On Sept. 7, the Sheridan County Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposal for the Acme Special Use District, which has been the focus of several meetings over the past several months. Comments delivered in person at these meetings, as well as many more written comments submitted to the commission, have illustrated that the residents of Sheridan County are overwhelmingly against this proposed district. The public has valid concerns and understand what’s at stake. The commission should listen to them.
Interest in creating a potential commercial/industrial zone seems to have begun in 1979 due to the coal mining history of the Acme/Kleenburn area. Before there was county planning or zoning, coal mining was a major industry here. The underground Acme Mine began operation in 1911 and closed in 1940. In 1977, the Town of Acme and the surrounding area were purchased by Peter Kiewit and Sons to conduct open pit coal mining. The Town of Acme was removed. Only the power plant building, a bridge, a water tower, and the concrete horse barn remained. Operating as Big Horn Coal, Kiewit mined coal until 1999 when mining ceased and the coal tipple was removed. To my knowledge, only the power plant (which is slated for deconstruction), two bridge, water tower, maintenance shop, part of the concrete horse barn, and two lakes remain. Reclamation of the mine site was completed, and Big Horn Coal property was sold. It’s evident that the nature of the land and future prospects of coal mining in the area have greatly changed since 1979.
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