Decision to be made on the issue at Wed., Sept 18 Environmental Quality Board Meeting -- Big Step in the Wrong Direction!

URGENT:  Please call or email the 6 officials listed below. Suggested message is at bottom. 

Take the time to do this today! 

We will have to live with the results for years to come.

Jim (call before 9pm with questions)

507-523-3113

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"Draft Model Standards and Criteria for Silica Sand" -- Big Step in the Wrong Direction!

Decision to be made on the issue at Wed., Sept 18 Environmental Quality Board Meeting

The MN Legislature told the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) to create “model standards and criteria for mining, processing and transporting silica sand.”  

EQB has released a draft that is shockingly weak.  

For frac sand operations:

• Setback from dwellings: only 500 feet
• Setback from property line only 100 feet
• Hours of operation 7 am-8 pm Monday through Saturday.

These model standards are for local governments to consider when creating or amending their local ordinances. They are not required to use them.  However, if weak standards are adopted by the EQB, the frac sand industry and their allies will hold them up as endorsed by the EQB.  Maintaining or passing stronger local ordinances would become difficult.  (The full set of draft standards and criteria are on the EQB website here.  Click on the link for the Board Packet and go to page 13.)

         

The EQB should pass standards that help local organizing for strong ordinances, not undermine it. These draft standards and criteria if adopted would undermine the many existing local ordinances that are substantially stronger than them. They would undermine local organizing to pass strong county and township ordinances and frac sand bans.  

An alternative approach that would help local organizing. The EQB should lay out standards and criteria that cover a spectrum of goals that local communities may want to achieve with a local ordinance.  These goals should range from a frac sand ban to strong local standards to protect specifically identified areas of concern such as air quality, health, property values, roads, water quality, etc. The EQB needs to actively solicit input from impacted citizens which they have not done.  The EQB should propose nothing that is weaker than what many county and townships have already adopted.

TAKE ACTION! 

At their 9/18 meeting EQB Board will discuss this draft and decide whether or not to move forward with it. The EQB is the Commissioners of 9 state agencies and 5 citizen members. A full list of EQB Board members, along with contact information is HERE.

CONTACT THESE KEY DECISION-MAKERS:

• Dave Frederickson, MN Dept of Agriculture Commissioner and EQB Chair, 651-201-6219 or Dave.Frederickson@state.mn.us
• John Stine, MN Pollution Control Agency Commissioner and EQB member, 651-757-2014 andmailto:John.Stine@state.mn.us/
• Tom Landwher, Department of Natural Resources Commissioner and EQB Member, 651-259-5022 
• Dr. Edward Ehlinger, Department of Health Commissioner and EQB member, 651-201-5810
• Will Seuffert, EQB Executive Director, Will.Seuffert@state.mn.us
• Gov. Mark Dayton, 651-201-3400 or 800-657-3717 or use this email form.

SUGGESTED MESSAGE: 

Good to add personal details and put into your own words: 

I am very disappointed in how weak the EQB’s “Draft Model Standards and Criteria for Silica Sand Activities” are. For example, the draft proposes as a model that a frac sand operation be only 500 foot from a dwelling and only 100 foot from a property line.

  

This draft was developed with no input from residents living near an existing or proposed mine.

This draft undermines local organizing efforts to pass strong ordinances and outright bans as well. It also undermines existing ordinances that are much stronger than the proposed model standards.

This proposed draft is so far from what an acceptable end product would be that it must be scrapped entirely and a draft created that has input from those living near existing or proposed frac sand facilities. 

Circulating this fundamentally flawed document any further will only call into question whether or not the EQB fully understands the magnitude of the frac sand issue.”