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Deuel County board approves Rogge Excavating permit for gravel mining with strict aquifer safeguards
Summary
The Deuel County Board of Adjustment approved a conditional-use permit and a variance for Rogge Excavating to operate a gravel mine and rock-crushing operation, contingent on a Letter of Assurance, DENR permits, core samples, and restrictions that keep fueling, maintenance and crushing outside the Zone A wellhead protection area.
The Deuel County Board of Adjustment on Feb. 9 approved a conditional-use permit and a variance allowing Rogge Excavating Inc., on behalf of property owners Todd and Jody Jongeling, to operate an on-site gravel-mining and rock-crushing operation on land in Grange Township, subject to multiple environmental and operational conditions.
The permit and variance allow mineral exploration, extraction and the use of rock crushers on a parcel zoned A — Agricultural with mapped Aquifer Protection Overlay Districts. The variance permits operations within 1,000 feet of a nearby residence after the board noted a signed waiver from the affected landowner, Dennis Pedersen. The board explicitly excluded concrete batch plants and asphalt mixing plants from the approval.
Zoning Officer Jodi Theisen and staff emphasized that portions of the site lie in Zone B and a mapped portion of Zone A of the Aquifer Protection Overlay Districts. The board required that all fueling, fuel storage, equipment maintenance and rock-crushing activities be located outside Zone A and “as far from the wellhead protection area as practicable,” and imposed additional conditions requiring progressive reclamation, berms using stripped topsoil for screening, and a prohibition on selling black dirt so it remains available for reclamation.
The permit requires: a Letter of Assurance signed by the applicant before approval becomes effective; a haul-road agreement with Grange Township submitted before mining begins; mining and DENR stormwater permits provided to the zoning office prior to excavation; core samples demonstrating an adequate clay layer before mining commences; limits on permanent fuel storage (if used, stored within approved containment and secondary containment where required); temporary fueling only in double-wall portable trailers with lined berms; no mining within 100 feet of rights-of-way or 25 feet of property lines except as approved; excavation slopes no steeper than 4:1; and that reclamation comply with South Dakota DENR standards and occur progressively concurrent with mining.
The board also set enforcement steps for violations, including notice, potential review or revocation of the permit after repeated violations, and cessation of operations within 45 days after revocation. The variance motion was moved by Dennis Kanengieter and seconded by Jay Grabow; the conditional-use permit motion was moved by Jay Grabow and seconded by Mike Lammers. All members present voted in favor.
Applicants told the board that prior holes had encountered blue clay and they plan to remain at least one foot above the water table; they said they believe groundwater is deeper than 20 feet on the site. The board required core samples be provided to verify subsurface conditions before mining begins. The file includes a Letter of Assurance, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law on the granted permits.
