Finance & Commerce newspaper ran a subscription-only article June 18th about the growing interest in frac sand mining regulation by legislators. The concern is that current environmental permitting laws and regulators are not equipped to handle the rush for frac sand, particularly in southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
In the recent legislative session, two legislators proposed amendments to the omnibus environment bill. Rep. Andrew Falk, DFL-Murdock, proposed adding the condition that frac sand companies pay a fee into an account that counties could use to cover reclamation costs. Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, proposed increasing the aggregate tax to pay the cost of public infrastructure improvements needed as a result of frac sand mining. Neither amendment got very far in the 2012 session.
Finally, the article described how the state departments of Health and Transportation, as well as the MPCA are reviewing their processes and permits to see if they're sufficient enough for the fast-growing frac sand mining.
ARM is monitoring this issue very closely and we'll keep you informed when there are new developments, particularly regarding state regulations. - Fred Corrigan
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