This Week’s Market Buzz

  • KBIA Radio reports that The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has postponed its decision on issuing a permit for a proposed frac sand mine in Ste. Genevieve County. The department’s Land Reclamation Commission voted to table its decision for two weeks so it can determine if the mine’s location would violate a federal non-discrimination act. At issue is a residence where a student is home-schooled. She is unable to attend school because of a health condition. An existing law prohibits a mine from opening within a specified distance of a “school.”
  • The Winona Daily News reports that The city of Winona, Minn., will have to wait to talk with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) about monitoring city air for frac sand dust. The city’s planning commission requested last month to meet with an MPCA official during a regular meeting to discuss the city’s options for air-quality monitoring. However, the MPCA recently told city staff it wants to wait for the state Environmental Quality Board to draft standards for frac sand mining before moving forward on any air-quality discussions, according to assistant city planner Carlos Espinosa. The board earlier this month announced plans to slow down work on those standards after criticism from frac sand opponents that the standards are too loose and in some cases may conflict with city or county regulations
  • The Caledonia Argus reports that an upcoming environmental review of the biggest frac sand mining project ever proposed in southeast Minnesota must not only examine impacts on air, water and economics, but should also require full disclosure of the proposers’ business ties and track record, according to a report released by the Land Stewardship Project. Such a review must also be conducted by independent experts with no ties to the proposers or the frac sand industry in general, concludes “The People’s EIS Scoping Report.” The report addresses the necessary scope and depth of the Environmental Impact Statement soon to be underway on the frac sand mining project proposed by Minnesota Sands, LLC.

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