STE. GENEVIEVE COUNTY, Mo. — A group of Ste. Genevieve County residents is rallying to try and stop a strip mine they say would change their way of life.
The proposed silica sand mine would sit on roughly 249 acres of land off Highway 32, about five miles south of the small community of Weingarten, Missouri.
Aside from the occasional passing car, things are typically quiet along Highway 32 in Ste. Genevieve County.
“I grew up, me and my sister, we rode horses down here,” said Jillian Ditch Anslow. “We had chickens, and we just lived this beautiful rural farm life.”
About six weeks ago, Leigh McNail and her sister Jillian Ditch Anslow, got letters in the mail stating that NexGen Silica planned to mine 249 acres just down the road from their property.
“This is not what this land out here is for,” said Leigh McNail. “It’s for us to raise our family on and grow crops.”
“We don’t want this here,” said Anslow. “We don’t want this near our homes. I don’t want my daughter breathing in silica dust, which is dangerous, and a known carcinogen.”
“Best case scenario, they drop our water table enough to where we need new wells or we need to drill deeper to get to our water,” said McNail. “Worst case scenario, they contaminate the water with the chemicals they use to clean the sand.”
As NexGen reached mineral rights agreements with multiple landowners in the area, the sisters started an online petition that quickly gathered more than 2,300 signatures.
“We have to join together because we don’t want this here,” said Anslow. “We will not let this happen here.”
However, their options for stopping the mine may be limited since Ste. Genevieve County doesn’t have a zoning board to rule on the matter.
The sisters believe a statute in Missouri state law may be enough to stop the mine from breaking ground.
“Our county commissioners, and our Board of Health trustees, we’re hoping they can enact a county ordinance to put a stop to this,” said Anslow.
If you would like more details on exactly what’s taking place, there is an informational session scheduled for Saturday, April 30 at 2 p.m. at Our Lady Help of Christians in Weingarten, Missouri.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will hold a required public hearing on May 19 at 7 p.m. at Progress Sports Complex in Ste. Genevieve.