Six weeks after Winona County's three-month moratorium on sand mining operations expired and the county has yet to receive an application for a permit to begin an operation.  County Administrator Duane Hebert says he expects some applications in July.

Winona County's sand mining application process has become a model for several other counties in southeastern Minnesota who have moratoriums still in place, and Hebert credits the quick work of the county's staff during Winona County's short moratorium.

Hebert says one reason for the delay in the filing of applications has been the extensive process that mining operators have to go through to complete the application, including a traffic study.