Over the years, we've posted about the threat the frac sand (silica sand for fracking) industry has posed for the lovely southeastern corner of Minnesota and the valiant organizing its citizens have done to preserve the bluffs and farmland they so love.
The ban of frac sand mining in Winona County is one of their triumphs, and it's one that just survived an industry attempt to overturn the ordinance through the United States Supreme Court.
Matt McKinney reports in the Star Tribune article, U.S. Supreme Court rejects suit against Winona County frac sand ban:
A sand mining company's bid to overturn the Winona County ban on frac sand mining has failed after the U.S. Supreme Court refused its case.
A lawsuit first filed by Minnesota Sands nearly four years ago sought to overturn the ban enacted in 2016, saying the moratorium was unconstitutional because it interfered with interstate commerce and violated the Constitution's commerce clause.
The ban was the first in the state to prohibit mining the rich silica sand deposits along the Mississippi River valley. The sand has tremendous value for the fracking industry. Silica sand is 95% quartz and consists of round, extremely hard granules that prop open cracks in shale rock, allowing the extraction of oil, gas and natural gas liquids. The ban allows mining for construction sand, a cheaper and less-pure material used on roadways .
Minnesota Sands first filed a lawsuit against the county in 2017. The Winona County District Court upheld the ban, as did the Minnesota Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision in 2018. In March of last year, the seven-member state Supreme Court affirmed lower court rulings that let the ban stand, with two justices dissenting in full and one dissenting in part.
"The people of Winona County and throughout southeastern Minnesota have organized to oppose the frac sand industry for many years because this industry is incompatible with stewardship of the land and with healthy, thriving communities," read a statement from the Land Stewardship Project released Tuesday. The organization supported the ban's creation. "In passing the ban, the Winona County Board of Commissioners was fulfilling the proper role of local government, listening to the will of the people, and acting boldly to protect the common good for both people and the land."
The Winona Daily News' Josh DeLaRosa reports in LSP commends SCOTUS rejection of suit against frac sand ban:
Land Stewardship Project has expressed satisfaction with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to not overturn Winona County’s frac sand ban.
On Monday, the court elected to not hear Minnesota Sands, LLC’s suit, which could had resulted in the ban eventually being uplifted.
Minnesota Sands LLC, citing Southeast Minnesota Property Owners, claimed the ban violates equal protection, due process and private property rights.
It added that silica sand has been mined in the state for over 100 years and that it is unique because it is “extremely” hard and round and made up of quartz, which makes it valuable for use in energy production around the country.
“The Land Stewardship Project is pleased that the court has made the right decision, respecting the people of Winona County’s right to keep their communities safe from this harmful industry,” LSP said in a statement Tuesday morning.
The frac sand ban was passed in 2016 and Minnesota Sands, LLC subsequently sued in an attempt to overturn the decision. The Winona County District Court upheld the decision a year later, as did the Minnesota Court of Appeals in 2018, the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2020 and most recently the U.S. Supreme Court this past Monday.
Back in October when Minnesota Sands, LLC announced it had filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, LSP called the move “disappointing, but unsurprising.”
“The land has inherent value, and the health of the land and of people are interconnected,” LSP said at that time. “All decisions about land use must be made with the needs of the future in mind.”
“The people of Winona County have understood for many years that the frac sand mining, processing, and transport industry offers no benefit to rural communities and is too harmful to be allowed to operate in their communities.”
The entire LSP statement, LSP Statement on U.S. Supreme Courts Rejection of Suit against Winona County Frac Sand Ban:
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court announced that it would not hear frac sand corporation Minnesota Sands, LLC’s, suit attempting to overturn the Winona County frac sand ban. Thus, the ordinance preventing any frac sand mining, processing, or transportation operations within the southeastern Minnesota county’s jurisdiction remains in place. The Land Stewardship Project is pleased that the court has made the right decision, respecting the people of Winona County’s right to keep their communities safe from this harmful industry.
The frac sand ban was passed in 2016 following a 17-month grassroots campaign in which residents put their values into action to protect their communities. After Minnesota Sands sued the county in an attempt to undo it, the ban was upheld by the Winona County District Court in 2017, the Minnesota Court of Appeals in 2018, and the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2020. In October 2020, Minnesota Sands petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.
The people of Winona County and throughout southeastern Minnesota have organized to oppose the frac sand industry for many years because this industry is incompatible with stewardship of the land and with healthy, thriving communities. In passing the ban, the Winona County Board of Commissioners was fulfilling the proper role of local government, listening to the will of the people, and acting boldly to protect the common good for both people and the land. Now, despite Minnesota Sands’ desperate attack on this democratically-enacted decision, hills, bluffs, water, air, and communities in Winona County will remain protected from frac sand companies’ destruction.
We only wish photographer and Price of Sand filmmaker Jim Tittle, an old college friend who died of brain cancer in 2020, were here to learn the news. When his parents' home in Hay Creek Township in Goodhue County was threatened by a proposed sand mine, he started photographing images of the changes mining inflicted on the landscape, as well as creating the documentary film. I was writing about the industry--and his pictures helped renew the friendship. In 2018, he and Wendy Johnson released "Promise in the Sand."
Photo: Bird's eye view of a Wisconsin sand mind. Photo by Jim Tittle. Used with permission in 2013.
Related posts:
- MN Sands takes Winona County frac sand ban to SCOTUS; Land Stewardship Project fires back
- Outstanding decision! MN Supremes uphold Winona County frac sand mining ordinance
- State Supreme Court to hear MN Sands challenge of Winona Co frac sand ordinance on April 10
- Johanna Rupprecht: family farmers and rural people can fight back for their values & future
- Frac Sand Interests Object to LSP Having Hand in Winona Co's New Sand Mine Ban Lawsuits
- Winona Co. soil & water board wants fracking sand moratorium; opposition spreads to Olmsted
- One-year moratorium for new frac sand mining gains traction as senate committee approves bill
- Frick off: fracking sanding permits and moratorium momentum slow in Winona Co
- Frac sand: anatomy of a grassroots campaign
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