ON FIRST NATIONS LAND
enCore wins EPA backing to advance Dewey Burdock permitting
EnCore Energy’s (NASDAQ, TSXV: EU) Dewey Burdock uranium project in South Dakota cleared a roadblock after the US Environmental Protection Agency waived a petition by local communities challenging its permitting decisions.
The EPA appeals board dismissed a petition for review filed by the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Black Hills Clean Water Alliance and NDN Collective, the company said on Wednesday. The groups are fighting the project’s Class III and Class V underground injection control (UIC) permits, which are essential to the in-situ recovery (ISR) operation.
This decision, says enCore, allows the Dewey Burdock project to advance through federal permitting, with plans to start state permitting activities this year, accelerating its development ahead of schedule. The project, which seeks to tap into nearly 18 million lb. of uranium oxide (U₃O₈) in resources, has been tied up in regulatory review and litigation for more than a decade, including challenges before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the EPA.
The appeals board “affirms the validity of the permits and the integrity of the regulatory process following years of administrative and judicial review,” enCore acting CEO Robert Willette said in a release. “Today’s decision provides the certainty needed to continue advancing toward development.”
Federal OKs
With its permitting status strengthened, enCore Energy’s share price shot up 3.4% to $2.60 on the NASDAQ by midday, giving the Texas-based uranium producer a market capitalization of $483.6 million.
The latest petition concerns alleged violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, which the EPA denies.
With the EPA ruling, Dewey Burdock has all major federal authorizations to proceed with permitting, including the NRC source materials license (2014) and EPA UIC permits (2020), which the company says are final and effective.
Fast-tracked
The EPA decision comes weeks after Dewey Burdock was added to the FAST-41 program, which the Trump administration is using to speed up federal permitting for key critical minerals projects in the US.
A preliminary economic assessment dated October last year assumes that the permitting and licensing would be complete by the third quarter of 2026. However, engineering work is anticipated to commence in early 2026, and construction of the central processing plant would start a year after that.
Once in operation, the plant is expected to process 1 million lb. of uranium per year, recovering more than 14 million lb. over its life.
The project hosts 6.4 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.057% U₃O₈ for 17.1 million lb. contained metal, and 590,000 inferred tonnes at 0.054% for 0.7 million lb., according to the October 2024 resource update.
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