Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources approved the permit for a 73-acre frac sand mine in Ste. Genevieve County Thursday. The department also denied a request for an official hearing on the proposed mine owned by Summit Proppants.
Several people who live near the proposed mine have been fighting the approval of the permit for most of the year. They’ve cited health, environmental and quality of life concerns. Ste. Genevieve county resident Mike Miller says they are disappointed but will continue to fight the mine in the legal system.
“I feel like the DNR has not been fair with either party,” he says. “I feel like the staff director Mr. Mohammadi has not done his job and should be held accounted for.”
The mine came under fire recently for its surreptitious manner of acquiring the land through a legal loophole.
The sand from these mines is sold to hydraulic fracturing companies and used to prop open cracks made by drilling. It allows the natural gas or oil to be collected.
