Pennington County Commission approves Croell expansion off Highway 16 with stipulations

PENNINGTON COUNTY, S.D. — The Pennington County Commission has voted to allow Croell to expand operations at the old Perli Quarry on Highway 16, but with a number of stipulations.

First, Croell is not allowed to haul gravel during the week at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Second, Croell needs to install a way to clean up the trailers before drive out of the quarry.

According to Croell’s attorney Tom Brady, “There’s a lot of requirements to run an operation like this appropriately and I think Croell will fill that obligation.”

Croell’s opposition says changes to the zoning laws gave the company a leg up.

According to Dr. Sylvia Cox, “I feel like it’s been an unfair advantage and it’s not legal and it wont stand up if we challenge it.”

The tourism industry also contends that development at the mine will be bad for the visitor industry.

“You can not help but having gravel spitting off these tandem trucks, and the cutting across four lanes, there cant be anything more dangerous,” said Julie Jensen, president and CEO of Visit Rapid City.

The commission will come back a year from now to evaluate if Croell is following the rules.

This probably wont be the last time we hear about the quarry. Black Hills Concerned Citizens say they’re going to meet and decide if they want to pursue the decision in court.