Residents in Poplar, North Carolina, are fed up with an allegedly illegal mining operation they say has been polluting the riverbed and sending thick dust into the air for nearly a year as the mountain community still rebuilds from Hurricane Helene.

Outraged Western North Carolinians in the tight-knit community are traveling to Boone on Monday where a court hearing will determine whether the mine operated by Horizon 30, LLC, can be shut down or face civil or criminal penalties. 

On Friday, the North Carolina Department of Labor (NCDOL) announced that it had determined the mining operation at Carter Quarry in Mitchell County was unauthorized and in violation of state mining laws. 

The North Carolina Justice Department is seeking a criminal injunction. State officials say the operation has continued along the Nolichucky River for months despite Horizon 30 repeatedly being warned that it lacks proper permitting.

Drone footage shows what the state recently deemed an “illegal” mine operation that swept into Poplar, North Carolina, in the wake of Hurricane Helene. (Leo Sharp)

He accused Horizon 30 of coming into the area “under the guise of emergency protocols” enacted to rebuild a section of the railroad destroyed by the hurricane.

“Get out of North Carolina. We don’t want you here,” Johnson said, addressing Horizon 30 directly. “You came in under the guise of emergency protocols, trying to fool people – unethical.” 

Horizon 30, LLC is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to its registration records with the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State and the Pennsylvania Department of State.

As the permitting process stalled earlier this year, Horizon 30 CFO Sean Chipman penned a letter to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in May. 

“H30 relies upon the emergency permits, authorizations, waivers and other applicable allowances for services in support of the Emergency Railway Repairs and also the Executive Orders of the President of the United States of America, including those in support of the America First initiative and energy independence, as well as prior and concurrent emergency response directives,” Chipman wrote at the time.

Chipman argued that the mining application was made “in conjunction with some of the leading professionals in the mining industry” and the Army Corps of Engineers had conducted a review. In the letter, he said the company took “corrective measures” to meet the department’s requirements and “wishes to continue to have a good and productive relationship with your Department and the State.” 

Attempts to reach Horizon 30 for comment were unsuccessful. 

Horizon 30 mine operating without a permit in Poplar, North Carolina. (Leo Sharp)

Residents said the company has not employed locals and license plates at the Poplar site are from places including Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky and Arizona. 

Since the mining operation began in December, Tessa Sharp said the DEQ has relayed to the community that “other than serving cease and desist and sending these cases to the DOJ and Supreme Court, there’s nothing that we can do to stop them.” 

“As a landowner, I think that is really concerning for North Carolina residents,” Tessa Sharp said. 

The North Carolina Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (DEMLR) told Fox News Digital that Horizon 30 has been operating the mining site in Poplar since December without the required state permit despite multiple warnings and on-site inspections. Over several months, DEMLR said it issued multiple formal regulatory requirement notices and violation notices directing the company to either stop operations or obtain a valid mining permit.

Inspections confirmed the expansion of unpermitted mining activity, prompting repeated enforcement actions. While Horizon 30 has submitted parts of a permit application, DEMLR said the company has not yet approved it due to incomplete information, and the company remains out of compliance with the Mining Act.

Johnson, who lives on about 80 acres, described how dead birds and other wildlife have been discovered in the area since the mining operation began. 

Drone footage of Horizon 30 operations in Poplar, North Carolina. (Leo Sharp)

Leo Sharp shared drone footage with Fox News Digital showing excavators and other heavy machinery continuing to operate at the site earlier this month. 

State labor department records show Horizon 30 submitted a mining permit application, which is marked as incomplete and as pending review.  

The state Labor Department said Friday that the illegal mining operation was discovered after the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration requested that the NCDOL provide miner safety training at the site. During that visit, a state Labor Department official “identified multiple irregularities and immediately questioned whether the site had the required state environmental permit,” according to the department. The company then failed to produce the necessary documentation. 

“This is exactly why I’ve made it a priority to support and empower our field staff,” state Labor Commissioner Luke Farley said in a statement on Friday. “Their experience, judgment, and vigilance are critical to keeping workers safe and enforcing the law. If our staff hadn’t gone above and beyond their duty to protect workers, this illegal operation could have continued unnoticed – putting lives at risk and undermining public trust in our regulatory system.”