Deadline comment/intervene in 2 ground water right permit applications for Uranium mine
DEADLINE Monday, Nov. 9: Comment or petition on Powertech’s water permits for the Dewey-Burdock uranium mine (Madison & Inyan Kara aquifers)
What: Powertech (USA) Inc., a subsidiary of enCore Energy, has applied to the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) for two water permits for its proposed Dewey-Burdock in-situ uranium mine. The mine site is about 20 square miles in southwestern Custer and northwestern Fall River counties, near Edgemont, on the southern edge of the Black Hills. DANR received the applications in June but didn’t publish notice until late October, leaving the public less than two weeks to respond. Comments and petitions are due Monday, November 9, 2026.
- Application No. 2914-2, Inyan Kara Aquifer: Water to mine uranium out of the Inyan Kara formation. Powertech would pump at up to 4,500 gallons per minute from up to 1,000 wells. At that rate, about 2.36 billion gallons a year would pass through the wells, with net consumption capped at 274.2 acre-feet a year (about 89 million gallons). The notice gives no end date.
- Application No. 2915-2, Madison Aquifer: About 84 million gallons a year for 20 years, with a possible 20-year extension. The Madison water would mainly be used to try to restore the mined aquifer after mining, plus facility operations.
The Water Management Board will hear both applications at 10:45 a.m. Central, Wednesday, December 2, 2026, at the Matthew Training Center, Joe Foss Building, 523 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre. The Chief Engineer found that the applications raise important public interest issues and should not be approved without a hearing.
Why it matters:
- The Madison and Inyan Kara are among the main aquifers supplying drinking, ranch, and irrigation water across western South Dakota. In-situ mining injects chemicals into the aquifer to dissolve uranium, and in-situ mines elsewhere have rarely, if ever, returned an aquifer to its pre-mining quality.
- Black Hills water is already stretched. A 2025 U.S. Geological Survey study found that the region’s aquifers and reservoirs are falling short of demand, and after years of drought many shallow wells have gone dry.
- A federal appeals court has noted that a sizable number of cultural, historical, and archaeological sites, including burial sites, have been identified in the project area. The court also found that the Oglala Sioux Tribe has the most direct historical, cultural, and religious ties to the area. The Tribe, Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, and others have fought this project in state and federal proceedings since at least 2012.
Two ways to take part (you must file separately for EACH application):
- Comment: Anyone may comment to the Chief Engineer on DANR’s comment form. A comment goes into the record, but it does not make you a party to the hearing.
- Petition to intervene: To become a party of record, you must file a written petition on DANR’s form with both the Chief Engineer and Powertech. You must describe an injury to you that is unique, not just the general public’s injury. For example, you might own a well, land, or water rights near the site or downgradient from it. The petition must also give your reasons for opposing the application and your name and mailing address. A petitioner may also ask in writing, by Nov. 9, to postpone the hearing. Individuals can represent themselves in an intervention, but corporations must be represented by an attorney
Forms and notices: Go to danr.sd.gov/public, scroll to the Powertech notice under “Water Rights,” and click the dates in the “Petition/Comment Deadline” column. You can maybe read the Inyan Kara (2914-2) or Madison (2915-2) hearing notices here. However it is possible that parts of this web site will be broken & not work correctly this weekend (11/6-11/9).
Mail, e-mail or deliver to: Chief Engineer, Water Rights Program, Foss Building, 523 E. Capitol, Pierre, SD 57501. Phone (605) 773-3352. Petitioners also send a copy to Powertech (USA) Inc., 101 North Shoreline Blvd., Suite 450, Corpus Christi, TX 78401. The mail must be POSTMARKED by 11/9/26. Also DANR normally has a web portal you can upload comments to, however due to talking to DANR on Friday, I am warned that DANR public notice/public commenting web page may be broken this weekend at least in part and you can e-mail comment to DANRmail@state.sd.us.
We are not sure if the deadline for e-mails is COB on Monday or 11:59 pm CT. Normally it is 11:59 for commenting. Call and ask DANR on Monday to verify if you want to e-mail late at night Monday.
Help with writing comments: Black Hills Clean Water Alliance has step-by-step filing instructions and commenting hints and videos on how to comment on its State-Level Comment Notices page. — https://bhcleanwateralliance.org/public-hearings/state-level-comment-notices/
Dakota Rural Action’s action alert and links to the permit applications and comment pages for each permit are here:
https://www.dakotarural.org/powertech-seeking-billions-of-gallons-of-groundwater-comment-or-intervene-by-nov-9/
Background reading: “Public comment period opens as company seeks state permits for uranium mine” (SD Searchlight / Rapid City Post). Also see the Rapid City Post’s article on declining state aquifers and Brad Johnson’s SD Searchlight commentary, “With mining, remember: The people who may need the water in 50 years won’t be at the hearing.”
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