Supervisors hear comments on proposed sand mining operation

Editor's note: The Minnesota Sands Company, LLC has withdrawn its conditional use permit application for a sand mine operation southwest of New Albin in order to consult with the County Engineer on potential truck routes to and from the mine. The Board of Adjustment will meet as scheduled Wednesday, October 24, but the conditional use permit application for the proposed mine will not be on the agenda. The company may resubmit the application at any time.

by Bob Beach

During public comment time at the regular meeting of the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors Monday, October 15, former Allamakee County Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman John Smola warned the Board that silica sand mining operations could have significant impacts both in Allamakee County and across the state. Smola said that the proposed silica sand mining operation southwest of New Albin would expose the Jordan Aquifer to potential contamination, which could affect approximately one million Iowans who get their drinking water from the aquifer.
“Allamakee County has not been faced with a more serious problem in many years,” Smola said. He suggested that the Board consider implementing a moratorium on such mining operations to give the County time to develop appropriate regulations.
Zoning Administrator Tom Blake said that the Board of Adjustment would first consider the conditional use permit application for the proposed mining operation next Wednesday, October 24. He said that if the applicant can show that it has met the standards set forth in the zoning ordinance, the Board of Adjustment must approve the application; if the Board finds that any one of the seven standards set forth in the zoning ordinance have not been met, the Board must deny the application.
Blake said that the goal of the Board of Adjustment would be to gather as much information as it needs to make that determination and that he does not believe that task will be accomplished at the hearing scheduled for October 24. He said that the Board of Supervisors does have the authority to implement a moratorium as Smola suggested, and that such a moratorium would prevent the Board of Adjustment from approving conditional use permit applications for silica sand mining, even if the applications were submitted prior to the enactment of the moratorium.
Turning to regular business, the Board met with Richard Kittleson of Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation & Development, who asked for the Board’s support of a grant application to control Japanese Knotweed in the Paint Creek Watershed. The Board agreed to sign a letter of support.
The Board also signed a contract with Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission to conduct a study of how many children in the Postville School District walk to school and how walking routes might be improved. The study will be funded by a $4,500 Iowa Department of Public Health grant to the Allamakee County Board of Health.
In other business, the Board approved lifting the waiting list for mental health and developmental disabilities services on the recommendation of CPC Administrator Jan Heikes. The Board also accepted and placed on file the Recorder’s quarterly report and approved transfers to the Secondary Roads fund of $45,224.43 from the General Basic Fund and $648,348.57 from the Rural Services Fund.