SD Water Management Board to Decide On Oct. 6th. WE SAY NO!!

THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ACTION: SIGN-ON LETTER AND INFORMATION ON THIS IMPORTANT STATE MEETING.

INTRO:

Please Stand in Solidarity with us on October 6th, (may continue to the 7th) as the South Dakota Water Management Board (WMB) will be holding a critical meeting on the future of the Black Hills. The governor’s appointees will be deciding whether Powertech USA Inc., a subsidiary of Azarga Uranium Corp. – neither of which has ever mined uranium — can restart a water permit hearing process that the board put on hold in 2013. It’s for what would be the state’s first in-situ mining for radioactive materials in aquifers.

GO DIRECTLY TO THE SIGN-ON LETTER

Canada-based Powertech/Azarga (soon to be enCore) wants to restart state-level hearings while federal permitting remains to be decided. The board previously told the company to wait until federal permitting was resolved. However, under the new governor, Kristi Noem, the board has used taxpayer money to grant a new date to decide whether to continue, regardless. Anyone can make a public comment at this proceeding (details below).

If the water permit hearings are allowed to restart, the company will be one step closer to uranium mining in the Black Hills, “The Heart of Everything That Is” for the Oceti Sakowin. There are many tribal nations in this region that are on record with resolutions opposing this project in unceded 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty territory.

Our goal is for the WMB to say NO to continuation of Powertech state permits proceedings.
Public comment to that end will demonstrate continued high level of civic engagement in opposition.
Commenters can request new intervenors be admitted, if/when hearings are granted.

Please note: We encourage people to attend in person, if they can, or sign up to speak remotely. But we need to fill the room with people! We are also seeking donations to help with these costs. (The Information is below). We have also included information about Covid concerns.

UNITY STATEMENT: We stand in opposition to the entire Powertech motion, since restarting the state hearing would be premature and as such contrary to the principles of judicial economy given its pending and incomplete federal permit license applications.

Sign-On Letter Due Oct. 5th.

TO: SOUTH DAKOTA DANR WATER MANAGEMENT BOARD
FROM: CONCERNED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

DEAR SOUTH DAKOTA WATER MANAGEMENT BOARD: ————-WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, THANK YOU FOR READING OUR LETTER AND OUR REASONS FOR REQUESTING DENIAL OF “Motions for Recommencement of Contested Case Hearing for the Consolidated Case in the matter of Water Permit Application Nos. 2685-2 and 2686-2 and GroundWater Discharge Plan GWD 1-13, Powertech USA Inc. ————-We request the state permit hearings be put on hold for the same reason that they were in 2013, eight years ago; Federal permits are not in place. We should not be spending taxpayers' dollars on hearings under these circumstances. ————-Everyone should be concerned about a situation in which a company tries to start construction of its project based on the state process while a federal process is ongoing. What’s more, starting construction would destroy cultural resources that the federal process is trying to protect. The Oglala Sioux Tribe is in federal court over this project — to establish accountability for the protection of cultural resources, including water. ————-The state makes billions of dollars on tourism, and those of us from out of state, who have signed this letter, will not be visiting, when our pleas for due process have been ignored or the water is polluted by your permission.————-Please reject the request to hear the permit application arguments at this time. If/when you do proceed with hearings, please open them to new intervenors in all categories, keeping in mind that this is not simply a state issue, but one of broader concern. ————-

The text box above is to include a personal note or other comments if you’d like.

Thank You. Signed by (First and Last Name):(required)

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I am signing as an Individual. I am authorized to sign for my organization.

Organization:

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Can’t Sign Right Now?

The other option to Sign-on is to Download the PDF, complete, and either mail or email the completed letter to reach the Water Management Board by 5:00 PM (CST) on Oct. 5th.

Email: Ron.Duvall@state.sd.us. (Please CC us at nobhuranium@bhcleanwateralliance.org)

Or, Mail to:

Ron Duvall
Water Rights Permitting Administrator
SD DANR, Water Rights Program
Foss Building 523 East Capitol Ave.
Pierre, SD 57501-318

If mailing your letter to Ron Duvall at the above address, please mail at lease a week before the deadline.

Meeting Information:

Time and Location:

WATER MANAGEMENT BOARD Meeting – Wednesday, October 6, 2021 – 9:30 AM (CST).

Legislative Conf. Rm. 414, State Capitol Bldg., 500 E Capitol Ave, Pierre SD

WANT TO SPEAK UP AT THIS MEETING?

We are encouraging as many people as possible to attend this meeting in person and ask that you speak during the public comment period portion. If you can not make this Oct. 6th meeting in person, please sign-up to speak remotely with Oct. 5th as the deadline to sign-up for this option.

According to the SD DANR WMB Meeting agenda: Any person(s) interested in speaking during the public comment period needs to contact the Department at (605) 773-3352 no later than 5:00 PM (CST) on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, if desiring to speak via remote connection.

In regards to questions about Covid-19 Practices & Precautions at this meeting, we recommend you calling DANR as according to their policy: Notice is given to individuals with disabilities that this meeting is being held in a physically accessible location. Please notify the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources at (605) 773-3352 at least 48 hours before the meeting if you have a disability for which special arrangement must be made.

If you are planning to attend and need some help with overnight accommodations, transportation, or food, please contact Rebecca Terk, DRA Senior Organizer at rebeccat@dakotarural.org or by phone at (605) 697-5204 Ext. 260

Dakota Rural Action has a block of rooms at the Governor’s Inn Hotel, 700 W Sioux Ave, Pierre, SD 57501. Please call the hotel at (605) 224-4200 if you would like to make your own hotel reservation at $80 per night (plus taxes).

If you can make a donation to help us with this Call to Action that would be greatly appreciated. Thank You. Donate here.

We sincerely thank you for your support and for Protecting Water, wherever you may be.

Follow are the links on the South Dakota DANR Website to this Contested Case.

Mine Permit Application: Powertech (USA) Inc. Large Scale Mine Permit Application Documents

Proposed uranium in situ leach mine and processing facility. Injection wells will be used to pump groundwater fortified with oxygen and carbon dioxide into the ore deposits to dissolve uranium. Production wells will be used to pump the uranium-laden fluids to the surface for recovery. The fluids from the production wells will be processed at two separate facilities at the mine site to extract and concentrate the uranium.

Consolidated Case: Powertech (USA) Inc. – Water Permit Appl. Nos. 2685-2 & 2686-2 and GWD 1-13 Documents

Consolidated case for applications to appropriate water from the Madison aquifer and Inyan Kara aquifer and for a ground water discharge permit.

LINK: https://denr.sd.gov/contested.aspx

If you can’t open some of the SD State links, I suggest you try updating your Web Browser or trying a different one such as Firefox or Google Chrome. Seems when the state updated their website people are now having trouble opening some of the documents.