St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - The legal fight over frac sand mining in Winona County continues.

The Minnesota Supreme Court yesterday announced it has granted a request to review a decision issued by the State Court of Appeals in July that upheld a Winona County ordinance that prohibits all industrial mineral mining, which amounts to a ban on the mining of silica sand for use in the hydraulic fracture extraction of oil and gas often referred to as “fracking.”

The legal challenge is being led by Minnesota Sands. The company has long sought to open a silica sand mine in Winona County, which has large reserves of the type of sand that is perfect for the fracking technique. It contends the Winona County ordinance violates the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution, which is an argument that was rejected by the Court of Appeals.

It’s unclear when the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case.

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