The Black Hills Clean Water Alliance is taking issue with a response to public objections by the Forest Service.
The anti-mining group accuses the federal agency of rushing a northern hills gold drilling exploration project forward.
Solitario Zinc Corporation wants to drill exploratory holes across 25 drill pads. The project area is just west of Spearfish Canyon.
The area is a popular tourist and recreation area.
That concerns Michelle Stampe, a Spearfish resident and volunteer who maintains a lot of multi-use trails in the northern Black Hills.
“People use this forest 24/7. It’s a very, very high-use area," Stampe said. "There’s ATV trails, there’s hiking trails, climbing, horseback riding, I mean the list goes on and on and it’s all right in the heart of these drill sites.”
Stampe is joining others with the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance who are concerned by a response to objections about an environmental assessment and decision of "no significant impact" last December by the Forest Service.
Among those concerns are the forest service not taking concerns seriously, nor including all objections made to the determination.
Steve Kozel is the Northern Hills District Ranger. He said eligible objections had to be presented by people or entities who participated in the process previously.
“They have to participate in it in providing public comments beforehand. Another reason that they’re ineligible is they bring up issues that were not brought up before,” Kozel said. “There’s a screening process that our regional office goes through to determine that eligibility.”
The forest can set parameters on the exploration project, including reclamation, prohibiting drilling during holidays and requiring signage on roads and nearby trails.
A final determination on the Golden Crest exploratory drilling is scheduled for May 1.
