Illegal Mine that Ravaged the Nolichucky Put-In Blocked By Courts
Boaters once began their trips down the Nolichucky River Gorge at a US Forest Service access site in the bucolic community of Poplar, NC and floated seamlessly into the natural scenery and big mountains that buttress the Gorge. Never again though. To supply rock to CSX for their railroad reconstruction in the gorge, a company called Horizon 30 LLC cut into the mountain at the gorge’s start and opened what would become a jarring 50-acre quarry. They had no permits. The state of North Carolina ordered them to stop mining three times this spring and summer. The company refused. The State took the company to court, and earlier this week, they won.
On August 11, 2025, the Watauga County Superior Court granted the State’s request for a preliminary injunction in North Carolina v. Horizon 30, LLC. Horizon is now subject to a court order requiring it to cease all mining operations and submit a reclamation plan within 30 days. This is a significant victory, and we applaud the State of North Carolina for defending their authority to responsibly regulate mining in the state.
Like CSX’s efforts to mine rock from the riverbed of the Nolichucky River, which American Whitewater and our partners are litigating, the escalation of enforcement comes after a great deal of damage was done by the company. These companies’ harmful actions following Hurricane Helene serve as a reminder of the need for solid regulations and more importantly, agencies willing to enforce them.
Horizon 30 is also requesting a permit for their mine from the very same State agency that just took them to court. American Whitewater is working with the Southern Environmental Law Center and local partners to advocate against such a permit, and many boaters have become vocal opponents of the mine. This company, which so flagrantly disregards the law, has no business operating a mine.
Right now in the Noli Gorge things are likely nearing a turning point. The final footprint of the railroad through the Gorge should be established sometime this fall. CSX is not proposing to meaningfully restore the damage they did to the last few miles of the Gorge by cobble bar scalping and other riverbed mining. Hopefully the activities at the illegal Horizon 30 mine will now shift to restoration of the site to some better and more stable state. It remains to be seen how long the US Forest Service will let CSX and Horizon 30 control and block access to the public put-in, and how long they will refuse to issue commercial rafting permits. Someday in the not too distant future, the Noli will start recovering from the damage caused by these companies.