Minnesota Court of Appeals Interprets New Trout Stream Setback Statute in Silica Sand Case
Jeremy P. Greenhouse
Posted on October 5, 2015
In Erickson v. Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources, No. A14–1732 (Minn. Ct. App. July 20, 2015), the Minnesota Court of Appeals interpreted a 2013 statute requiring that within the boundaries of the Paleozoic plateau ecological section, no silica sand mining may occur within one mile of a designated trout stream unless the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has first issued a silica sand mining trout stream setback permit. Minn. Stat. § 103G.217. The permit requirement applies only to “new silica sand mining projects and projects for which environmental review documents have been noticed for public comments after April 30, 2013.” 2013 Minn. Laws ch. 114, art. 4, § 66, at 1732. At issue was a Houston County silica sand mine that since 1992 had…