report from Citizens' Frac Sand Summit & LSP Petition to Gov. Dayton

 Report Back from the Citizens’ Frac Sand Summit

LSP Launches Petition Drive Urging Governor Dayton to Protect Minnesota from the Frac Sand Industry

The Citizens’ Frac Sand Summit in Winona was a huge success! Despite a winter weather advisory, over 225 people came together to build our power to stop the frac sand industry from destroying rural communities.

At the summit we launched a petition drive calling on Governor Mark Dayton to take effective action to protect Minnesota from the frac sand industry. Governor Dayton has laid out a policy that makes a lot of sense — a ban on the frac sand industry in the fragile karst area of southeast Minnesota and tough standards for the whole state that protect air and water quality. This petition supports that policy and urges the Governor to take action to implement it.  

Highlights included:

• ​Marilyn Frauenkron Bayer, LSP member from Houston County, reviewing the dozens of grassroots victories in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota where people are standing up to the frac sand industry. Her conclusion? “We are powerful and we are committed to building more power to protect our communities from the devastation of frac sand mining.” Read her list of grassroots victories here.

• Bob Christie, LSP member and lifelong farmer from St. Charles in Winona County, sharing a statement he delivered to Governor Dayton about his experience with the frac sand industry and why it will destroy farmland and opportunities for beginning farmers. He received a standing ovation.

• Dr. Crispin Pierce, director of the Environmental Public Health Program at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, shared his research on how people who live near frac sand facilities are being exposed to silica dust and the health consequences of this exposure.

Much of the information from the conference is up our website here and more will be up soon.

TAKE ACTION!  With your help we can reach our goal of 5,000 petition signatures from Minnesotans in the next three months

1. Go online and sign the petition, then share it via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter
2. Print a copy of the petition and get your friends and neighbors to sign. An important purpose of the petition drive is to create an opportunity to have conversations with friends and relatives, to educate them about the issue and engage them.
3. Contact us about a LSP member-leader, or staff member, coming to your church or civic organization to talk about the frac sand issue and the petition drive. Contact LSP's Bobby King atbking@landstewardshipproject.org or 612-722-6377.