Home permits jump in February, but builders are concerned

New home permits in the Twin Cities jumped 40 percent in February from the same month last year, but the Builders Association of the Twin Cites (BATC) isn't thrilled. The BATC said the increase from 248 home permits last February to 347 this month was caused by builders rushing to put up homes before new building codes kicked in.

Read more in Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Gravel mine gets permission to operate 24/7 in UMore Park

When spring arrives and the UMore Park gravel mine starts up after a dormant winter, it will be operating on a new schedule: 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Dakota Aggregates mine, located in Rosemount on land owned by the University of Minnesota, is one of a number of south metro gravel mines that feed construction across the metro. As construction picks up in the economic recovery, so too does the demand for gravel.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Quarry wants OK from Waite Park to mine more granite

Seeing an increase in demand for its granite, the owner of a quarry in the heart of Waite Park wants to start producing more. Martin Marietta Aggregates operates a quarry at 1450 Division St. in Waite Park. It is requesting an amendment to its conditional use permit so it can mine more granite

New tactics explored to protect groundwater

Amid mounting concern over depletion and contamination of Minnesota's groundwater supplie, the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture and other agencies are vowing to step up the protection of the state's most threatened aquifers.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

U.S. Supreme Court limits agencies' ability to impose permit conditions on landowners

On June 25th, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important Takings Clause decision with far-reaching implications for real estate developers and other who rely on federal or state permits. In Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District, the Court extended the doctrine of "unconstitutional conditions" established in the Court's Nolland and Dolan cases.

Read more in the e-newsletter of Greenberg Traurig, LLP.

Goodhue County Adopts Frac Sand Mining Rules

Goodhue County in southeastern Minnesota has adopted new regulations for the growing frac sand mining industry. . . . The regulations limit mines to 40 acres of exposed or uncovered ground at any one time.

Read more about the regulations at KSTP.

Winona County Board approves first frac sand mine

The Winona County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 Tuesday to approve the first frac sand mine in the county. Commissioners Marcia Ward, Wayne Valentine, and Steve Jacob voted for the mine's approval, while commissioners Greg Olson and Jim Pomeroy opposed the measure.

Read more in Winona Daily News.

State (Wisc.) funding increase advances for frac sand regulation

With the sand mining industry booming in western Wisconsin, the budget committee Tuesday left in place Walker's proposal to give the Department of Natural Resources two additional positions to regulate the industry. The number of sand mines and processing plants has jumped from 54 to 120 in the past year alone . . . .

Read more in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Dayton proposes water use permit overhaul

Gov. Mark Dayton is proposing a new funding structure for big water users in Minnesota that would nearly triple the cost of water for some cities. The Department of Natural Resources says some parts of the state are using more groundwater than supplies can sustain, and the agency doesn't have the resources to deal with the problem.

Read more at Minnesota Public Radio.

Wabasha approves frac sand facility

A frac sand loading and storage facility in Wabasha won final approval Friday and may have a temporary operation up and running within three weeks. The city's planning commission unanimously approved the conditional-use permit for Superior Sand Systems after months of discussion and review.

Read more in the Winona Daily News.

Permit for Wabasha frac sand hub will be laden with conditions

While the City of Wabasha voted this week to deny local citizens an independent environmental review of what will be the state's largest dedicated truck-to-rail hub for frac sand, officials in the town of 2,500 are still working to attach restrictions . . . .

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Washington Meeting on Permitting

Frustrations over cumbersome, costly and lengthly federal and state permitting processes in not limited to taconite and copper-nickcel/precious metals mining projects. "Fifteen percent or more on a road project is spent on permitting or wetland mitigation. . . ."

Read more in the Mesabi Daily News.

For regulators, sand mine riches are tough to refuse

For Kevin Lien, the offer was almost too good to refuse. If he left his job as Trempealeau County's director of land management, the sand company would double his salary. And give him profit-sharing. And top if off with a shiny new pickup truck. Lien who has served this western Wisconsin county for 20 years, was tempted but ultimately decided to stay put. Others receiving seductive offers did not.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Frac sand mine takes Houston County to court

A Houston County mining company and two mine owners are asking a Wabasha County judge to allow them to continue mining and processing sand in Houston County, after the county ordered them to stop because of the county's ongoing moratorium. Minnesota Sands LLC and mine owners Tracie and Michelle Erickson are scheduled to go before Terrence Walters today to fight the stop work order the county issued in July against the mine, located a few miles east of Rushford in the western edge of the county.

Read more in the Winona Daily News.

Frac sand EAW concerns pile up

An environmental assessment worksheet (EAW) ordered for a proposed frac sand mine near Rushford was a debated by Houston County commissioners for over an hour on Oct. 9. . . . The document is now in draft form, having been drawn up by G-Cubed Engineering, the same company which completed the mine operations plan for Minnesota Sands, LLC earlier this year. Minnesota Sands, LLC and landowner Tracie Erickson are currently suing Houston County over restrictions placed on the conversion of the existing aggregate sand mine to an industrial-scale frac sand facility.

Read more in the Spring Grove Herald.

Conference looks at big picture of sand mining

It really is just sand. Very clean. Very hard. Very pure. Very uniform. Sand. Whether you call it silica sand, industrial sand or by its latest, most controversial appellation — frac sand — it’s big business in southeast Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

Read more in the Winona Daily News.

Former senator shares opinion on frac sand mining

Former senator Jerome Gunderson of Mabel spoke during the citizens' input portion of the Fillmore County Board of Commissioners' Oct. 9 meeting, expressing his "concern for free enterprise" in regard to the proposed frac sand mining operation that is under county consideration.

Read more in the News-Record.

Frac Sand moratorium adopted in Yucatan Township

The Yucatan Township has imposed a one-year moratorium on frac sand mining within its borders. The move, which was passed 2-1 by the Yucatan Board of Supervisors on Sept. 11, curtails development of frac sand mine on the Tracie Erickson property at 23148 State Highway 16. . . .
(The township) also defines the difference between "construction minerals" excavated from existing rock quarries and sand pits, and "industrial minerals," which include silica sand, quartz, and natural stone.

Source: Tri-County Record, Rushford.

Environmental board: Mining reps oppose impact study, citing delays

Minnesota's top environmental agency today heard from business leaders who oppose a proposal for a broad environmental impact study on silica sand mining in Minnesota.

Read more at Minnesota Public Radio.

Health department asks for frac sand moratorium extension

The Buffalo County public health department is calling for an extension to the frac sand moratorium as its expiration date approaches.

Read more in the Winona Daily News.