CASPER — Wrangling over plans for a controversial gravel pit on state-owned land at the base of Casper Mountain didn’t end last month when the Natrona County Commission essentially killed it
The commission’s denial of a conditional use permit to mine gravel brought cheers from dozens of locals who protested the gravel mine for months.
Now Prism Logistics, the company behind the gravel pit proposal, is challenging the denial, filing a petition Thursday for a judicial review of the commission’s 4-0 vote that removed language in a 2022 zoning resolution that allowed mining under a conditional use permit in the county’s mountain residential zone.
Cheyenne-based attorney Deborah Roden cited a Wyoming statute that allows for judicial review of agency actions as the authority for a court to rule on the county board’s “governing and rulemaking” authority over state lands.
“The issue of law to be determined by this judicial review is whether or not Natrona County acting through its Board of County Commissioners can promulgate a rule that restricts certain land uses on lands wholly owned by the state of Wyoming,” the petition states. “Put more simply, can Natrona County dictate how the state of Wyoming, and its lessees, utilize state-owned land?”
Before being denied by the county commission Sept. 17, Prism had been granted a lease from the state to use the land.
Prism Logistics Manager Kyle True told Cowboy State Daily that his company filed the petition to get “clarity” from a judge on the role of county commissions establishing requirements on the use of state lands.
“We are happy to comply with all laws and hope to get clarification as to which agencies we are accountable as a state lands lessee,” he said in a text message.
‘Disappointed’
Commissioner Dave North, who made the initial motion to amend the zoning resolution, said he’s “disappointed” by the filing.
The proposed gravel pit has been a contentious issue for months, with opponents arguing it would destroy the public’s ability to use and enjoy the state-owned land, along with impact traffic, air quality and the water table.
Now that the debate has become a legal issue, “I can’t say a whole lot more about it,” North said. “The whole thing has been a challenge and we will see what the court has to say.
“With the current (Wyoming) Supreme Court hearing the case with Teton County there are going to be a lot of determinations that are going to come out of that as far as what happens and where we go.”
The Teton County case also involves the issue of county authority over state trust lands and whether county land development regulations and processes can be enforced on those lands.
Commission Chairman Peter Nicolaysen said he also is aware of the filing and reviewed it.
He also called it “disappointing.”
Nicolaysen said the county is working on a response.
“We have a number of options and we are mulling those over,” he said.
True on several occasions has said that the state school section, Section 36, at the base of Casper Mountain and adjacent to Coates Road has prime gravel and rock material that would meet the needs of the region. His plans calls for an initial limited mining operation of around 15 acres that would expand over time.
Kyle True listens to Casper Mount Preservation Alliance Chairperson Carolyn Griffith who told him that if he walked away from the gravel pit proposal he would be a “hero” in the community. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
Coates Road residents are concerned about the paved and gravel portion of their roads and the impact heavy haul gravel trucks would have on them if a proposed gravel pit is approved. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
Land set aside for non-motorized use is being considered for a gravel mining operation at the base of Casper Mountain. Residents adjacent to the mine are raising opposition. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)
Petitions
More than 18,000 people have signed petitions against any gravel mining in the area citing concerns over ground water, safety, property values loss of recreational opportunities, and much more.
Casper Mountain resident Gregg Werger led efforts to get the county zoning resolution changed.
He said the land is owned by the state, and if there’s going to be a challenge of the commission’s vote, it should come from the state.
“It appears that Mr. True and Prism are doing the state’s work for them,” he said. “I don’t understand why he would jump in front of the state if the state felt it needed to challenge the amendment that was accepted on (Sept.) 17th.”
Werger pointed out that the amendment does not prohibit mining on state lands specifically, but only in the mountain residential-one (MR-1) area that covers about 28 square miles at the base of Casper Mountain.
He also repeated facts that he presented to the county board, stating that for at least 20 years before the 2022 zoning amendment, mining was not allowed in that zoning classification.
“It’s certainly a lawsuit against all of Natrona County and our zoning rules and laws,” he said. “We’ll see what transpires.”
Casper Mountain Preservation Alliance Chairperson Carolyn Griffith said she wasn’t surprised by the filing, but said that Prism Logistics could have just walked away. She emphasized her group is not against mining, just against it in the residential zone.
“It’s disappointing that the people don’t have a voice, and even the State Land Board recognized that perhaps this wasn’t the right place for that,” she said. “The positive piece of this is that one commercial operator’s choice to pursue this on state lands has not just enlightened our community, but many around the state about how the state leases is lands. And it has enhanced citizen engagement.”
The case has been assigned to Natrona County District Judge Kerri M. Johnson.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
