IMMEDIATE CONCERNS FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

PHAS MEETING ON MINING 12/16/24

Our December 16th  2024 – 6:30 pm MT  evening meeting by Zoom will be about mining threats to our area with Lilias Jarding of BH Clean Water Alliance and Gary Placco of Black Hills Preservation Project as speakers. This meeting was recorded & the link is on our recordings web page For more information:

https://phas-wsd.org/event/prairie-hills-audubon-societys-december-meeting-on-mining-by-zoom/

WHO APPROVES MINES IN LAWRENCE COUNTY

Hearing on TUESDAY 11/26/24 – November 26th,

  In Lawrence County mining projects currently need a Conditional Use Permits (CUP).. . Lawrence County Commission second reading of Ordinance about  CUPs and the Board of Adjustments . It would take authority for approvals of Conditional Use Permits (CUP) away from the County Commission and give CUP approval authority to the Board of Adjustment.    This would result in the public not being able to refer CUP approvals (no more referendums on mining approvals). https://phas-wsd.org/event/lawrence-county-commission-2nd-reading-of-ordinance-24-05/

The  County Commission approved the proposed change, that change of the ordinance was  referred, with  enough signatures collected during the next month  to mandate referendum election (Due December 20th 2024). https://phas-wsd.org/event/deadline-to-return-notarized-petitions-on-referring-lawrence-countys-zoning-ordinances-24-05-changes/

 The County Auditor refused to schedule  a referendum election. Organizers hired Attorneys & sued the County. They seek donations to help with legal bills.

https://phas-wsd.org/event/meeting-by-organizers-of-referendum-on-lawrence-county-zoning-changes/ 

For more info – go  to our alerts on our Events/deadlines Calendar for 11/26/24, 12/18/24  & 1/9/25 :

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PIPELINES – REFERRED LAW 21

At our July 2024 Board Meeting, the PHAS Board of Directors endorsed the referendum of the controversial bill from the SD 2024 legislature:
Senate Bill 201. We opposed SB 201 during the legislature.  The referendum is  called Referred Law 21.   This is related to the fight in eastern SD
over CO2 pipelines and local control vs. state control over regulations about pipelines as they go through local counties.

SB 201 preempts all local ordinances  for linear infrastructure projects (pipelines, electric transmission, broadband, etc.).
The only way for these ordinances to be enforced is for the Public Utilities Commission to require a permit seeking company to comply with them, as a special
condition of a permit approval. This is a major loss for communities’ ability to create reasonable laws that take into account their particular
environmental, social, and economic conditions.

 Dakota Rural Action has a web page on the fight over C02 pipelines in South Dakota.  https://www.dakotarural.org/our-work/carbon

They also endorse the referendum & have a web page on referred law # 21 – https://www.dakotarural.org/vote-no-on-referred-law-21/

Here is an article about this issue: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2024/10/04/summit-carbon-pipeline-south-dakota-ballot/8001727972861/

 – Vote NO on referred law 21 (You are thus voting no on SB 201) OUR SIDE WON – SB 201 (Referred Law 21) was rejected by the public.

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MINING – MINERAL WITHDRAWAL FOR PACTOLA AREA

There is an October 21st deadline to comment IN FAVOR of the
mineral withdrawal for Pactola Reservoir. See our alert on our calendar page:

https://phas-wsd.org/event/deadline-to-comment-on-mineral-withdrawal-for-pactola-area-in-bhnf/

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LONGER TERM CONCERNS

These issues (mining,oil & gas, pipelines) are  generally not major focuses of Prairie Hills Audubon Society as there are
several groups in SD who are dedicated to these issues. We tend to follow their lead and comment on NEPA or other documents, testify at hearings when
asked, or lend to their lobbying efforts with elected officials. We schedule meetings on the mining issues.  In the far past we joined with
others and litigated over Brohm mining pollution mitigation failures.

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MINING

The exception to this rule (of primarily serving as backup support to other groups), is with Sand/Gravel mining and mining in the Bear
Lodge District of the Black Hills National Forest.

There are alternative groups working on hard rock (mineral) mining in South Dakota. The groups in Wyoming tend to focus on the Front Range
and mining in the Black Hills of Wyoming can sometimes fall through the cracks. Sand and Gravel mining is less threatening than mineral mining to the
environment so following it can be neglected due to demands of addressing the
larger threat of mineral mining.  We have watched for decades mining threat to Sand Creek
Roadless Areas. We have  litigated to prevent the exploration by dozing for a placer mining in the Sand Creek Inventoried Roadless Area of Wyoming and
successfully stopped that.  We have convinced the EPA that sections of Sand Creek were intermittent not ephemeral, which is critical to various laws
that protect water and streams.  We have commented on Wyoming water quality laws.  We helped Biodiversity Conservation Alliance prepare a Very
Rare and Uncommon Petition for Sand Creek, which was denied.  We studied and commented on the plans for rare earth mining
in Bear Lodge District north of Sundance and milling in Upton.  We have organized, have had educational meetings on these topics.

We participated in stake holder meetings before Pennington County proposed a Sand and Gravel ordinance and helped with petition drive and
opposing such ordinance as inadequate.

We testify at County Commission meetings on Sand/Gravel isues and communicate with DANR. One day we hope to reform the states very lax
sand/gravel mining laws.  We are concerned about proposals to explore for mining on lands near Craven Canyon (a place with Native American rock art). The DANR is waiting on State Historic Preservation review of the mining proposal before moving the application forward. When it moves folks will need to intervene in the case before the Board of Minerals and Environment.

PIPELINES

With pipelines, we just generally send comments in on documents or legislation and/or remind others to do so.  We investigated
intervening in the Keystone Pipeline XL permitting before the Public Utility Commission (PUC), but corporations have to hire lawyers and we could not afford
that, so our president intervened as an individual (individuals can represent themselves pro-se). We now support the referendum of  SB 201 (Referred law
21)

OIL-GAS DEVELOPMENT

With Oil and Gas, in the past we just have sent in comments on NEPA documents or comments for rule making or bills.  However we
recently joined with other groups for an intervention in federal court to help defend parts of BLM’s new rules on oil/gas (fluid) leasing rules. These
sections are an improvement over old rules. 

Oil/Gas Intervention: https://westernlaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024.10.08-BLM-Public-Lands-Rule-Intervention.pdf

 News release: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Lb-n5LN0biZIRZVP_Ghhrrz8pFIT59agqjEtHLHvmdc/edit