More than 5,000 Minnesotans have signed a petition calling on Gov. Mark Dayton to enact a two-year moratorium on frac sand mining in southeast Minnesota.
The Land Stewardship Project circulated the petition and plans to deliver it to the governor's office on Earth Day, April 22. The group is also calling for state regulations to protect air and water quality around fracking operations.
The group will also announce the results of a new statewide poll it conducted on public opinions about fracking. Lynn Schoen, a member of the Wabasha City Council, supports the moratorium.
"I think Governor Dayton has laid out a policy that makes a lot of sense," she said in a statement. "He has said he favors keeping frac sand mining out of the fragile karst area of southeast Minnesota and tough state-level regulations to protect air and water quality…This petition supports that policy and urges the governor to take action to get us there."
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