DEC Issues Expansion Permit

Almost 20 years after it was first applied for, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) announced on August 22, 2025 that they have approved permits for the operation and expansion of  the White Schoolhouse Road Mine in Rhinebeck.

If there ever was a place that should not be opened up for the expansion of large-scale mining, this is it. The New York Heritage Program Environmental Resource Mapper lists this as an area of "Rare Plants and Animals".  White Schoolhouse Road was included in Rhinebeck's Comprehensive Plan among its "historic roads".  Both the Town and Rural Rhinebeck Neighbors provided extensive comments against this expansion project during the Public Hearing period from November 22, 2022 through February 2023, but those comments seem to have been dismissed by the DEC. 

Fortunately before they can start to mine, Red Wing still needs to come before the Town Planning Board to obtain a Special Use Permit.  That process has not been started yet.