VIEWPOINT | South Dakota decision makers put uranium prospects before Black Hills residents, tribes
Guest column by Rebecca Terk, Dakota Rural Action
Last spring’s notice of a proposed uranium exploration project near Craven Canyon, in Fall River County drew scores of public comments and nearly three dozen intervenors opposing the operation. The city of Hot Springs registered their concerns about the potential for additional region-wide water pollution and radioactive contamination that is still an issue from previous mining activities in the area.
Oglala Lakota County, situated downstream and downwind from the proposed drilling area, requested the hearing be held in Pine Ridge, Hot Springs (its off-reservation county seat), or Rapid City to provide for better access to the parties (including the Oglala Sioux Tribe and several tribe members) and the public. In an August 2025 pre-hearing, the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Board of Minerals & Environment Hearing Chair Bob Morris dismissed Oglala Lakota County’s request, claiming that it must come from Fall River County, where the project is sited.
