Commission hears public's feelings at mining hearing

by Ruby White
The Wabasha City Planning & Zoning Commission approved the proposed Mining Ordinance regulating mining and extraction activities within the City limits at a special Public Hearing on January 13.
The ordinance had been given to the City Council at their meeting the week before for their consideration. The ordinance will now go back without further changes to the Council for additional review. The commission felt it was important to have the Mining Ordinance in place before the moratorium is up in March. There are several areas that need to be clarified or changed, but these can be dealt with after the Oodinance has Council approval.
City Hall chambers were filled to capacity with interested citizens, including representatives of the two mining operations within the City limits: Wabasha Sand & Gravel and the Bruegger family sand and gravel pits. Because this was a public hearing, anyone who wished to speak to this matter was allowed about two minutes to express their feelings and concerns. The public input process was orderly and courteous in spite of some strong feelings on both sides of this issue.
At the opening of the meeting, the commission elected Bryan Wodele as the new chairman. Former Chair John Friedmeyer went off the commission to take on new duties on the Port Authority. He is also a member of the Ambulance Commission. Craig Falkum was elected vice chair. Dave Kruger will represent the City Council on the commission, along with former Councilman Charles Bricher.
Mayor Rollin Hall was present, along with Councilpersons Friedmeier, Kruger, Steve Schmidt, Lynn Schoen, and Al Wharton. City Administrator Chad Springer and City Planner Kristi Clarke were also present. Molly Patterson-Lundgren, who was instrumental in developing the Ordinance, was also present for input. She was City Planner when the frac sand issues first surfaced and is now a consultant with WSB, a Rochester firm, but agreed to take on the writing of the Mining Ordinance.
Wodele stated at the outset that the City Code did not require a public hearing on this mining ordinance, but the Commission decided to hold a hearing because of citizen concerns. He termed it a “discretionary hearing.”
Before public input, Patterson-Lundgren provided a brief history of frac issues in the City and the purpose of this Mining Ordinance. She said that the City first became aware of frac sand issues, as they affected Wabasha, in 2012. In those early hearings, three concerns were brought forward: processing, extraction and mining, and warehousing and distribution. The Zoning Ordinance still covers these issues, she said.
Current City regulations cover Highway and Industrial Commercial zones, but there was an apparent need to look at mining operations within the City limits.
In March, 2013, the first moratorium was put in place. It is a status quo situation now, nothing has changed, Patterson-Lundgren said. A second moratorium was added to consider traffic generators.
State law allows for a moratorium in regard to silica sand. This moratorium added a second year to the moratorium that was already in place, allowing time to study the issues and collect data. The Mining Ordinance is a stand-alone ordinance, it’s not part of the Zoning Ordinance, and it concerns existing mines.
Data was collected from the Environmental Quality Board (State). Based on this data, the Planning Commission looked at models and came up with the first draft. It was taken to the Technical Advisory Team for review. The first draft went to the Council at their January 6 meeting. Clarke said they had received quite a lot of comment and information between that time and this hearing.
Wodele thanked Patterson-Lundgren for her work on the Mining Ordinance and then opened the public hearing.
When the public hearing closed, the commission discussed some of their concerns and offered suggestions. Wodele said that all information presented during the hearing would be part of the public record and that a lot of information had been presented during the hearing.
City Attorney Peter Ekstrand said they couldn’t require the miners to bring in more information regarding legal non-conforming. “They ARE legal non-conforming,” he said. It was felt that the meeting with the operators had been “productive.”
In regard to legal non-conforming uses, Ekstrand said the courts will decide that matter. “We don’t have a lot of control over it,” he said. “To go to court there has to be a lawsuit,” he said.
Clarke felt it was important to move forward as soon as possible and to work with mine operators to learn if they have any plans for expansion or changes. Ekstrand suggested that in regard to any expansion at the Bruegger site, “The Commission should set a benchmark on what they are doing now, and if they go beyond that, we will have to deal with them.”
Clarke said, “We intend to work with the miners...we need benchmarks.”
Falkum had concerns about the hours of operation contained in the ordinance, which are currently 6 a.m.–10 p.m. He suggested 6 a.m.–7 p.m. Wabasha Sand & Gravel runs 7 a.m.-5 p.m.
Possible amendments to the Mining Ordinance included: non-conforming uses, hours of operation, and water usage. Some Commission members were ready to make the changes at this meeting and get the ordinance passed. Others wanted get more information and studies before passing it.
Jim Miller moved to go forward with the Ordinance at hand, work with the miners and get more information for changes that could be made after the ordinance goes to the Council. Tim Wallerich seconded. Falkum was opposed. He felt that once it was passed, it would “go on the shelf” and the changes would not be made. Falkum voted no, the rest of the Commission voted to pass it at the meeting and send it on to the Council. The motion passed with one no vote.
After some other routine Planning & Zoning business, the meeting adjourned.
Public Hearing Comments:
Wharton opened the Public Comments with a question concerning the moratorium, feeling that they had another year. Ekstrand said that the wording is confusing, but the moratorium is up in March. Wharton had questions about air quality and the pollutants going back into the City’s ground water following the washing process. He also noted that truck traffic numbers are already approved, allowing one truck per minute through the city. He pointed out the effect the added truck traffic would have on property values and tourism. Wharton said he had no problem with the mines continuing operations, but not expanding or any new ones.
John Friedmeyer clarified the 2.5 level of particulates suspended in the air. He said that in Winona, none of the monitoring sites met that level. Upon the recommendation of the Environmental Quality Board, a mining applicant would have to have a permit from the DNR. In regard to the moratorium, he said, “We are now at the two-year limit. A request for an extra year didn’t make it to the governor’s desk.”
Schoen had a number of questions at the council meeting, and copies of her concerns and comments were available to the commission. She had three areas of concern, beginning with if blasting is allowed, a pre-blasting survey would be needed. She also felt that there should be a noise ordinance for operations and that it be more restrictive to have quality of life for residents. Her third area of concern was for the bluffs, citing a need to address the bluff territory “so we don’t lose any of our bluffs,” she said.
Debbie Navarre had concerns about home equity and about the effects of mining on the water table. She pointed out that the water table that serves the city also serves areas outside the city limits. They could be affected, as well, if the water table becomes polluted with chemicals from the washing process. She also noted that the frac sand trucks will pass 30 feet from her bedroom window.
Vicky Jaskierski felt the Mining Ordinance was a good document. Noting Houston County, she asked, “Why not just say ‘no’?”
She said she has found no county that has a peaceful relationship with this (frac sand) industry. “It’s an industry that has ‘eaten up’ communities,” she added. She also felt the hours of operation were not good. In regard to publication of meeting notices, she called for putting them in a box on the front page of the Herald, not in the legals section that many people don’t read. “Silica sand is a big issue here,” she said. She also called for protection of the bluffs.
Richard L. Morris, Attorney on behalf of the Bruegger family, pointed out that the Brueggers had been farming at their present location since the 1930’s. He said that they have one mine for sand and one for gravel, which they have operated for over 80 years in legal compliance, and they want to continue,” he said. “We are a business. We shouldn’t be put out of business with a load of regulations. We shouldn’t be shot down by a new set of regulations.”
In closing, he said, “It will cause problems, more than you have now.”
Howard Severson also spoke on behalf of the Bruegger family, whose concern, he said, is about legal non-conforming uses, in that those are open to interpretation. “Non-conforming issues could shut down the mine,” he said. He went on to say that the Bruegger family is asking that the City allow any existing mine to be registered as a legal non-conforming mine. He called for something “legal, on paper,” and that the City meet with Wabasha Sand & Gravel owner Bob Kohner and with the Brueggers. Clark and Wodele both said that these steps had already been taken.
Bill Bruegger, also representing the family, said they are a “legal, non-conforming, non-metallic mine, registered on State land” and they “are not affecting the bluff.” Bruegger said, “The ordinance as it is written will have an effect on our mine and on our farm. We will have to bring action if we don’t work it out,” he said.
Kohner spoke on his own behalf, saying he had been in operation here since 1959. “We are taking care of our land,” he said. He pointed out that washing water is ponded and cleaned, and they don’t do any blasting. He also pointed out that they are one of the leading employers in the community with $1.1 million paid in wages. He asked if his operation is grandfathered in and what they needed to comply with, in terms of ordinance requirements. Ekstrand said very little would change, only if he expanded operations, that his non-conforming status wouldn’t change.
John Brown, manager for Kohner operations, asked that the Commission consider existing operations. “Let them stay in business and employ the people who live here,” he said.
Jeanne Pietig, Pepin township resident and member of the Wabasha County Planning & Zoning Commission, expressed concern for the bluffs. “They deserve protection,” she said. She suggested that two sentences be added to the ordinance regarding non-metallic mines: that they not be located on the top or the toe of a bluff; and a definition of a bluff. She asked that they consider “What is your concept of the earth when you leave it?”
Jim Roemer, long-time community member, developer, former councilman and more recently a frac sand hauler, said he had lived side by side with the mines—Kohner and Bruegger—and had no problems. “If you put restrictions on the businesses in town, the price goes up, people move out—no business, no taxes.” He added, “Wabasha is a ‘tipping ship.’ Watch that you don’t drive businesses out of town.”
Schmidt felt that the Ordinance was “more than restrictive enough—it is fine as it is,” he said. His suggestion was to exempt the two existing mines, then write an ordinance that fits those two mines only. “The mines have been here for years. I’m not excited about voting for this Ordinance.”
The Ordinance will now go to the Council for their second review.