St. Charles (MN) says no to frac-sand facility [View all]

[MinneapolisMatt]

Frac sand mining in southeastern Minnesota was dealt a serious setback Tuesday night when the city of St. Charles adopted a resolution advocated by local opponents of the growing industry.

The City Council unanimously passed a resolution denying all annexation requests from landowners in neighboring St. Charles Township who are aligned with frac sand developer, Minnesota Proppant LLC, for a major project.

The company sought city annexation of its proposed site, which is now farmland, because township officials were flat-out against the project.

Mayor Bill Spitzer said the issue was tearing the community apart, even ruining friendships. His biggest reason for saying “no” to the project was to stay on good terms with the township, he said.

“Once you start destroying relationships, you can’t move forward,” Spitzer said.

More: http://www.startribune.com/local/197704201.html