Mining, Pipelines, Oil and Gas

These issues are 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. 

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 issues and communicate with DANR. One day we hope to reform the states very lax sand/gravel mining laws.

With pipelines, we just generally send comments in on documents.  We investigating intervening in the Keystone Pipeline XL permitting before the 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). 

With Oil and Gas, we just have sent in comments on NEPA documents or rule making.