Petition calling for a 24-month moratorium on frac sand mining gets presented to county supervisors.

Winneshiek County Protectors' Lyle Otte gives signed petitions to county supervisors

1,350 people have signed a petition calling on the Winneshiek County Board to impose a 24-month moratorium on the issuance of permits to allow such mining in the county.

Winneshiek County Protectors spokesperson Lyle Otte presented the petitions to county supervisors Monday morning, noting "Everywhere we went...we didn't have any trouble getting people to sign the petition."

The petition says the 24-month moratorium would allow Winneshiek County to develop "reasonable regulations to protect our roads and bridges, our local economy, public health and the scenic beauty of our landscape in Northeast Iowa."

Another member of Winneshiek County Protectors, Dick Janson, noted that only one out of 20 people asked to sign the petition refused to do so.  But Janson said the biggest reason given by those people was that they never sign petitions.  Janson said only a small number of people refused to sign the petition because they disagreed with it.

County Board Chair John Logsdon termed the number of petition signatures "impressive."  Before the county board will discuss the 24-month frac sand mining moratorium, the County Planning & Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing on the issue at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday in the third floor courtroom.