This Week’s Market Buzz

  • Grant County, Wis., Circuit Court Judge Craig Day ruled in favor of Pattison Sand Co. in its lawsuit against the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board (LWSRB), according to SWNEWS4U.COM. The ruling overturns the decision by the LWSRB last August to deny permits to the Pattison Sand Co. to mine frac sand within the Riverway boundary. Unless the LWSRB chooses to appeal the decision, Pattison Sand Co. will receive the permits. Noting that much of the material provided in the court record was not germane to the issue, Day addressed what he considered to be the primary definition of excavation. Wisconsin Department of Justice attorney Mark Bromley argued that excavation was a process and not simply the hole in the ground, thus allowing for consideration of dust and light pollution to be considered.

 

  • The Allamakee County, Iowa, Board of Supervisors passed an amendment to the County’s zoning ordinance to regulate the mining of frac sand and other industrial minerals, according to The Standard. Though the amendment represents months of work on the part of the Allamakee County Planning and Zoning Commission, numerous public meetings and extensive input from the public, the Board approved the third and final reading of the amendment and passed it with little fanfare or ceremony. While the amendment does allow for the mining of frac sand and other industrial mining, the application process is extensive. Allamakee County Zoning Administrator Tom Blake has estimated that it could take a year or more for a mining company to complete an application for a conditional use permit, which would then require approval by the Board of Adjustment.

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