council President Jerry Wright
Mayor and City Council President Baffled over Denied Petition
Rapid City, SD: Mayor Sam Kooiker and City Council President Jerry Wright have issued a strong statement of opposition to the action taken by the South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment to silence the voice of the City of Rapid City in the upcoming Powertech hearings.
On August 19, 2013, after a vigorous debate and with an overwhelming majority, the City Council passed Resolution 2013-083 – A Resolution Expressing Grave Concern about the In Situ Mining of Uranium by Powertech in Custer and Fall River Counties: NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the City of Rapid City that due to the potential risk to the Madison Aquifer the City expresses grave concern about the proposed in situ mining of uranium in the Black Hills.
In order to have the resolution entered into the official record for the upcoming hearings, the City filed the necessary petition to have Resolution 2013-083 entered into the official record.
In a meeting on Monday, September 16, 2013, the South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment denied the inclusion of Rapid City Common Council Resolution 2013-083 into the official record of the upcoming hearings.
“We are surprised the South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment would so willingly silence the voices of the second largest city in the State”, said Mayor Sam Kooiker and City Council President Jerry Wright.
The City Attorney’s office is drafting an appeal to the South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment and is asking for the Board to reconsider denial of the City’s petition.
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