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.