LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Four beer stores in Whiteclay are reapplying for licenses to sell alcohol in the unincorporated village next to South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission received the applications late last week. In November, the commission ordered the four stores to reapply and demonstrate that they can meet state requirements such as providing adequate law enforcement.

The village with a dozen residents sold the equivalent of 3.5 million cans of beer last year. The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation bans alcohol but is plagued by alcoholism.

Commission Executive Director Hobert Rupe says the re-applications will first go before Sheridan County commissioners. If the county commission recommends against the renewals or if three county residents file a protest, the applications will go to the state liquor control commission.