Last night, the Goodhue County Planning Advisory Commission recommended extending the county’s silica sand mining moratorium. The decision follows vocal public opposition to developing frac sand mining aming the county’s scenic Mississippi River bluffs and farmland.
The Rochester Post Bulletin reports in Goodhue County commission recommends extension of silica mining moratorium:
Goodhue County’s Planning Advisory Commission drew a loud cheer Monday night when the panel voted to recommend extending the county’s moratorium on silica sand mining for another 12 months.
The recommendation, as well as one supporting a new set of rules governing the permits for all other mineral mining, will go before the county board of commissioners on Aug. 7 for final approval.
Board member Dan Rechtzigel, who also serves on the Planning Advisory Commission, said the vote on the moratorium would seem like a done deal. “One of the board members already voted for it here tonight,” he said, adding that two more of the five-member board have already publicly stated their support for extending the silica sand mining moratorium. Rechtzigel said he is less certain how the county board will vote for the change to the county’s mineral extraction regulations.
Read the details in the Post Bulletin.
Photo: Aerial view of frac sand mine in Wisconsin. (Photo by Jim Tittle)
Comment