At the January 19 meeting of the Fillmore County Planning Commission, a public hearing was held on a conditional use permit application for a Sand, Fill Pit submitted by K. Rodney and Holly Beer.
As this was the first meeting of the new year; election of officers was first on the agenda. Trinity Johnson was elected board chairman and Gary Ruskell was elected vice chair. Meetings are scheduled for the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m.
The 28-acre proposed sand pit is located in section 21 of York Township. As a condition of the CUP review, an assessment for Karst features within the proposed mining area is required by Fillmore County. The review was conducted by G-Cubed Engineering.
The area proposed for the sandpit has a history of mining activity which includes iron ore mining during the 1960s. Much of the area has been disturbed due to grading and excavating. No indication of karst features was found within the assessment area. The assessment summary reads, “no obvious surface features were encountered that are associated with a direct connection of surface to groundwater.”
Rodney Beer explained that they have an excavation business and intend to use the mined material as fill for projects including building pads and driveways.
There was no comment from members of the township board or from the public.
Commissioner Duane Bakke was not present at the meeting. Zoning Administrator Cristal Adkins passed on his concern about the water table. She noted that prohibited activities/regulations will be printed on the back of the CUP as listed in the county’s ordinance. Among prohibited activities is “the excavation and mining of any construction minerals that causes or results in any chemicals, metals, minerals or materials leeching, spilling, or flowing into any water resource,” which includes the water table. Adkins said the proposed sandpit will produce construction grade material.
Trinity Johnson asked about blasting. Adkins said that could be listed as a condition. A motion to recommend approval of the conditional use permit to the county board was approved. “No blasting” was added as a condition on the permit. The county board will consider the CUP at their February 7 meeting.
Feedlot capacity
A public hearing will be held on February 16 concerning a proposed amendment to Section 9 (new animal feedlots and expansion of existing animal feedlot facilities) of the county’s ordinance. After some discussion the commission approved a motion calling for a public hearing on an amendment to increase the cap on animal feedlot capacity from 2,000 to 4,000 animal units.
Adkins noted Houston and Goodhue Counties have no cap and Mower and Dodge Counties have a 3,000 animal unit cap. Dallas Dornink, Fillmore County feedlot officer, said everything over 1,000 animal units is permitted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
The 2,000 animal unit cap was set prior to 2004. Agriculture has been changing over the years. Adkins said there are only three or four feedlots in the whole county that are near the existing cap.
The county can approve a CUP for a new feedlot or for the expansion of an existing feedlot, but this is a first step. A large feedlot will also need approval of the MPCA and meet the requirements of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The NPDES program is permitted and enforced by the state, authorized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. It was created by the 1972 Clean Water Act.
Johnson added everything has to be in place for a 1,000 unit feedlot; all regulations have to be met.
December Board of Adjustment
At the December 15 meeting of the Board of Adjustment, Clarence Flemming and his son Conrad requested a 43-foot variance from Section 604.05(2)(a) of the county ordinance for ground mounted solar arrays which are located 30 feet from the center line of the road. The Ag District, Front Yard Regulations require a setback of not less than 73 feet from the centerline of a public road. There were no comments at the public hearing. The variance as requested was unanimously approved.
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