Kathy, Edie, Ellen and many of the Bridgeport Concerned Citizens attended the June 10th court hearing on the lawsuit brought forth by Pattison Sand and the four landowners against the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway’s (LWSR) denial of permits for frac sand mining. Judge Craig Day ruled that the Riverway must issue the permit.
According to state statute 30.44 (3e) NONMETALLIC MINING, (b) A person may not be issued a permit for an activity in par. (a) unless the following performance standards are met:
1. Any structure and any stockpiled minerals or soil associated with the nonmetallic mining activity may not be visible from the river when the leaves are on the deciduous trees.
2. The excavation for the nonmetallic mining activity may not be visible from the river when the leaves are on the deciduous trees.
The ruling came after Judge Day rejected the LWSR’s argument that the term “excavation” included the clouds of dust and night lighting that is a visible part of excavation and therefore did not meet their performance standard mentioned above. The judge cited a Webster’s Dictionary singular definition of a hole in the ground rather than including an additional definition of the act or process of excavating. According to other dictionaries excavation does indeed mean the act or process of digging out or up. Judge Day had previously considered a remand of the permit back to the board for reconsideration but decided that the same conclusions would be obtained. The judge did allow conditions to be placed on the permit with some language and other modifications made by the judge.
Don Greenwood, LWSR Board Chair, sent an email thanking CSP and the BCC for all their support. He stated that it will be important for citizens to monitor the mining activity to ensure that Pattison Sand is in compliance as well as document any activities that are not or can be seen from the river. We have sent this request out to our supporters and other groups as well. Photos and descriptions should be dated and indicate where they were taken from on the river. The materials can be sent to Mark Cupp at mark.cupp@wisconsin.gov. If something particularly egregious occurs that requires a rapid response, call Mark at the Riverway office 800-221-3792.