Painted Rock mine meeting is March 20

Nearly four years after it was first proposed in 2020, a proposed gravel pit at the top of Johnson Lane will be the subject of a March 20 public meeting of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The meeting on the Painted Rock Mine is 4:30-7 p.m. at the Douglas County Community & Senior Center, and will allow residents to comment in person on a revised draft environmental assessment for the mine.

The meeting will include a presentation and time to talk to representatives on the revised assessment. Each person will be permitted two minutes.

The Painted Rock Mine is a proposed commercial gravel pit operation located on federal land east of the Johnson Lane community. It is approximately 1.1 to 1.6 miles from the nearest residence on Johnson Lane. The Painted Rock Mine is under the authority of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. The location is Trust Land. Trust Land is land held in trust by the United States for tribes or individual Native Americans and managed by the BIA for their benefit.

The BIA has sole authority to approve the Painted Rock Mine project. This land and this project are not under the jurisdiction and control of the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners and the County has no authority to approve or condition this project in any way.

Douglas County will also place an item on the March 21 Board of County Commissioners agenda for Douglas County staff to provide an overview of the work staff has done to represent the interests of the residents of Douglas County in the process and to receive direction from the Board regarding next steps.

Visit paintedrockmineproject.org for more information on the Painted Rock Mine project visit

In addition, the County has launched a Frequently Asked Questions webpage to assist residents with information about Painted Rock Mine as it pertains to Douglas County: Click here.