Tuesday night, the Winona County Board voted 3-2 to finalize language for a ban on new frac sand mines in the southeastern Minnesota county.
At the Winona Daily News, Glen Olson reports in Frac sand ban step from approval: Winona County board votes 3-2 to create final language:
The Winona County Board of Commissioners took one big and nearly final step closer to a frac sand ban Tuesday night.
The board voted 3-2 to direct county staff to create official language around a ban, asking the county attorney’s office to form an ordinance to be voted on at the board’s Nov. 22 meeting.
The two dissenting commissioners, Marcia Ward and Steve Jacob, both objected for a variety of reasons, ranging from not feeling the comprehensive plan and submitted documents had been explored adequately in terms of existing regulations, to reiterating that a full ban would discriminate against people in Winona County and the frac sand industry. . . .
The proposed amendment was drafted by Sonneman and draws from several examples, including Goodhue County’s Florence Township’s ban on silica sand mining for fracking and the Land Stewardship Project’s proposed ban language from the spring.
The legal analysis made several additions to the initial language, including making an argument for the amendment as it relates to the values in the county’s comprehensive plan and the purpose of the county’s zoning ordinance.It also clarifies the distinctions between restrictions on different types of mineral excavation, extraction and land alteration by defining some as commercial minerals compared to industrial minerals.
It would not affect the inter-county or interstate commerce of sand by truck, rail or barge, and would only apply to new mines not grandfathered in, which were previous concerns with the ban.
Commissioners in support of the ban stood behind Sonneman’s legal analysis, and said that the ordinance would be formed with a strong legal language and supported the decision based on the information had been presented and studied.
Commissioner Marie Kovecsi said that the regulatory option proposed by the planning commission didn’t address issues she felt were important, like water and air quality, health effects on county residents and reclamation, to name a few.
“I’ve studied this issue from the onset,” said Kovecsi, who was active in frac-sand issues for years before her 2014 successful board run. “I feel I’ve done my homework.”
At the Rochester Post Bulletin, Brian Todd reports in Winona County Board votes 3-2 for frac sand ban:
By the same 3-2 vote that has marked the Winona County Board of Commissioners' division on the mining and processing of silica sand for fracking, the board approved a ban on frac sand mining at Tuesday's meeting.
The ban did not come without several attempts to put off a decision or take the county in a direction other than a ban. But after several motions, commissioners James Pomeroy, Marie Kovecsi and Greg Olson voted in favor of the ban. Commissioners Marcia Ward and Steve Jacob voted against the ban.
The vote for the ban technically instructs the county attorney and planning staff to draft the final ordinance language to be adopted along with an order containing findings, conclusions and "order which supports and memorializes the Board's decision." Final language of the ordinance will be returned to the board by Nov. 22. . . .
Much like the board, five people stepped forward at the beginning of the meeting during the public comment period. There, too, three of the five favored a ban on frac sand mining.
Johanna Rupprecht, a policy coordinator for the Land Stewardship Project, a pro-ban organization, cited public opinion in favor of the ban based on those who commented at public hearings and during public comment periods.
"An average of 80 percent of people are for a ban," Rupprecht said. "In politics, you rarely get a clear mandate like this. Clearly this is the will of the people."
in the Star Tribune, Josephine Marcotty reports in Winona County Board moves closer to a frac sand mining ban:
Winona County commissioners on Tuesday ordered the county attorney to finalize language that would make it the first county in Minnesota to ban the highly contentious industry of frac sand mining.
After lengthy discussion weighing several options, commissioners voted 3-2 for language that would impose an outright ban on all industrial mineral operations, including frac sand mining, that initially was proposed last spring. A final vote is expected at the board's Nov. 22 meeting.
The vote was "a big step forward for the ban" of all frac sand mining in the county, said Johanna Rupprecht of the Land Stewardship Project.
Mining supporters in the county have said they're trying to protect private property rights, provide new jobs and preserve the region's chance to cash in on new developments in the nation's oil industry. . . .
Opponents, however, still fear destruction of scenic bluffs along the Mississippi River, health problems from blowing silica sand dust, contamination of groundwater, and damage to roads and more accidents from the trucks that cart sand to and from transportation hubs.
We'll keep an eye on this developing story--and the results of the county board elections in seats where the issue has dominated the races as the Winona Daily News notes:
Jacob is running for re-election in the 3rd District against Vince Ready, an outspoken frac sand opponent. The issue has also dominated the 4th District race where Greg Olson, an advocate for the ban, is running for a third term against Brian Conner, who has said that frac sand is already appropriately regulated in the county.
Photo: Winona County bluff country.
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