Northeast Iowa sand company gets go-ahead for underground mining

The Clayton County Zoning Board of Adjustment voted 4-0 Tuesday night to approve a zoning change to allow the Pattison Sand Co. to expand its operations.  The panel’s approval was the final step in a yearlong process to rezone 746 acres from agricultural to heavy industry to facilitate underground mining of the silica sand used in the hydraulic fracturing process of extracting oil and natural gas.  A standing-room-only crowd packed the meeting room, and more than a dozen attendees spoke both for and against the proposal during the nearly three-hour meeting.