Let the Rochester Post-Bulletin & Gov. Dayton know TODAY

 Dear Friends and Neighbors,

   It is time to speak up ....and we can do it from home, thanks to this heads-up from Land Stewardship Project.

Wishing you well,

Bonita

Let the Rochester Post-Bulletin know TODAY that you support Gov. Datyon enacting a two year moratorium on frac sand mining in southeast Minnesota

The Rochester Post-Bulletin is asking its readers if they support a two year moratorium on frac sand mining. They are going to run responses on March 1. Send your comments in TODAY to letters@postbulletin.com. Limit your remarks to 200 words or less, and include your name and city of residence.  Be sure to say in your letter: “I support Governor Dayton enacting a two year moratorium to protect southeast Minnesota.” Please, send me a copy of your letter at mailto:bking@landstewardshipproject.org and let me know if we can post ii on our website after March 1. Forward this email widely.

Here are some suggestions for a letter: 

·         Tell your story.  Why is it important to YOU as a resident, farmer, or business person in southeast Minnesota?

·         Gov. Dayton has said he supports a ban on frac sand mining in southeast Minnesota because of our fragile karst geology.  This is the right approach.

·         Our economy in southeast Minnesota is dependent on agriculture and tourism.  This is incompatible with the frac sand industry. That is why I support Governor Dayton enacting a two year moratorium to protect our area.

·         Some are saying, “Let the state regulation passed last year do its job.”  But these regulations are over a year away from being developed.  We need protection now. That’s why a moratorium is necessary.

·         We have seen from Wisconsin that the frac sand industry pollutes air and water, destroys roads, and has no respect for regulation.  Why would we want this in Minnesota?

More details: The Rochester Post-Bulletin ran this story: Legislative leaders uninterested in pursuing silica-sand mining ban and now they are asking what citizens think.  We know the effort to stop frac sand mining has been a grassroots movement led by citizens and citizens want a moratorium.  All the local ordinances, campaigns to stop specific mines and state legislation have been accomplished through grassroots organizing.  That is how we will win a moratorium in southeast.

From the Rochester Post-Bulletin: Your Turn: Moratorium on frac sand mines? Legislative leaders on both sides of the political aisle have indicated little interest in a statewide moratorium on the creation of new silica-sand mines. Still, foes of frac-sand mining in Minnesota say they'll ask Gov. Mark Dayton to impose a two-year moratorium through an executive order. What's your take? Should Minnesota ban the opening of new frac-sand mines, or are the rules passed last year by the Legislature sufficient to protect the state's groundwater and air quality? Send your comments toletters@postbulletin.com. Limit your remarks to 200 words or less, and include your name and city of residence. We'll publish these comments March 1, but anonymous submissions will not be published.

Bobby King

Land Stewardship Project

612-722-6377

Sign LSP’s Petition for Effective Action to Protect MN from the Frac Sand Industry