EPA must reconsider permits the agency issued under the Trump administration for a contentious uranium mining project in South Dakota that’s drawn years of pushback from the Oglala Sioux Tribe, a federal appeals board has ruled.
EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board has issued an order remanding permits for a South Dakota uranium mining project back to EPA Region 8.
The Dewey-Burdock project, a uranium mining proposal by EnCore Energy, a Texas-based mining company, would use a mining technique known as “in-situ leach” mining similar to fracking, where water is pumped underground to remove uranium from deposits. While uranium has a long history of polluting water supplies, supporters of this type of mining have argued it would be safer than an open-pit mine.
But the Oglala Sioux Tribe, concerned about the project’s potential environmental impact, petitioned the three-member board to review two underground injection permits that the regional EPA office granted for the project in 2020. The tribe argued that EPA’s decision violated the National Historic Preservation Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Administrative Procedure Act.
