Winneshiek County Protectors wants the public to be aware of the potential for silica sand mining in the county

A crowd of over 150 people attended an informational meeting Wednesday on silica sand mining's potential to create problems in Winneshiek County.

There currently are no proposals before the Winneshiek County Board for a sand mining operation permit.  But Winneshiek County Protectors spokesperson Lyle Otte told the crowd Wednesday his group wants to be prepared.  Otte said there is potential for sand mining to create problems for tourism, roads, health and traffic levels.

Former State Representative John Beard told the group, "We need to have a game plan."  Beard urged passage of legislation that would require air monitors to be installed if any sand mining operation began.  But he said some sand particulates would be so small that they couldn't be filtered out by the body's normal workings.

Allamakee County Protectors spokesperson Ric Zarwell gave a list of 16 problems caused by sand mining.  He said "This is serious sutff."  Zarwell's group successfully fought for an 18 month moratorium on sand mining in Allamakee County, to give county supervisors more time to study the issue.  Zarwell said the sand mining industry "was coming at us like a runaway 100 mile an hour bulldozer."