PIEDMONT, SD — Around 200 individuals from Piedmont and surrounding areas have gathered to attend a meeting hosted by “Protect Piedmont’s Future”, a grassroots activist organization. The purpose? On October 7th, Simon Construction & Materials announced via the Black Hills Pioneer Newspaper that they intended to begin a limestone mining operation near the intersection of Sturgis Rd. and County Highway MC-4.
The announcement went largely unnoticed at first before being discovered by a Piedmont resident, immediately igniting a wave of public outrage at the project. With citizens concerned about everything from air to water pollution, to a decrease in the value of homes both nearby and in the immediate vicinity of the location, to a simple decrease in quality of life and the natural beauty of the hills. This led to one Chris Greenberg to begin the “Protect Piedmont’s Future” facebook page, seeking to stop this construction.
The meeting tonight was originally planned as a moderated forum for concerned citizens to ask Simon Contractors, representatives of Protect Piedmont’s Future, and State Senator John Carley questions about the project, however Simon representatives failed to appear at the meeting and were not available for comment at the time of writing.
“I can’t come to your yard and put down a load of garbage in your yard, can I? It’s against the law, right? We’d call in the sheriff, right?” said Greenberg in an impassioned opening remark to the crowd.
Senator Carley spoke determined to get legislation passed in the upcoming 2026 session, emphasizing that he needed “Citizens to either sign on remotely to testify,” or to “Come down to Pierre. you get 1-2 minutes to get up there and say ‘hey, we actually care about this bill. We care about black bills being protected”.
The Q&A segment of the forum was a mixture of inquiry and passionate speaking from individuals. “I would like to know when it was filed because as a business person. You know, you have a 5 year, 10 year plan. So this has been in the works for a while. And that they sneak it in through the newspaper on October 7th in Spearfish?” said a Piedmont woman. “The history that we have here, the state is a state and Western South Dakota is a big part. The state was built based on the Black Hills,” said another, who followed after a moment to collect herself saying “How does Pierre not see that?”
Though the response was strong, the tone was driven and officials in attendance seemed optimistic in their ability to oppose the construction, though plans are still being formulated according to Greenberg and Nick Moser, Greenberg’s Attorney. On the turnout, Greenberg said “It’s unbelievable. I mean, is it a couple 100 people here or more standing room only to come out here? Because people are concerned”. The group intends to meet regularly following this event, however dates for future meetings have not been announced at this time.
