Minnesota justices drill mining company over quarry expansion near sacred site

The Minnesota Supreme Court heard arguments over whether state environmental and historic preservation agencies have standing to challenge Cottonwood County's decision to let Minnesota Paving Materials, later Martin Marietta Materials, expand the Sioux Rock Quarry within a quarter mile of the Jeffers Petroglyphs without a full environmental impact statement.

The mining company argues the state agencies have shown no concrete injury and are fishing for hypothetical harms, while the state argues that not knowing how dust from the expanded mine travels is itself an injury that blocks them from doing their regulatory jobs.

Justices seemed sympathetic to the state's position but worried aloud that ruling for the agencies could open a broader door for government bodies to sue each other over local land-use calls.

The court also weighed whether the preservation office can challenge the land-use permit itself, with the office arguing that waiting until after damage occurs to a fragile 7,000-year-old site defeats the purpose of protection.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.