Proposed Mineral Claims Withdrawal in the Rapid Creek Watershed
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On Friday, March 17, 2023, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released news of a proposed “mineral withdrawal” within the Pactola Reservoir/Rapid Creek Watershed area in the central Black Hills Region of Western South Dakota. Official notice of the proposed withdrawal was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, March 21st.
The stated purpose of the withdrawal is, “to protect the cultural and natural resources of the Pactola Reservoir—Rapid Creek Watershed, including municipal water for Rapid City and Ellsworth Air Force Base, from the adverse impacts of minerals exploration and development.” Two weeks after publication of the withdrawal proposal, Rapid Creek Watershed Action (RCWA) received a map of the proposed withdrawal area from Forest Service staff. The map shows a total proposed withdrawal area of 20,574 acres situated in the area around Pactola Reservoir. |
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What is a Mineral Withdrawal?
Essentially, a mineral withdrawal prohibits location of mineral claims, mineral exploration, and mining subject to valid existing rights on federally-controlled lands within the withdrawal area.
A valid existing right is a claim that has been proven to have a reasonable expectation of a profitable mineral deposit prior to publication of the withdrawal proposal notice. Rapid Creek Watershed Action is unaware of any valid existing rights within the proposed withdrawal area, but we will be asking for this information from the Forest Service and BLM.
Mineral withdrawals can be enacted administratively (as with the recently-proposed action in the Pactola area) or through Congressional action. An administrative withdrawal requires a public comment and hearing process and a two-year study period before taking effect. Administrative withdrawals have a twenty-year time limit. Congressional withdrawals require passage of legislation, and are considered permanent unless repealed.
Rapid Creek Watershed Action has been working toward a Congressional mineral withdrawal (the Rapid Creek Watershed Recreation Area Act-RCWRAA) that would protect the entirety of the Rapid Creek Watershed upstream from Rapid City. To date, we have more than two thousand signatures from residents and visitors alike in support of this Congressional withdrawal, with more signatures coming in daily. Sign The RCWRAA Petition Here!
Mineral Withdrawals Do Not Impact Private Lands
Mineral withdrawals do not interfere with timber harvest, grazing leases, or existing recreational or cultural activities on withdrawn public lands. Mineral withdrawals may in fact protect these uses because they stop mineral exploration and mining from displacing or destroying land and resources these activities utilize.
Does the Proposed Withdrawal Area Fulfill its Stated Purposes?
Rapid Creek Watershed Action believes that this proposal is a START, but it DOES NOT include the majority of the watershed that would need protection in order to satisfy the stated purpose: to protect cultural and natural resources and municipal water supplies for Rapid City and Ellsworth Air Force Base.
Essentially, a mineral withdrawal prohibits location of mineral claims, mineral exploration, and mining subject to valid existing rights on federally-controlled lands within the withdrawal area.
A valid existing right is a claim that has been proven to have a reasonable expectation of a profitable mineral deposit prior to publication of the withdrawal proposal notice. Rapid Creek Watershed Action is unaware of any valid existing rights within the proposed withdrawal area, but we will be asking for this information from the Forest Service and BLM.
Mineral withdrawals can be enacted administratively (as with the recently-proposed action in the Pactola area) or through Congressional action. An administrative withdrawal requires a public comment and hearing process and a two-year study period before taking effect. Administrative withdrawals have a twenty-year time limit. Congressional withdrawals require passage of legislation, and are considered permanent unless repealed.
Rapid Creek Watershed Action has been working toward a Congressional mineral withdrawal (the Rapid Creek Watershed Recreation Area Act-RCWRAA) that would protect the entirety of the Rapid Creek Watershed upstream from Rapid City. To date, we have more than two thousand signatures from residents and visitors alike in support of this Congressional withdrawal, with more signatures coming in daily. Sign The RCWRAA Petition Here!
Mineral Withdrawals Do Not Impact Private Lands
Mineral withdrawals do not interfere with timber harvest, grazing leases, or existing recreational or cultural activities on withdrawn public lands. Mineral withdrawals may in fact protect these uses because they stop mineral exploration and mining from displacing or destroying land and resources these activities utilize.
Does the Proposed Withdrawal Area Fulfill its Stated Purposes?
Rapid Creek Watershed Action believes that this proposal is a START, but it DOES NOT include the majority of the watershed that would need protection in order to satisfy the stated purpose: to protect cultural and natural resources and municipal water supplies for Rapid City and Ellsworth Air Force Base.
Pictured above is the area that RCWA proposes for Congressional withdrawal. The total acreage of the Rapid Creek Watershed above Rapid City, from the North Fork of Rapid Creek and its tributaries in southern Lawrence County and the South Fork of Castle Creek and its tributaries in western Pennington County, is approximately 198,000 acres.
The areas to be protected encompass only lands in close proximity to Pactola Reservoir, while ignoring where the water in Pactola comes from, and where it goes after leaving the Reservoir. It also ignores the fact that mining downstream from Pactola is as much a threat as mining upstream or adjacent to Pactola because of the interplay between surface and groundwater in the watershed.
Mineral exploration and mining upstream from Pactola Reservoir threaten to contaminate water flowing into (and out of) the Reservoir. Mining downstream from Pactola Reservoir threatens to contaminate water that flows directly from Rapid Creek into the Madison and Minnelusa aquifers–the main aquifers from which municipal and private wells supplying Rapid City, Ellsworth Air Force Base, surrounding communities, and thousands of private landowners draw their water.
How Can I Take Action? Where Do I Make Comments & Get More Information?
You can comment on the proposed mineral withdrawal via the U.S. Forest Service comment platform HERE. A 90-day public comment period began with publication of the proposed withdrawal; comments are due by June 20th, 2023 at 11:59pm Mountain Time.
Also plan to attend the joint Forest Service - Bureau of Land Management public meeting on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 4-8 p.m., Mountain Time (MT), at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel, Conference Hall, 2111 N. LaCrosse Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701.
Information regarding the proposed withdrawal will be available at the Black Hills National Forest, Forest Supervisor's Office, 1019 N. 5th Street, Custer, South Dakota 57730 and at the BLM Montana/Dakotas State Office, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, Montana 59101.
Mineral exploration and mining upstream from Pactola Reservoir threaten to contaminate water flowing into (and out of) the Reservoir. Mining downstream from Pactola Reservoir threatens to contaminate water that flows directly from Rapid Creek into the Madison and Minnelusa aquifers–the main aquifers from which municipal and private wells supplying Rapid City, Ellsworth Air Force Base, surrounding communities, and thousands of private landowners draw their water.
How Can I Take Action? Where Do I Make Comments & Get More Information?
You can comment on the proposed mineral withdrawal via the U.S. Forest Service comment platform HERE. A 90-day public comment period began with publication of the proposed withdrawal; comments are due by June 20th, 2023 at 11:59pm Mountain Time.
Also plan to attend the joint Forest Service - Bureau of Land Management public meeting on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 4-8 p.m., Mountain Time (MT), at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel, Conference Hall, 2111 N. LaCrosse Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701.
Information regarding the proposed withdrawal will be available at the Black Hills National Forest, Forest Supervisor's Office, 1019 N. 5th Street, Custer, South Dakota 57730 and at the BLM Montana/Dakotas State Office, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, Montana 59101.