Will a judge's upholding of Winona County's ordinance ban on new industrial frac sand mines cause nearby counties in Southeast Minnesota revisit enacting bans of their own?
On November 18, 2017, Bluestem reported With prejudice! MN District Court judge tosses corporate attack on Winona Co frac sand ban.
In the Sunday Star Tribune, Matt McKinney reports in Judge's ruling on Winona County ban of frac sand mining stirs interest:
A recent court decision affirming Winona County’s year-old ban on frac sand mining, the first of its kind in the state, has stirred interest in neighboring counties, where efforts to enact similar bans have so far foundered.
Winona County District Judge Mary Leahy ruled Nov. 17 that the county was within its authority when it created the ban, dismissing claims from the mining company, Minnesota Sands, that the ban violated its constitutional rights. The company had argued the ban was unconstitutional because it targeted industrial silica sand mining while allowing mining of sand for other purposes. . . .
The ruling drew several frac-sand mining opponents to the Houston County Board meeting last week, said Commissioner Teresa Walter. . . .
Here's the YouTube of the board meeting; click and it will forward to a Houston County resident asking the board to look at the Winona County ordinance:
McKinney reports at the Strib:
“We do expect conversation,” said Walter. The county already has a strong ordinance regulating frac sand mining, Walter said, but at a citizen’s request, the County Board will now review the Winona decision and perhaps direct the county attorney to meet with Winona officials to learn more, Walter said.
Commissioner Justin Zmyewski said he expects the Winona ruling to set off discussions in Houston County and elsewhere about implementing a ban.
In early 2015, Houston County nearly became the first in the state to ban frac sand mining, with the commissioners reversing themselves at the last minute and rejecting the ban. The public hearing was raucous, and several citizens had to be forcibly removed.
“The fact of the matter is, I’ve been a big advocate for severely regulating if not banning frac sand in Houston County,” said Zmyewski.
Zmyewski and Walter were both on the board at the time of the vote, but the other three commissioners were voted out and replaced. Zmyewski said he thinks the new board would be more likely to pass a ban. . . .
The opposition to new mines isn't limited to replacing commissioners. Back in February, Bryan Van Gorp wrote in a column for the Houston County News, What do Houston County Protectors really want?:
Houston County Protectors have been much maligned by some land rights extremists. The land rights fringe says, “it is our land and we can do whatever we want.” Implied but never actually said is, “we can do what we want even if it decreases our neighbor’s property value, contaminates the ground water, or damages infrastructure.”
HCP has never advocated for closing down mining or even increasing regulations on mines. We all live in the county and want a robust infrastructure. Most of us live on gravel roads and have septic systems. We understand that local mining is a required activity.
The following is what we have advocated for and why:
Banning frac sand mining: Frac sand mining would cause environmental damage, tear communities apart and cost local citizens money. Most of us get our drinking water out of the sandstone aquifers that would be mined. Opening that up plus the chemicals and water use for processing, risks our drinking water. It tears down bluffs and creates open pit mines. It turns neighbor against neighbor. It wrecks roads, repaired at public expense. One need look no farther than Wisconsin to validate all these things. Fossil fuel companies are masters at getting others to pay their bills.
Allowing frac sand mining will increase the price of sand. It will increase demand and therefore price. Frackers will pay a higher price for sand so that will become the price for everyone.
Enforcement of the existing ordinance and laws: We have not pushed for new or more strict regulations. We want existing regulations enforced. The chair of the Planning Commission is on video acknowledging that the ordinance has not been enforced for over 40 years. What good are setbacks from streams, neighbor’s houses, or rules to control of noise and dust if they are ignored? Only a small percentage of mines in Houston County even have a permit.
Fair and responsive governance in Houston County: From the beginning anyone who spoke out on these issues was retaliated against. We have been ignored, had false charges brought against us, been threatened, been silenced and forced out of meetings. The most egregious example is the previous zoning administrator, who has since been replaced after an independent investigation. There were also two county commissioners now replaced, two Board of Adjustment members now replaced, and a couple of Planning Commission members that blocked enforcement and public input.
We have had some success in improving governance and accountability. Citizen input is again welcome at meetings.
Please join us in continuing to work on banning frac sand mining and getting the existing law enforced.
We'll be watching to see the consequences of the judge's decision.
MNsider bonus: McKinney quotes Mike Zipko as a spokesman for Minnesota Sands. Zipko runs Zipko Strategies and is a principal partner at Velocity Public Affairs,which made such a splash on behalf of the police union in the recent St. Paul mayoral race.
His wife, former lobbyist Amy Zipko--who included the Aggregate Ready Mix Assn of MN among her clients--is the committee administrator for the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee.
As stakeholders like to tell citizens, it's a small town.
Photo: Land Stewardship Project led a vigorous campaign for the Winona County ordinance. Yard signs popped like shaggy manes on lawns across the county. Photo via Winona Daily News.
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