By MARK GUNDERMAN

mark.gunderman@lee.net Tuesday, May 12, 2009 10:01 AM CDT

Canadian Sand and Proppants has filed a lawsuit against the Chippewa County town of Howard, seeking to have a town ordinance regulating non-metallic mining declared invalid. The company, which has plans to build a sand processing plant in Chippewa Falls, has been embroiled in a controversy with Howard for nearly a year over its plans to establish a sand mine there.
The sand would be shipped to the plant in Chippewa Falls and eventually shipped out on rail for use in the oil and natural gas industry. At first, Canadian Sand and Proppants sought a permit under the terms of the ordinance. But the company dropped its efforts last year and proceeded with plans as if it did not need a permit. The move came at about the same time that county officials issued an opinion that the town’s ordinance was invalid because it is in effect a zoning ordinance and was improperly adopted. The lawsuit, filed Thursday and assigned to Judge Roderick Cameron’s court, makes the same argument. In its suit, Canadian Sand and Proppants states that the ordinance requires a party to obtain a “zoning permit” before beginning nonmetallic mineral extraction. The company argues that the town lacks the authority to unilaterally enact a zoning ordinance. Howard has failed to follow state statutes in adopting the ordinance and in particular has failed to obtain county approval as required for a zoning ordinance, the suit claims. While the lawsuit refers to the permit as a “zoning permit,” the ordinance itself refers to a “permit to mine.” The chief issue in the suit is whether the ordinance should be considered a zoning ordinance. A similar lawsuit over an ordinance in the town of Cooks Valley has been brought by a few landowners in that township. The town has 20 days to respond to the suit. Canadian Sand and Proppants previously filed a claim with the town, which the town denied.