CASPER — The developer seeking to mine gravel on state-owned land at the base of Casper Mountain is digging deeper into state law and the courts to keep the project alive.
Prism Logistics Manager Kyle True petitioned the Natrona County District Court on Monday for a judicial review of the Wyoming State Board of Land Commission’s decision June decision to deny renewing the company’s six leases for the land.
The filing by True’s attorney Deborah L. Roden asks for a review of the June 5 decision, including leases for Section 36 — or the School Section— where he hopes to start mining gravel.
“We believe that we were diligently pursuing development of those leases and as such the state law says that we had a right of renewal of those leases,” True told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.
True said he remains “confident” the company will prevail and that gravel will be mined at the base of the mountain.
In her filing, Roden quoted from state statute W.S. 36-6-101 that states that those who have leases on state lands “have the right to renew the lease for successive terms of 10 years.”
The statute, which covers coal and mineral leases, states that the renewal conditions include:
• The lessee is proceeding in good faith to develop the leased lands.
• If the lessee shows to the satisfaction of the director or the board that production … has been delayed by the necessity of obtaining licenses, permits or other approvals from governmental authorities and the lessee has used reasonable diligence in an effort to obtain the licenses, permits or other required authorizations.
In her filing, Roden argues that “good faith development” includes the money or commitments made for exploration as well as research and development necessary for development of the lease.
Argument: Prism Followed The Law
“It is Prism’s position that it had met the conditions (of the law) and thus the Board’s denial of the renewal of leases was contrary to law,” she wrote.
True put it more in layman’s terms.
“We think we have demonstrated diligent pursuit of the leases and that we are wading through red tape and that therefore the OSLI (Office of State Lands and Investments) Board was obligated to renew our leases,” he said. “We are asking a judge if we are reading those laws correctly.”
Casper Mountain Preservation Alliance Chairperson Carolyn Griffith said she wasn’t “surprised” by True’s filing.
“I was hoping that he would hear the message loud and clear,” she said. “But it’s certainly his prerogative to go through that avenue.”
Both True and the Casper Mountain Preservation Alliance, which has formed in opposition of the gravel mining proposal, also have other pending cases in the state’s court system.
Natrona County Judge Joshua Eames in June dismissed a case filed by the Casper Mountain Preservation Alliance in which it argued that landowners on the mountain had a constitutional right to receive notice from the Land Board before its 2023 meetings that initially approved Prism Logistics leases on state lands.
Griffith said they filed an appeal to Eames’ decision June 27.
Prism Logistics also filed a petition last fall asking for review of the Natrona County Board of Commissioners decision to revise its zoning regulations to remove mining from the mountain residential zone in the county.
The decision meant that Prism Logistics would not be able to apply for or receive a special use permit for its gravel mining operation — something that would have been possible prior to the change.
“It is in process per the judge’s schedule,” True said. “That will move forward.”
A Natrona County District Court clerk said the latest action in the lawsuit was a revised briefing schedule filed June 9.
Land Board Decision
During the emotional June 5 hearing in Cheyenne, the state Land Board voted 3-1 against renewing the Prism leases.
Arguments by Casper Mountain Preservation Alliance attorney Marci Bramlett about the potential loss of water, declining home values and health issues for mountain residents prevailed versus the money the state would reap from Prism’s mining of gravel.
“One dollar today is sometimes better than 10 later,” she said. “But it doesn’t matter if you don’t have clean water to drink or a land on which to walk, or a home. To deplete that in the service of a purely economic goal, I believe, is not serving the greater fiduciary duty.”
Land Board members Secretary of State Chuck Gray, Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, and State Auditor Kristi Racines voted not to renew the releases, while state Treasurer Curt Meijer voted in opposition. Gov. Mark Gordon chose not to vote.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
