Legalectric

Last year, the legislature directed three agencies to get to work on rulemaking for silica sand mining.  Minnesota’s DNR was tasked with the “reclamation” aspects of silica sand mining, and reclamation is nothing new for the DNR, it’s something over which they do indeed have regulatory jurisdiction.

Minnesota Silica Sand Information Page

Silica Sand Advisory Panel Page

The Silica Sand RulemakingAdvisory Committee has been meeting for months… and months… and months… but the DNR has not produced any reclamation draft rules (oops, first typed “daft”) for the committee to review.

Some suggestions and issues to be aware of were raised based on Wisconsin practice, and hopefully they’re taking that into account.

Now here’s some pertinent information.  There’s an extensive article in today’s Rochester Post Bulletin, issues that should be taken into consideration when the Rulemaking Advisory Committee addresses mining reclamation… dare I say REVIEWS DRAFT RULES FOR RECLAMATION???

Mining slows progress on Cascade Lake Park

Posted: Friday, July 4, 2014 10:35 am | Updated: 10:35 am, Fri Jul 4, 2014.

Bryna Godar, bgodar@postbulletin.com

David Overland gets hit with “Welcome to Los Vargas!”  It’s Fernando, Jr.:

So there’s David, he’s minding his own business, toolin’ down the road, had to slow down… (it turns out there was a wreck further up on the other side of the street, a black Escalade had a wheel come off (!), and traffic on his side was backed up, learned from 911 dispatcher later), so he slowed down, stopped, waited to see what’s up, and then looked in the mirror, “OH SHIT!” and BAM!

Then he heard wheels squealing behind him, and the guy who rammed him was taking off!  It’s nothing major, scrapes and scratches, lots of white paint on his new Nissan, but it’s a lease car, so he’s on the hook.  He’ll need to get it fixed, so he couldn’t let the guy get away…  He backs up and takes off in hot pursuit, and finally the guy pulls over.

Nothing on his front end, the license plate did the damage.  And he’s a kid with a learner’s permit, so no license to operate alone, and no insurance card.  (David sent me all the stuff yesterday, bogged down my computer with  photos: the cars, the front end and license plate of the car that hit him, the perp, his license, and the vehicle registration, AAAAAAAAAARGH, I just couldn’t have my computer tied up right then, GRRRRRRR.)  He called the cops, they don’t come out to “no injury” wrecks… well, hit and run?  Don’t seem to care.

So today I looked at what all he’d sent to figure out what he was going on about.   GOOGLE to the rescue…  It’s Fernando Vargas, Jr., and the car was just registered a few days prior!

Who?  Yes… really…  it’s Fernando, Jr.  Still who?  Ja, well… same here… but thanks to google, now I know:

Welcome to Los Vargas…

Oh my…  Vegas version of Duck Dynasty?

Sure enough, when I check the names on the registration… yup, Fernando and Martha…

The good news is that mom Martha Vargas is on the case… as she told David, “I’m not happy now,” and of course he’s “not too happy either!”  Jr. told mom that David cut him off… ummmm… at a dead stop?  I don’t think so.  It’s a well centered rear end, DOH!  But it sounds like she’s sorted out the truth and is stepping up.  Hope the kid gets a reality check, let’s watch next week to see!

There was an address on the registration, so first I googled that and got a rental site for a gross expensive rental, $3,000/mo.  “Not available.”  That’s where they’re filming.  The house across the cul du sac is for sale…  Here’s the front of the rental:

I swear this pool is the mirror image of the viral one with the dogs running around and sliding in when the owners are away:

Here’s the full decision.  … sigh… read the Dissent:

Hobby Lobby_U.S. Supreme Court Case No. 13-354

A short version of this decision, with some implications, taken from the Ginsberg dissent:

In the Court’s view, RFRA demands accommodation of a for-profit corporation’s religious beliefs no matter the impact that accommodation may have on third parties who do not share the corporation owners’ religious faith—in these cases, thousands of women employed by Hobby Lobby and Conestoga or dependents of persons those corporations employ.

This decision mirrors the track of academic “free speech” which follows the institution, not the teachers or students.  This decision follows the corporation, not employees, allowing the corporation to impose its opinions and beliefs on individual workers.  Gee, thanks.

Read the decision, read the dissent…

There are advantages to being as deaf as dear ol’ Kady, who is sleeping right through it all.  This morning:

And now — they’re running into a lot of rock, so it’s shake, rattle & roll all day:

They put a big metal vault in there, but it won’t settle in right because there’s rock in there, so here comes the jackhammer.

THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK:

Hey, over here, I’ve got this molar that has to come out…

An air emissions decision emerged from the bowels of the U.S. Supreme Court today.  Here’s the PDF:

U.S. SCt Court Case No. 12-1146_ Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA

Here’s the gist from the syllabus:

I’m glad for the most part that my practice doesn’t get deep into these issues, this is pretty dense.  But what strikes me is the absurdity of any reliance or reference to “carbon capture and storage” as useful in a BACT analysis.  Oh my…