Howard Planning Commission to consider mining permit
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By The Chippewa Herald
Saturday, June 14, 2008 11:05 AM CDT
The Town of Howard Planning Commission will start the process of considering a mining permit application from Canadian Sand and Proppant at a meeting at 8 p.m. Monday at the Howard Town Hall, 9750 30th St., Colfax.
Canadian Sand and Proppant recently announced plans to build a $30 million processing plant in the city of Chippewa Falls to produce sand for the oil and natural gas industry. The sand is to be mined from areas in western and northern Chippewa County and in Barron County, with sand to be hauled to the processing plant by truck and rail, according to a company spokesman.
The application for a mining permit on land owned by Robert Schindler and Jeff Sikora is the first the firm is seeking in Chippewa County.
The company filed the permit application with the town on June 3. At Monday’s meeting, the Planning Commission is scheduled to listen to public comment, and possibly be ready to make a recommendation to the town board on the application.
Planning Commission member Allan Schlaugat said the commission’s role is fairly minor – to review the application and make a recommendation. Whether the commission recommends approval or not, the matter goes next to the three-member town board, which can either reject it or set a public hearing, then make a final decision after the public hearing.
The county must also go through a process, but its role is limited as well. According to County Conservationist Dan Masterpole, the county can only determine whether the applicant’s land reclamation plan is adequate. If it is, the county is required to issue the permit.
Proper zoning is not an issue in this case, as the town of Howard has no zoning ordinance.
The total area of the mine is 80 acres, with plans to mine and reclaim it in 10-14 acre segments.
Opposition to the mine is organizing in the town of Howard. A similar mining operation sought by a Texas company near the Hoffman Hills area in Dunn County was rejected due to public opposition.
Canadian Sand and Proppant is a new company whose principal owner also owns a company in Alberta, Canada called Sand Source.
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