Sunday, February 15, 2015
LAST CHANCE TO TALK SAND
Monday, February 16, 6.30
to protect
our communities is to
ban frac sand mining in
we need your help in getting this info to all folks
Two things -- we
need your help in getting this info attached to all folks --- right away please as
this is a HOT Action
Alert. Aimed at any and all Houston County, MN residents and
folks who wish to learn more -- or if you are elsewhere in the Upper Midwest and
know of people in Southeastern MN -- please forward these CRITICAL FLYERS with
vital info (ATTACHED).
1) Monday
2/16 there is a EDUCATIONAL FORUM on frac sand mining -- 6:30 pm at La Crescent
Community Center, La Crescent Minnesota. Numerous groups are having an
incredible educational event on the dangers of frac sand mining. What it is and
why it must be banned.
This a tremendous presentation and will have some great speakers, including Pat
Popple, Doug Nopar, Joseph Morse, Kelley Stanage and others who are deeply
concerned about Houston County and Minnesota.
This panel of
highly qualified experts will ALSO answer questions after the presentation. Not
to be missed and we must ALL go. (6pm -m 830pm La Crescent - See flyers below
and please forward).
2) Wednesday 2/18 --
People are NOW calling the two key Commissioners in Houston County so as to
suggest they vote "NO" on frac sand mining. The VOTE could potentially
come as early as next Wednesday
(2/18). PLEASE GO TO THIS HEARING ON WEDNESDAY. Go to the
websites listed and also to the flyers (attached) to learn more. There is
apparently an interesting NEW GROUP called F.R.E.E. (Families Resisting Energy
Extraction) -- Started by many concerned families in Houston County, Minnesota
-- they too have a website shown below.
PLEASE SEE
attachments - printable flyers of these two most critcal Houston
County events for Monday, 2/16 Forum and Wednesday, 2/18 Hearing.
All people who
want to know more about this controversial subject should come to La Crescent,
MN this Monday night. Representatives from groups such Land Stewardship Project,
Winona CASM Group, Houston County Protectors, Pat Popple, and others will all be
present to get citizens up to speed -- answer questions on the true facts of
this very high risk industry now expanding to our area.
Two days later -- all without exception --
must come to The County Building in Caledonia, MN on
Wednesday 2/18 - 10am. CRITICAL.
It's a very
serious time in Houston County. Let's all together attend these events. Learn --
and then go watch democracy in action. Please pass the word to all you know
plus print or email the flyer attached.
See you in La
Crescent this Monday night 6pm! Then
see you again in Caledonia Wednesday 10AM.
Here also -- Websites of
two outfits that will be present on Monday with the panel:
http://www.sandpointtimes.com/
Cheers and thank you! Enjoy the
two docs attached.
On Feb 18, the Houston County Board is having a public hearing on the final draft Ordinance
Tell Commissioner Walter and Schuldt to Ban Frac Sand Mining
On Feb 18, the Houston County Board is having a public hearing on the final draft Ordinance that will determine whether or not frac sand mining is allowed in the County. The Ordinance currently before the Board was stripped of wording that banned frac sand mining by the Planning Commission. In the next few days we need you and many other County residents to contact Commissioners Walter and Schuldt and urge them to put language back in the Ordinance that bans frac sand mining.
Wherever frac sand mining has occurred, county and township roads have been destroyed, ground water polluted, property values diminished, air quality compromised, reclamation costs dumped on tax payers, and the scenic beauty and tourism severely damaged. The truth is that the only effective way to protect our families, our homes, our farms and our businesses is to completely prohibit frac sand mining.
Our County Commissioners are under pressure from the mining interests to write a weak ordinance that will allow frac sand mining. Commissioner Walter and Commissioner Schuldtoften defend their pro-frac sand mining position by saying that this Ordinance would protect County residents from large scale frac sand mining.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The fact is that this Ordinance, as it now reads, will allow unlimited frac sand mining in Houston County. It is very much a “pro” mining Ordinance. It will allow hundreds of small mines which will do just as much, if not more damage to our county as a few big mines. It is full of “may” where it should say “shall” in terms of specific requirements. It will be next to impossible for anyone to seek legal remedies to protect their property rights and property values. The density regulation is confusing and will not withstand legal challenge, because there is no “rational basis” for it.
This Ordinance should put the protection of public health ahead of the mining interests but it doesn’t. There is hardly anything in the proposed Ordinance related to protecting ground or surface water or to monitoring air quality, two of the most important health related concern with frac sand mining. This was glaringly obvious in the setback requirements for mining of only 1000 feet from public entities such as nursing homes and schools. Compare that with our lucky local trout population. Under this draft Ordinance, it will be better to be a trout than Senior citizen in Houston County. They will enjoy the State statutory protection of a year-long study if the mining occurswithin a mile of their stream.
That is why we need you to act with us and many other County residents to persuade our Commissioners to pass an Ordinance that bans frac sand mining.
On Feb 18, the Houston County Board is having a public hearing on the final draft Ordinance that will determine whether or not frac sand mining is allowed in the County. The Ordinance currently before the Board was stripped of wording that banned frac sand mining by the Planning Commission. In the next few days we need you and many other County residents to contact Commissioners Walter and Schuldt and urge them to put language back in the Ordinance that bans frac sand mining.
Wherever frac sand mining has occurred, county and township roads have been destroyed, ground water polluted, property values diminished, air quality compromised, reclamation costs dumped on tax payers, and the scenic beauty and tourism severely damaged. The truth is that the only effective way to protect our families, our homes, our farms and our businesses is to completely prohibit frac sand mining.
Our County Commissioners are under pressure from the mining interests to write a weak ordinance that will allow frac sand mining. Commissioner Walter and Commissioner Schuldtoften defend their pro-frac sand mining position by saying that this Ordinance would protect County residents from large scale frac sand mining.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The fact is that this Ordinance, as it now reads, will allow unlimited frac sand mining in Houston County. It is very much a “pro” mining Ordinance. It will allow hundreds of small mines which will do just as much, if not more damage to our county as a few big mines. It is full of “may” where it should say “shall” in terms of specific requirements. It will be next to impossible for anyone to seek legal remedies to protect their property rights and property values. The density regulation is confusing and will not withstand legal challenge, because there is no “rational basis” for it.
This Ordinance should put the protection of public health ahead of the mining interests but it doesn’t. There is hardly anything in the proposed Ordinance related to protecting ground or surface water or to monitoring air quality, two of the most important health related concern with frac sand mining. This was glaringly obvious in the setback requirements for mining of only 1000 feet from public entities such as nursing homes and schools. Compare that with our lucky local trout population. Under this draft Ordinance, it will be better to be a trout than Senior citizen in Houston County. They will enjoy the State statutory protection of a year-long study if the mining occurswithin a mile of their stream.
That is why we need you to act with us and many other County residents to persuade our Commissioners to pass an Ordinance that bans frac sand mining.
check out the this last week’s explosive County Board
Hi,
We just posted two great letters from Township officials calling for a ban
on frac sand mining on our Houston County Government Accountability Website; www.houstoncountyrealitycheck.com
Also check out the this last week’s explosive County Board meeting on the
County Board tab. Things got out of control during the public comment period!
Dan Griiffin, the chairman of the Planning Commission showed his true
dictatorial nature. He, more than anyone, is responsible for the Planning
Commission removing language that banned frac sand mining from the draft
Ordinance during last week’s Planning Commission meeting.
Ken
Tschumper
1640 Tschumper Rd,
La Crescent MN. 55947
507-894-4248
ktschump@acegroup.cc
1640 Tschumper Rd,
La Crescent MN. 55947
507-894-4248
ktschump@acegroup.cc
Saturday, February 14, 2015
comprehensive environmental review will “clearly show that this project must not be permitted.”
LSP's Rupprecht:
"...threat to SE Minn. from frac sand industry is still very far from
over."
Minnesota frac sand project, stalled
by environmental issue, resurfaces
- Article by: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune
- Updated: February 4, 2015 - 12:47 AM
Minnesota Sands makes $130K payment to fund
environmental impact statement.
A major frac sand proposal for southeastern Minnesota,
which stalled two years when the state demanded an extensive environmental
review, is back on track with a $130,450 payment made to regulators to fund the
first phase of study.
Minnesota Sands LLC delivered the cash in late December
for the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB), founder Rick Frick said,
and will submit a revised business plan by the end of February involving several
related frac sand operations in at least four counties: Winona, Fillmore,
Olmsted, Goodhue and possibly Wabasha.
The plan is to synchronize mining, processing and
transportation operations at various sites so that no single location in the
network is overrun by activity, he said.
“We’re going to do this,” Frick said. “It just took a
lot longer than I thought.”
The news prompted immediate criticism from one of the
groups that successfully pressed regulators to require an environmental impact
statement — the most expensive and thorough analysis the state can mandate for a
project.
She said opponents believe the comprehensive
environmental review will “clearly show that this project must not be
permitted.” Among the concerns are lung disease from air pollution and
contamination of drinking water in the environmentally sensitive karst geology
of the region. Rupprecht said the step by Minnesota Sands is “important news
because it clearly shows that the threat to southeastern Minnesota from the frac
sand industry is still very far from over.”
EQB Executive Director Will Seuffert confirmed the
payment and said the agency expects the company to submit data soon, in time for
the initial review, or “scoping,” to begin by Feb. 25. Seuffert said it’s
customary for project proposers to fund the state’s environmental reviews. More
money will be required from Minnesota Sands as the analysis advances, he
said.
In Minnesota, full environmental impact reviews can take
a year or more because they include detailed descriptions of a project and its
anticipated effects on air quality, drinking water, surface water, soils,
wildlife, roads, traffic safety, agriculture and people. While the review is in
process, all permitting decisions are on hold. “I want to do it right so no one
can complain when it’s over,” Frick said.
The sand mining entrepreneur, who lives in Houston,
Minn., said his financial partners in Minnesota Sands are “average people like
me” who live in Minnesota and Wisconsin. He declined to identify the group,
saying, “they don’t want to be out in the public.”
An earlier group of investors associated with Frick fell
apart in March 2013 when its bid to build a large frac sand processing center in
St. Charles, Minn., was killed by the City Council there. Frick said he will
wait until his group gives its data to the EQB before disclosing the proposed
locations for Minnesota Sands.
Top officials at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
and the Minnesota Department of Health were among those who pushed for a joint
environmental review of Frick’s proposal back in 2013. They said Minnesota needs
to understand the possible cumulative effects of the proposed operations on
health and the environment. It will be the first such review for a Minnesota
frac sand project.
Tony Kennedy • 612-673-4213
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Houston County Board sets final hearing on sand mines
Houston County Board sets final hearing on sand mines
Wednesday, February 04, 2015 10:22 AM
Houston County commissioners moved one step closer to ending their moratorium on new sand mining applications on Jan. 27. After hearing reports from the Houston County Planning Commission (PC) — which recently reviewed an updated mineral extraction ordinance — the board voted to hold its own public hearing on the matter on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 10 am.
County Attorney Samuel Jandt told commissioners that a 10-day notice of the board's intent to change the mining ordinance must be published prior to a final vote. The last regular meeting before the interim ordinance (moratorium) expires is March 17.
The interim ordinance to give the county time to study the effects of frac sand mining took effect on March 20, 2012. Originally set for one year, it has been renewed ever since.
The issue has been contentious from the start. The county began by forming a study committee on frac sand mining, but that group was disbanded when it could not agree on a plan. A second committee was later formed to draft a revised ordinance, which takes the burgeoning frac sand industry into account. That document was completed recently, then changed before the PC met.
During the “public comment” session, several citizens spoke in opposition to those changes.
Michael Fields of Winnebago Township challenged a statement by a PC member that “sand is sand” when it comes to high-silica content material. “Sandbox sand won't give you silicosis,” he said.
Yucatan Township resident Bryan Van Gorp said that in its current state, the proposed ordinance is no longer restrictive enough. “The new ordinance throws open the doors and says, 'Have at it boys,'” (to prospectors), he stated.
Bruce Kuehmichel of Caledonia said the altered document represents “the shredded remnants of good intentions...”
Commissioner Justin Zmyewski questioned some of the last-minute alterations as well. As a member of the ordinance-drafting committee, he noted that the process was not always “quite as transparent as it could be,” and that the group “was not in 100 percent agreement” on the final draft.
Contacted by the Herald to explain those comments, he said that he discovered four members meeting behind closed doors late in the process — before the rest of the nine-member panel was scheduled to arrive. While that did not necessarily represent an effort by a minority to control the process, some alterations were apparently put forward that lacked the consensus of the entire group, Zmyewski noted.
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