The issue, which came to dominate portions of the 2013 legislative session, has resurfaced in a more subdued manner this year, and it remains to be seen if any substantive legislation might come up for consideration.

During her time in the Legislature, Anderson was known as an expert in renewable energy and authored seven major successful bills on the topic.

A document to help local governments regulate silica sand mining was scheduled for a possible vote by the Environmental Quality Board late Wednesday.

The implementation of legislation to regulate frac sand mining in southeastern Minnesota has followed a rocky path this fall. During the 2013 legislative session, lawmakers charged the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) with devising a model ordinance for local governments to use as a template for processing applications from companies to extract silica sand.

While excavating sand is nothing new in Minnesota, the rush to excavate large quantities to ship to the Dakotas has quickly unearthed a prominent issue for state legislators and regulators.