The Dewey-Burdock uranium mining project, located near Edgemont, is joining a federal deadline process that seeks to support key infrastructure.
This comes under the Fast-41 process in DC.
The site was selected by the Trump Administration as project with the potential to help bolster the nation’s uranium stockpiles and nuclear power supply chain.
The program dates to the 2015 FAST Act, which aims to improve predictability and reliability of critical American infrastructure. Ultimately, this makes the long-debated EnCore Energy project accountable to federal deadlines
It doesn’t mean the project is greenlit though, and pushback has been consistent. Lilias Jarding is the executive director of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance. She predicts a hard fight.
“This project has not had smooth sailing for almost 20 years and there is a lot of resistance to it," Jarding said. "It poses public health risks, and it always contaminates water. Always is a pretty big word, but I would challenge someone to find a uranium project that had not contaminated any water.”
Dating back to the gold rush, extractive resource projects like mining were once a driver of the Black Hills economy.
As gold vanished and hikers appeared, many towns shifted to tourism.
Most notably, Fall River County voted to declare uranium mining a public nuisance in 2022. While voters contend that 56% vote in favor banned mining from the area, many mining industry leaders disagree.
Take this interview clip from just after the election. In it, Dewey-Burdock project manager Mark Hollenbeck contends the vote was illegal.
“The state clearly states that if they license something it can’t be deemed a nuisance," Hollenbeck said. "As soon as somebody wants to challenge it, it will be removed from the books, I believe.”
To date, that ruling has not been challenged by EnCore.
At the same time, mining advocates say extractive operations are key to keeping strong footing on the world stage. The Women’s Mining Coalition reports America lags far behind Chinese enrollment for mining education and careers.