By Patrick Tepoorten

Operations of LNE Blasting in Harris hangs in limbo this week as questions swirl around environmental concerns raised by Chisago County Sheriff Todd Rivard.

The business was red-tagged on Thursday Dec. 7 after Rivard noticed his car, which was parked next door at a county building, was covered in sand earlier that week. The sand, commonly used in sandblasting, contains silica and can be hazardous as it can cause lung problems and a condition called silicosis.

Chisago County deputy Karl Schreck instructed owners Amy and Curt Peltier that four things must be accomplished before the business could return to full capacity. A tent must be erected to contain sand used in outdoor blasting, a filtration system must be installed on the business's indoor air exhaust system, an outside container must be constructed to hold the sand, and LNE must clarify its conditional use permit (CUP) with the city of Harris.

LNE did install a filtration system and was able to commence with sandblasting indoors, but according to Amy Peltier, the business is only operating at about 40 percent capacity and has been forced to lay off its one full-time employee.

At a special meeting of the Harris city council on Monday night, it was determined that LNE does not require a CUP, because it is grandfathered in to the previous industrial zoning.

That leaves the issue of keeping sand on LNE's property, which is required by Minnesota rules regarding particulate matter. Rule 7011.0150 states that a person or business shall take "reasonable precautions" to prevent "avoidable amounts" of particulate matter from crossing onto another's property.

LNE has proposed constructing a fence along its property line to the south and east to prevent the sand from entering either county property or that of the Harris Fire Dept. Rivard stated last week that he would accept a fence as long as it was effective.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) inspected the property last Friday and is conducting soil samples out of concern for lead-based paint particles.

Despite the concerns, no citation was issued at the time for particulate matter or lead contamination by the MPCA.

The results of the soil samples won't be known for approximately two weeks. The individual who inspected the property could not be reached for comment at presstime.

In the meantime, Amy Peltier has expressed concern for how the situation was handled. It is her contention that the sheriff could have talked with them instead of simply shutting the business down out of hand.

"It should have been handled that way," she said in an interview last week. "Now we are experiencing a loss of work and have had to lay off an employee, who was the sole supporter of his family, all because the sheriff didn't follow protocol."

Rivard insisted on Friday that LNE was not singled out and that his office acted with proper authority. "We're not picking on anybody," he said and added that he would handle the situation in exactly the same way if he had it to do over again. Nevertheless, he has now deferred to the MPCA's authority on the issue and stated Monday that he would abide by their findings.

In an attempt to cut through any confusion as to the status of LNE, Rivard stated unequivocally late on Tuesday that LNE can begin to sandblast outside once again, provided the company is not removing paint or other substances that contain lead.

Also, the company must prevent sand from traveling onto other properties.

In fact, Rivard said that constructing a wall is not even necessary as long as the sand stays on LNE property, in accordance with Minnesota rules.