South Dakota uranium project clears environmental review

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is weighing whether to renew Powertech USA’s license for the Dewey-Burdock uranium recovery project in Custer and Fall River counties, South Dakota. Its environmental assessment says the project would not significantly affect the environment, and a renewal would extend the permit 20 years.

The project uses in situ recovery, or ISR, to pull uranium from the ore body and turn it into yellowcake, the uranium oxide product used to make fuel for commercially operated nuclear power reactors. That makes Dewey-Burdock part of the nuclear fuel chain, not just a local mining project.

From ore body to reactor fuel

Along with the renewal review, NRC staff are issuing an environmental assessment, a finding of no significant impact, and a Section 106 Programmatic Agreement. The environmental finding says staff do not see a significant environmental impact from the proposed license renewal, while the historic-preservation agreement addresses the separate cultural review that comes with the site.

The documents are available June 17, 2026. They do not by themselves grant the renewal, but they do show the agency has finished the environmental review package it will use as it weighs whether the project can keep operating for another two decades.