Uh, oh. Another crazy patchwork of state and local regulations is under attack. (The Reticulator is almost always in favor of these crazy patchworks on anti-monopoly grounds.)
In Trempealeau County, Wis., where a number of new sand mines have opened, officials recently imposed a one-year ban on issuing new permits.
“We were looking at hundreds of permits being taken out, dozens of proposed mines that could become operational within a year,” said Sally Miller, a member of the county’s board of supervisors. “I didn’t want us to be 20 years from now saying we wish we had known.”
Even so, some state lawmakers worry a much needed job-creating sector is under threat, and hope to shift regulatory control to the state.