Rep. Terri Jorgenson, R-Piedmont, speaks on the South Dakota House floor in January 2026. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Piedmont residents’ hopes of tightening the regulation of mining explosives went up in smoke Monday in the South Dakota House after lawmakers split over whether the issue should be handled statewide or locally.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Terri Jorgenson, R-Piedmont, who said it was a response to constituents’ concerns about a planned 300-acre limestone quarry on the edge of the Black Hills that will use blasting. The House vote to approve the bill failed 29-37. 

The bill would shift any mining that uses explosives to South Dakota’s more stringent mining permit process, rather than the simpler annual mining license system used for the extraction of materials such as sand, gravel, construction rock and limestone. It would phase existing explosive-use operators onto those permits over five years. The bill would also require operators to report explosives use 90 days in advance.

Mining explosives would be more tightly regulated by bill headed to state House

Jorgenson told lawmakers the change was needed to close what she called a gap in state law. 

“South Dakota currently treats a limestone quarry blasting daily with high-grade explosives the same as a front-end loader scooping loose sand,” she said.

Opponents countered that blasting and mining are already regulated by federal agencies, state permitting and local governments, and warned that the bill would impose a statewide mandate to address the Piedmont-area dispute. 

Piedmont is in Meade County. Rep. Kevin Van Diepen, R-Huron, said Meade County voters had repeatedly rejected zoning. 

“If they want to control what’s going on in Meade County, have the county commission come up with zoning ordinances that would control the explosives and the mining in that area,” he said. “But the residents of Meade County have said they don’t want that. But now they want the state of South Dakota to come in and say, ‘Big brother’s here, we’re gonna force you to do this.’”

Jorgenson unsuccessfully urged lawmakers to keep the issue alive, calling the proposal “a small step” toward stronger protections for communities and the environment.

Earlier Tuesday, a House committee rejected another Jorgenson bill that would have authorized cities and counties to adopt laws governing sand, gravel and aggregate mining operations that don’t conflict with state laws or administrative rules, and would have made state permits contingent on an applicant’s earning of local permits.