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DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20261109T060000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20261109T220000
DTSTAMP:20261109T190624Z
CREATED:20261106T210110Z
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UID:23399-1794204000-1794261600@phas-wsd.org
SUMMARY:Expected Monday\, Nov. 9: Senate vote on the permitting bill that would weaken NEPA\, ESA & the Clean Water Act.
DESCRIPTION:Expected Monday\, Nov. 9: Senate vote on the permitting bill that would weaken NEPA\, ESA & the Clean Water Act. Call now\, before the vote.\n\nWhat: The U.S. Senate is expected to hold its first vote as early as Monday on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA\, S. 5653). This is the cloture vote to open debate\, and it needs 60 votes to pass. The 417-page bill would narrow environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)\, shorten Endangered Species Act consultation deadlines\, limit states’ and Tribes’ authority to put conditions on federal permits under Clean Water Act Section 401\, and weaken National Historic Preservation Act review. It would also fast-track oil and gas\, mining\, logging\, and large AI data centers. \nBefore 2:30 p.m.  Eastern time on Monday\, November 9\, 2026\, please call both of your U.S. Senators (Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121). You should eventually call representative also.  Tell them to strongly oppose S. 5653. If this moves forward\, passing it may take a week (you can keep making calls). \nThe Senate starts meeting at 3:00 pm ET and will vote at 5:30 pm on Monday.  S 5653 is not currently listed on the agenda –  the bill on the agenda is a House Bill – HR 2347…The Surviver Justice Tax Prevention Act.  However HR 2347 is the vehicle they will use to introduce  & vote on S 5653. If cloture vote passes\, they will amend HR 2347 and change it’s content to S 5653.  Using a House already passed bill\, quickens the passage in the House\, during lame duck session.  If it moves forward on Monday night\, it is likely to take several days to move through the process and may be continued for further consideration next week – they don’t meet every day. \nSenate schedules often change\, and the vote could slip to later in the week(s). Calls and re useful any time before the vote\, so don’t wait. Senate offices open at 7 a.m. Mountain / 8 a.m. Central. They also take voice mail messages after hours.  Much of the time \,Thune’s staff doesn’t answer the phone and often all you can do\, 8 to 5\,  is leave messages for him. \nSouth Dakota angle: Sen. Thune\, as Majority Leader\, controls when this vote happens and supports the bill. Rep. Dusty Johnson voted for the House version (the SPEED Act). We don’t expect to change their votes\, but they should hear from South Dakotans\, and the talking points below are aimed at what matters here. \nCall (as an individual constituent): \n\nSen. John Thune: DC (202) 224-2321 | Rapid City (605) 348-7551\nSen. Mike Rounds: DC (202) 224-5842 | Rapid City (605) 343-5035\nRep. Dusty Johnson (if the bill reaches the House): DC (202) 225-2801\nOr the Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121\n\nTalking points. Pick two or three that matter most to you. Calls go better in your own words. \n\nNEPA is how South Dakotans get a voice on Black Hills projects. Timber sales\, mining\, road building\, and grazing on the Black Hills National Forest all go through NEPA review. That review is where citizens\, ranchers\, hunters\, and Tribes find out what’s planned\, comment\, and get mistakes fixed before the damage is done. This bill would reduce the federal actions that require review\, narrow the alternatives agencies have to consider\, and exempt more projects completely. Fewer projects reviewed means fewer chances for local people to weigh in.\nLess time to catch problems\, and less ability to challenge them. The bill sets new deadlines and new limits on court challenges to permitting decisions. When an agency gets it wrong on a public forest\, a citizen challenge is often the only remedy left. Shutting that door rewards rushed decisions.\nMining in the Black Hills. The Black Hills have a long history of mining and its damage\, from Gilt Edge Mine\, now a Superfund site\, to polluted Whitewood Creek. New gold\, lithium\, uranium\, and rare earth mines are proposed in and around the Hills today. The bill is designed to speed approvals for mining. This is exactly where careful environmental review protects our water and saves taxpayers from cleanup bills.\nHistoric preservation and sacred sites. The Black Hills are sacred to the Lakota and other Tribal nations and full of archaeological and historic sites. The bill weakens National Historic Preservation Act review and would waive it for certain reissued nationwide permits. It also weakens Tribal consultation\, which affects South Dakota’s nine Tribal nations. Once a site is bulldozed\, it’s gone for good.\nState authority over our waters. Clean Water Act Section 401 lets South Dakota put water-quality conditions on federal permits for pipelines\, mines\, and other projects crossing our rivers and streams. The bill narrows that authority. Decisions about South Dakota’s water should stay in South Dakota.\nEndangered species. The bill shortens ESA consultation deadlines. The bill would allow states to assume responsibility for federal wildlife reviews\, leaving endangered species with different safeguards depending on where a project is located.  Scientific safeguards would be weakened. Some projects would bypass wildlife review altogether. This all means less careful review for species like the whooping crane\, pallid sturgeon\, and black-footed ferret.\nProject certainty language would lock in permits approved by the Trump administration\, making them nearly impossible for a future administration–even a pro-climate one–to revisit\, even if environmental reviews are flawed\, rushed\, or based on inadequate science.\nFix the real cause of delays. Permitting delays mostly come from understaffed\, underfunded agencies\, not from environmental laws. Fully staffing the Forest Service\, BLM\, and Fish & Wildlife Service would speed permits without cutting the public out.\n\nShort sample message: “I’m a constituent from [town]. Please vote NO on cloture for S. 5653\, the permitting bill. It weakens NEPA review\, which is how South Dakotans get a say on timber\, mining\, and other projects in the Black Hills. It also undercuts historic preservation and protection of sacred sites\, speeds up mining approvals\, and limits South Dakota’s own authority over our waters. Permits are slow mainly because federal agencies are understaffed. The answer is to give agencies the staff and funding they need\, not to cut the public out of decisions about our public lands.” \nHere is another comment suggested by John Muir Project: “Do not be fooled. S. 5653 will not make our lives better or more affordable; it would lay waste to our environment without recourse.  This bill would render the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)\, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) unenforceable in court\, allowing destructive development and energy projects to proceed without restraint even when the law has been violated.  BAAJA also threatens tribal sovereignty and eliminates protections for sacred and cultural sites\, as well as public lands\, waters (yes it further erodes protections under the Clean Water Act)\, and wildlife\, all while stripping away the ability of our communities to have a say in projects that will impact them. It would allow logging\, oil drilling\, and data centers to proceed without regard to their impacts and with no ability to stop them. In fact\, if this law passes\, once a permit is issued\, it would remain locked in for generations to come\, regardless of the impacts\, new science or changed circumstances.” \nFriends and family in other states: The votes that matter most are Democratic senators’ votes\, because 60 votes are needed. Please forward this to people in states with Democratic senators\, especially Oregon (Merkley\, Wyden)\, Illinois (Duckworth)\, Massachusetts (Markey)\, New Mexico\, Colorado\, Arizona\, Nevada\, Washington\, and California. Ask them to call their own senators and urge a NO vote. \nMore information: Western Environmental Law Center statement and policy analysis (https://westernlaw.org/)\, \nOcean Climate Action tool kit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gEvykG50LvO06uBZRt01Mr24m3XrlrEoc8iROMVk5vM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.njmtwcon24f  \n| Bill text and summary (Congress.gov) \n  \n\nDefenders of Wildlife Advocacy Toolkit\nAnimal Commons\, ESC\, and others action alert- https://actionnetwork.org/letters/stop-environmental-rollbacks-in-the-senate-permitting-bill/\nWildEarth Guardians action alert – https://action.wildearthguardians.org/page/104254/action/1?ea.url.id=6217457\nDefenders of Wildlife action alert – https://act.defenders.org/page/103490/action/1\nWestern Watersheds Project action alert-  https://www.westernwatersheds.org/actionalerts/take-action-permitting-reform-would-put-wildlife-and-clean-water-at-risk/\n\n===== \nAdditional Resources\nOrganizational Letters\, Press Releases\, and Statements \n\nLetter – NGO Letter to Congress on Harmful BAAJA Ocean Provisions\nLetter – The Environmental Council of the States\nLetter – Attorney Generals of CA\, MA\, WA\, AZ\, DE\, IL\, ME\, OR\, VT\nLetter- Senators Duckworth\, Wyden\, Merkely\, Markey\nPress Release – WE ACT\nPress Release – Defenders of Wildlife\nPress Release – Center for Biological Diversity\nPress Release – Oil Change International \nPress Release – Southern Environmental Law Center\nStatement\, Refaluwasch Journal of Knowledge and Culture (RJKC)\nPress Release\, The Wilderness Society\nEndangered Species Coalition – https://defenders.org/sites/default/files/2026-10/Permitting-Bill-Advocacy-Toolkit.pdf\n\n  \nNews Articles \n\n\n\nHeatmap\, John Podesta Says Permitting Deal Hands Trump ‘a Loaded Howitzer’\n\n\n\n\nPolitico\, Here’s what’s inside the Senate’s new bipartisan permitting proposal \n\n\nSubstack\, The BAAJA Scorecar – tracks Members of Congress and their support of the bill. \n\n  \nBill Analyses \n\nUnion of Concerned Scientists\, The Senate Permitting Deal Could Lock in Fossil Fuel Dominance for Generations\nFishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign\, The Permitting Bill Fishermen Can’t Afford to Ignore\nBill Analysis\, NRDC\, NRDC Assessment of BAAJA\, the 2026 Permitting and Transmission Bill\n\n\nBill Analysis\, Columbia University\, Senate Bipartisan Permit Reform Bill Would Upend Many Environmental Laws\nBill Analysis\, Holland & Knight\n\n\nBill Analysis\, Jeremy Symons\, Substack\, This is not the permit reform deal that was advertised (Note: this piece includes considerable analysis of Title IV on Project Certainty)\nExpert Blog\, Earthjustice\, What Will BAAJA Do? Whatever the Trump Administration Wants\nExpert Blog\, Earthjustice\, How the Senate’s Permitting Bill Could Lock in Deep-Sea Mining for Years to Come\nExpert Blog\, NRDC – Hard Questions About the Permitting Bill\nExpert Blog\, NRDC – How the Senate’s Permitting Bill Could Lock in Deep-Sea Mining for Years to Come\nExpert Article\, Yale Journal of Regulation\, The Muddy Waters of BAAJA\nLegal Analysis\, David Bookbinder\nFact Sheet\, Oceana\nFact Sheet\, Center for Biological Diversity\nFact Sheet\, Defenders of Wildlife\nFact sheet\, Climate Justice Alliance\, Permitting Reform Myths vs. Facts\n\n 
URL:https://phas-wsd.org/event/expected-monday-nov-9-senate-vote-on-the-permitting-bill-that-would-weaken-nepa-esa-the-clean-water-act/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20261109T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20261109T160000
DTSTAMP:20261109T185618Z
CREATED:20261106T225739Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261109T185618Z
UID:23405-1794238200-1794240000@phas-wsd.org
SUMMARY:Deadline comment/intervene in 2 ground water right permit applications for Uranium mine
DESCRIPTION:DEADLINE Monday\, Nov. 9: Comment or petition on Powertech’s water permits for the Dewey-Burdock uranium mine (Madison & Inyan Kara aquifers)\nWhat: 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. \n\nApplication 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.\nApplication No. 2915-2\, Madison Aquifer: About 82.5 million gallons (253.2 acre-feet) 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 and domestic and livestock water for local ranchers. Powertech’s application calls that a ‘temporary replacement of their wells in the vicinity of ISR operations.’\n\nThe 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 (unless an extension is granted). The Chief Engineer found that the applications raise important public interest issues and should not be approved without a hearing. “The Chief Engineer recommends approving both permits. The Board makes the final decision.” \nWhy it matters: \n\nThe 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 & release uranium and other minerals\, and in-situ mines elsewhere have rarely\, if ever\, returned an aquifer to its pre-mining quality.\nBlack 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.\nA 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.\n\nTwo ways to take part (you must file separately for EACH application): \n\nComment: 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.\nPetition 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.\n\nForms 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 and staff reports and company’s applications. You can see comments and petitions already submitted.  However it is possible that parts of this web site will be broken & not work correctly this weekend (11/6-11/9). \nMail\, e-mail or deliver to: \n\n Chief Engineer\, Water Rights Program\, Foss Building\, 523 E. Capitol\, Pierre\, SD 57501. Phone (605) 773-3352.\nPetitioners also need to send a copy to Powertech (USA) Inc.\, 101 North Shoreline Blvd.\, Suite 450\, Corpus Christi\, TX 78401.\nThe mail must be POSTMARKED by 11/9/26.  Also DANR normally has a web portal you can upload comments to\,\n\nDANR WEEKEND WEBSITE ISSUES: However due to talking to DANR on Friday 11/6/26\, I am warned that DANR public notice/public commenting web page may be broken this weekend\, at least in part. DANR has an outage notice on their public notice/comment page that says comments and petitions may also be emailed to DANRmail@state.sd.us (you can’t upload to the DANR web site this weekend/Monday. \nPetitioners must still get a copy of their petition to Powertech and we are provided with postal address for Powertech.. On both applications this is the e-mail for Powertech applicant – aforbes@encoreuranium.com\,  (972) 891-8664\, but I don’t know if that is the proper e-mail to use for sending a petition or it is allowed to e-mail a petition to Powertech. Call up DANR (605) 773-3352 – and ask if you wish to e-mail Powertech or call up  Powertech. It is possible that everyone would rather have digital copies than paper. \nThe deadline for e-mails is  11:59 pm CT (10:59 pm MT).   \nHelp with writing comments: \nBlack 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/ \nDakota Rural Action’s action alert and links to the permit applications and comment pages for each permit are here:\nhttps://www.dakotarural.org/powertech-seeking-billions-of-gallons-of-groundwater-comment-or-intervene-by-nov-9/ \nBackground 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.” \nSources: \n\nDANR notice of hearing\, Application 2914-2\nSD Searchlight / Rapid City Post: Public comment period opens\nDANR Powertech water rights page
URL:https://phas-wsd.org/event/deadline-comment-intervene-in-2-ground-water-right-permit-applications-for-uranium-mine/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20261109T215000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20261109T215900
DTSTAMP:20261109T093536Z
CREATED:20260930T225159Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261109T093536Z
UID:23262-1794261000-1794261540@phas-wsd.org
SUMMARY:Nov 9\, Deadline to comment against fast-track oil drilling permits in Alaska's Western Arctic
DESCRIPTION:Monday\, Nov 9\, 2026\, before 9:59 pm MT — Deadline to comment against fast-track oil drilling permits in Alaska’s Western Arctic (NPR-A) \nSummary: Qualifying oil and gas production sites in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska would get a decision within 60 days of a complete application\, with no additional project-level environmental analysis required. To qualify\, a project’s entire footprint would have to sit within 25 miles of existing permanent oil and gas infrastructure. The proposal came following a formal petition from the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. Earthjustice warns that new projects in the Western Arctic\, including in Teshekpuk Lake\, the Colville River and other special areas that have long been off limits to development\, could be fast-tracked. The impacts analysis is missing: BLM published only a portion of the environmental impact statement for the proposed rule and did not include the section that analyzes its environmental impacts.\nFederal Register notice: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/08/2026-18261/national-petroleum-reserve-in-alaska-production-site-development\nComment portal (rule): https://www.regulations.gov/document/BLM-2026-0133-0001 · RIN 1004-AF57\nDraft EIS chapters (separate comment): Comments on the draft environmental chapters go through the BLM ePlanning site.  Go to –  eplanning.blm.gov; the NEPA Number is DOI-BLM-AK-0000-2026-0012-EIS. \nBoth close on November 9 before midnight in DC.. \nReady-made alert: \nEarthjustice’s press release is at https://earthjustice.org/press/2026/trump-administration-proposes-regulations-to-rubber-stamp-drilling-in-alaskas-western-arctic. \nTheir Pre-fab comment letter – https://earthjustice.org/action/no-shortcuts-for-oil-and-gas-companies?ms=web \nNational Audubon’s action link w/ pre-fab letter: https://act.audubon.org/a/western-arctic-2026 \nAlaska Wilderness League and The Wilderness Society are also active on this issue.\nArticle: “BLM Proposes 60 Day Decisions for Arctic Oil Sites Within 25 Miles of Existing Alaska Infrastructure”  URL link >>https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/73225/20260907/blm-proposes-60-day-decisions-arctic-oil-sites-within-25-miles-existing-alaska-infrastructure.htm \n.
URL:https://phas-wsd.org/event/nov-9-deadline-to-comment-against-fast-track-oil-drilling-permits-in-alaskas-western-arctic/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20261110T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20261110T203000
DTSTAMP:20261106T203557Z
CREATED:20261106T201616Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261106T203557Z
UID:23386-1794333600-1794342600@phas-wsd.org
SUMMARY:Jack Gladstone - "Montana's Troubadour" Preforms at the Journey in Rapid City
DESCRIPTION:Jack Gladstone – “Montana’s Troubadour” Preforms at the Journey in Rapid City in the evening.
URL:https://phas-wsd.org/event/jack-gladstone-montanas-troubadour-preforms-at-the-journey-in-rapid-city/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20261112T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20261112T203000
DTSTAMP:20261106T202212Z
CREATED:20261106T201844Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261106T202212Z
UID:23388-1794506400-1794515400@phas-wsd.org
SUMMARY:Travis Lavieri speaks on Black Footed Ferret - Norbeck Society meeting 11/12/26\, Rapid City
DESCRIPTION:Travis Lavieri speaks on Black Footed Ferret – Norbeck Society meeting 11/12/26. 6 pm presentation at OCW in Rapid City\,
URL:https://phas-wsd.org/event/travis-lavieri-speaks-on-black-footed-ferret-norbeck-society-meeting-11-12-26-rapid-city/
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