County Board calls for new policy

At their Tuesday, Aug. 16, meeting, the Le Sueur County Board acted on a recommendation by County Attorney Brent Christian.

The action directed Josh Mankowski of the County Environmental Services Department to work with County Parks Director, Don Reak, to develop a policy to deal with an increasing number of requests from the gravel tax fund for restoration projects.

The gravel tax is a production tax on the removal of aggregate material weighed and measured after extraction from a pit, quarry, or deposit. The state requires that these funds be used "for the restoration of abandoned pits, quarries, or deposits located within the county. If there are no abandoned pits, quarries or deposits located within the county, this portion of the tax shall be used for another unmet reclamation need or for conservation or other environmental needs."

According to District 5 Commissioner Steve Rohlfing of Madison Lake, the number of funding requests has increased, while the fund's annual revenue has greatly declined over the past few years due to decreased aggregate mining in the county. The fund’s balance is just under $316,000. Its revenue for 2015 was $67,000 and $20,000 in 2016.

"The dollars coming in have been way down due to the economy," Rohlfing said.