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Sioux County approves four Hawkwood Energy drilling permits after public hearing
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Summary
After a public hearing with company representatives and consultants, the Sioux County Board approved four conditional-use permits allowing Hawkwood Energy to drill wells, with conditions attached to some permits per the planning commission.
The Sioux County Board of Commissioners approved four conditional-use permits for Hawkwood Energy to drill wells in the county following a public hearing on June 2. Company representatives — Leonard C. Gurule (president & COO), senior geologist Nate Gilbertson and senior land advisor Laura Smith — and consultants from Progressive Consulting answered questions about traffic, roads and permit conditions.
The board voted separately to approve the permits identified in the record as Johnson 16-18, Murphy 13-27 (approved with conditions set by the planning commission), Morava 14-6 and Johnson 14-1. Each motion passed on roll call with Commissioners Lotton, Downer and Skavdahl voting yes.
During the hearing Hawkwood representatives said they would work with the county to keep roads "the same or better" and acknowledged they would file conditional-use permits and cooperate with planning commission conditions. The planning commission had previously recommended approval with conditions for at least some permits; the board incorporated those conditions explicitly when approving Murphy 13-27.
The approvals are procedural land-use actions and do not, by themselves, authorize surface disturbance beyond the permit conditions or neglect other required permits or state-level reviews. The board’s recorded motions show individual permit approvals and roll-call votes for each permit.
Next steps noted in the record include compliance with planning commission conditions and submission of any additional paperwork or bonding required under county zoning and road-use agreements.