CASPER — The ongoing efforts of a gravel developer to find a way to mine gravel at the base of Casper Mountain has resulted in another lawsuit being filed in Natrona County District Court against the Wyoming State Board of Land Commissioners.
The second lawsuit filed by Prism Logistics follows the board’s 3-2 vote a week earlier on Oct. 2 to deny the renewal of two leases of state land at the base of Casper Mountain.
Prism also has a pending suit against the State Land Board after it voted 3-1 at its June 5 meeting to not renew six other Prism leases of state land at the base of the mountain.
Prism Logistics Manager Kyle True said his latest legal action follows the same legal concepts as his previous filing arguing that the company has been “in compliance with all the rules” as it waited for its permits from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.
“There is a provision in the law that says if you are waiting on your permits, you have a right to renewals of the leases and the OSLI Board did not renew the leases. We think that is contrary to law, so we are asking a judge to help us understand that and see if that is correct or not,” True said.
Prism Logistics’ Cheyenne attorney Deborah Roden wrote in her filing that under Wyoming Statute 36-6-101 (m) the lessee of state lands “shall have the exclusive right to renew the lease for successive terms of 10 years each.”
The law stipulates that the minerals covered by the leases have to be produced, or if not, the lessee must be “proceeding in good faith to develop the leased lands.” The law also states that renewal should be allowed 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.”
‘Reasonable Diligence’
The law states that the lessee also has to show “reasonable diligence in an effort to obtain the licenses, permits or other required authorizations.”
At the Oct. 2 meeting, Office of State Lands and Investments Director Staci Berry recommended the Prism leases be renewed.
Roden argued in her brief that Prism has met the conditions of the statute in its efforts to renew the leases and that the State Land Board’s “denial of the leases was contrary to law.”
In her brief, Roden reminded the court of Prism’s lawsuit against the State Land Board regarding the renewal denial for its six other leases and also a third suit asking for judicial review of Natrona County Board of Commissioners’ actions regarding zoning that effectively allowed the county “to regulate mineral leases on state lands.”
True said he filed the second lawsuit against the State Land Board because he believes his company has followed the legislative guidelines that are in place to lease all the properties.
“We think that if we are correct on our interpretation of the law, we will be awarded a renewal of the six leases,” he said. “I thought that was the appropriate way to voice to the judicial system and the state that if we are right on the six (lease renewals), we also want to be awarded the two.”
‘Regulatory Overreach’
True said his financial commitment involving his legal filings and dogged pursuit of the leases involve his belief that he is battling “regulatory overreach.”
“As a businessman I’ve never met another businessman who didn’t at some point in his career run into something that he considered to be regulatory overreach or regulatory malpractice,” he said. “I think in this case our number came up, and I think that if we did not pursue our interpretation of the law here that it would work against our entire industry and therefore our society.”
True said he also believes if he does not challenge the decision that his company would just acquiesce to “regulatory overreach” and a “political overlay” to the state’s legislatively described regulatory process.
True believes his court challenge against the Natrona County Board of Commissioners actions to allow a revision to the county’s zoning ordinance removing the opportunity to allow mining in the residential mountain zone is the most significant way the company is standing its ground.
“We believe county commissioners cannot dictate what happens on state land,” he said. “Number two, we believe we were in compliance and have a right to the renewal of these leases.”
Prism Logistics other court filings continue to work their way through the system.
Casper Mountain Preservation Alliance spokesperson Carolyn Griffith said she would just characterize the latest lawsuit as “interesting.”
Griffith testified at the Oct. 2 State Land Board meeting and with many others has led efforts to prevent gravel mining at the base of the mountain due to concerns about the impact on groundwater, health from the release of dust particles, the devaluation of properties, and much more.
“I believe that the State Land Board by their own rules can choose to deny any leases for any reason or for no reason at all,” she said. “So, if he wants to sue them for that, I guess he is looking to find out something different through the court system.”
Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder was one of the three votes to deny the renewal of the Prism leases. Her spokesperson Linda Finnerty said she would have no comment on pending litigation.
Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who also voted to deny the lease renewals, believes the State Land Board acted legally.
“The board clearly acted within its constitutional and statutory duties to the people of Wyoming. I'm disappointed that this lawsuit was filed,” he said.
A call to State Auditor Kristi Racines, the third vote to deny the Prism lease renewals, was not immediately returned.
In the Oct. 2 meeting Gov. Mark Gordon and Treasurer Curt Meier voted against denying Prism its renewals. At the June 5 meeting, the same State Land Board trio voted to deny Prism its renewal of the six leases and Meier voted against the denial. Gordon did not vote.
Should decisions out of Natrona County District Court weigh against him, True said he would decide his next steps after reviewing the decision with his legal representation.
“It’s not inconceivable that we would appeal it,” he said.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
