A company that is exploring for gold in the Black Hills has re-applied for a temporary permit to draw water from Rapid Creek. Mineral Mountain Resources submitted an application Aug. 22 to the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
On Sept. 4, Jeanne Goodman, chief engineer of the DENR’s Water Rights Program, notified the company that she was deferring consideration of the application to the state Water Management Board, a seven-member panel appointed by the governor.
The board will consider the application during a meeting at 11 a.m. Central time on Thursday, Oct. 4, at the Floyd Matthew Training Center in the Joe Foss Building at Pierre.
The application seeks permission to withdraw up to 1.8 million gallons from Rapid Creek through the end of this year. The planned pump rate during drilling operations is approximately 200 gallons per minute, and the planned daily withdrawal is 5,000 to 10,000 gallons. The pumping station would be located about a half-mile east of Rochford.
The company needs water to lubricate the bit of a drill rig, which is being used to cut hundreds of feet into rocky terrain for core samples.
For the rest of this article: https://rapidcityjournal.com/company-searching-for-gold-in-black-hills-re-applies-for/article_992af97f-0253-5c6c-a230-574955ac6af4.html