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Case Law
The following resources represent a collection of court filings and judicial opinions regarding frac sand mining. Furthermore, it may be necessary to view certain decisions via an online legal research database.
This list of cases is not exhaustive.
O’Connor v. Buffalo County Board of Adjustment (Wis. Court of Appeals, No. 2013AP2097)
- Published Opinion (Apr. 22, 2014) (affirmed the Buffalo County Circuit Court’s order to grant a mining company a conditional use permit for frac sand mining operations).
Connaughty et al. v. Winona County Board of Commissioners (Minn. Court of Appeals, No. A13-0745; A13-1198)
- Opinion (Jun. 16, 2014) (affirmed the Winona County Board of Commissioners’ decision to issue a negative declaration on the need for an EIS and conditional-use permit for a proposed silica sand mining project).
Erickson et al. v. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (Minn. Court of Appeals, No. A14-1732)
- Unpublished Opinion (Jul. 20, 2015) (reversed the DNR’s decision that the Erickson’s silica sand mining project is subject to a setback permit requirement under Minn. Stat. §103G.217 due to its proximity to a trout stream).
Minnesota Sands, LLC v. County of Winona, Minn. (3rd Judicial District Court, County of Winona, Minn., No. 85-cv-17-771)
- Memorandum & Order (Nov. 17, 2017) (upheld amendments to the Winona County Zoning Ordinance adopted on Nov. 22, 2016, which prohibit all industrial mineral operations, including silica sand mining, transportation, and processing operations within the county).
(Minn. Court of Appeals, No. A18-0090)
- Notice of Appeal (Jan. 16, 2018)
- Opinion (Jul. 30, 2018) (affirmed the District Court’s order)
(Minn. Supreme Court, No. A18-0090)
- Petition for Review of Decision of Court of Appeals (Aug. 29, 2018)
- Opinion (Mar. 11, 2020) (affirmed the Court of Appeals’ decision)
