February 25, 2013 Senate Environment Committee Dear Senator Marty and committee members: I live in Winona County,

and have worked steadily for the past year and a half researching the frac sand mining industry and advocating solutions here locally, as well as to Governor Dayton and members of the legislature. I quit my job in 2011 in order to work on this issue and protect our homeland. (My family has had to radically lower our expenses, but it is something we feel we must do this is dire.) I have major concerns with Senator Matt Schmitt's bill. First, the idea of a Southern MN Sand Council is very problematic. Many of our county boards are boosters of the frac sand industry, would likely send pro-frac sand reps to the board. (A major reason we citizens are coming to the state for help is that our county boards have disregarded us the citizens in favor of the frac sand industry. Allowing the sand industry to advise the board is a very bad idea. Any floor of regulations coming out of such a group might be weaker than needed, and, based upon experience thus far, we know that many or most counties will not take the initiative to create stricter regulations than the state would require. Second, this bill does NOT include a state-wide moratorium, which we residents have been calling for for 16 months. It is true that county boards could extend their moratoriums -- but that is completely inadequate. Winona County is a case in point: we turned heaven and hell just to get the board to agree to a 3-month moratorium for the county. That ended May 1, and was not extended. And the majority on the Winona county board is now pro-frac sand. We need a state-wide moratorium! Please! Third, this bill creates a state-wide "sand board" -- a very bad idea. Made

up of reps from county boards over a large swath of the state -- many of those reps will be unabashedly pro-frac sand. They'd be advised by citizens, scientists, and the frac sand industry. An industry should not be advising a body that is setting regulations for that industry. We instead need the MPCA, Dept of Health, and other agencies promulgating these rules -- free of county or industry interference. The local tax is a bad idea. It would be an incentive for counties to see increased sand-mining as an additional revenue stream -- and might in that way encourage mining. PLEASE give us a STATE-WIDE MORATORIUM -- to be lifted only once a GEIS is competed and state agencies have issued rules and regulations. Thank you. Sincerely, Jim Gurley 22505 Betty Jane Drive Hillsdale Township Winona Minnesota 55987 jgurley@hbci.com