Winona frac sand mining appeal happens today

A late-morning court hearing today in St. Paul will pit Winona County against a sand-mining company that wants a ban lifted.

The mining-ban appeal has been filed by Minnesota Sands, which claims its business is being hurt by the Winona County prohibition against producing sand for fracking.

It’s the only county-wide ban against sand mining in Minnesota.

The county argues that sand may still be mined for local uses, but the company says it only has permits to mine for fracking sand.

There’s no word when a ruling will be issued by the three Minnesota Court of Appeals judges who will hear the case.

The 30-minute hearing is scheduled at 10:05 a.m.