The Winona County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday will get an update on efforts by a state legislator who wants the state to consider establishing a generic environmental impact statement process for sand mining operations in southeastern Minnesota.
                    
State Senator John Howe of Red Wing has made a request to Governor Mark Dayton that a generic EIS be established on sand mining operations in order to study the impacts of the operations in southern Minnesota.  Questions have been raised about who pays for the study, what effect it may have on local authority to require site specific environmental assessment worksheets, and what impact it would have on the permitting process locally.
                     
County Planning and Environmental Services Director Jason Gilman will update the board on the Howe request.  It comes during a committee-of-the-board meeting that follows the regular meeting that start at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday at the County Government Center.