Caught in a bad romance, WI citizen concerns over frac sand, water permit issues grow

Several news items suggest that Wisconsin's tumultuous love affair with frac sand mining might be going through a rough patch.

One side wants to change the rules in Trempealeau County and be allowed to run wild all night. Winona Daily News staff writer Samantha Luhmann reports in Fracking around the clock?:

Trempealeau County frac sand mines could soon be processing around the clock.

The county’s Environment and Land Use committee is considering a change to zoning rules that would let mines process sand any time — even at night — except Sundays, Saturday afternoons and holidays.

The proposal is drawing the ire of frac opponents.

“We need to stop and truly evaluate how we are going to live and what we’re doing for our community,” Ettrick resident Mary Hegnauer said. “We’re going to turn ourselves into a sacrifice zone, a frac sand waste land.”

Kevin Lien, director of the Trempealeau County Department of Land Management, said the committee is considering the changes to meet the industry’s demands.

“The industry was asking for more hours,” he said.

Trempealeau County has more than a quarter of the state’s 100 frac sand mines.

During processing, sand is crushed, washed and dried. The new rules would affect only processing and would not allow the companies to mine at night.

Check out the rest of the story at the Daily News. Elsewhere, people are wondering if this is a healthy relationship. In Baraboo, the News Republican reports in Healthy debate over frac sand:

Wisconsin’s frac sand mining industry has expanded in recent years.

Amid concerns about the potential health impacts of fine particles produced by the mines, Gov. Scott Walker’s budget includes additional staff for the state’s Department of Natural Resources to monitor air quality around frac sand operations.

The mining process isn’t the only concern. The Wisconsin Towns Association and other groups have raised concerns about the air quality impacts of shipping the product by truck and train.

The Baraboo News Republic reported earlier this week that some Sauk County citizens have warned that Reedsburg’s rail line has become the new “hub” of frac sand shipping in Wisconsin. While that would be good for some businesses, it may also pose a number of public health concerns, they say.

Long-term exposure to the sand particles, called silica, can increase a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease, bronchitis, and lung cancer, according to a study by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire that raised questions about the state’s frac sand regulatory practices.

But when it comes to how much frac sand already has moved along the Reedsburg line, estimates range from a lot or a little, to none at all.

Read about the Reedsburg pretend frac sand mining boyfriend at the News Republican. Meanwhile, the industry is looking like too tall a drink of water to some of its neighbors. WQOW Eau Claire reports in High capacity wells pump up debate:

The state budget is in the governor's hands and many people and businesses in our area want to know what he'll do with one provision about water.
High capacity wells handle anywhere from a few thousand gallons to a several million per year and are commonly used by farms and frac sand mines alike.

One part of the state budget would limit the power people have to challenge high-capacity well applications and permits.

"High capacity wells are being developed through this area on up," explains retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife regional assistant director Gerry Lowry.

High capacity wells aren't a new concept, but their popularity has grown in Western Wisconsin in recent years, leading to what opponents call a cumulative effect.

"When a large number of high capacity wells draw down the water, the underground water, the aquifer," says State Senator Kathleen Vinehout.

Something lawmakers didn't anticipate in the past.

"When the laws in relation to these and some other interests were first started, we didn't know as much about the impacts of groundwater and the interconnection between lakes and streams," says Lowry.

That can be problematic because the DNR doesn't record the proximity of one well to another when it gathers data and approves permits.

"I believe that the state should put more emphasis on monitoring. The state should look at all the wells in a single area. This is particularly important in the Chippewa Valley area as it relates to sand mines," says Vinehout.

Well then. There's even more bad water related news in reports from WXOW-La Crosse in Some frac sand mines in Western Wisconsin facing water violations:

A half a dozen frac sand companies are facing storm water violations.
The DNR says in each case, storm water left the site and reached surface water somewhere else. That storm water contained sediments. We are waiting for more specific information about those sediments, and also what kind of surface water was affected.

Here's what we do know: four companies in Trempealeau County: Arcadia Sand, Alpine Sand, Sierra Frac, and Patzner Pit, and two in Barron County: Superior Silica, and Great Northern Sand Were put on notice to make changes.

Lovely. But Minnesotans shouldn't get too smug in watching the frac sand soap opera across the river, because Senator Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont), who has never concealed her deep affection for silica sand mining, is thinking about jumping into the governor's race. Josh Moniz reports in the New Ulm Journal article Rosen considers run for governor:

In a general election run, she could face criticism for voting in favor of the controversial constitutional amendments for voter ID and banning same-sex marriage. She was also against the statewide moratorium on frack sand mining, which has increasingly become an issue in out-state areas.

She did more than that: she told residents of Southeastern Minnesota that she considers industrial sand mining "agriculture" and that they should just get used it the noise and dirt. Who says love isn't blind? Watch the precious moment in the senate hearing to understand why some folks won't say yes to a Rosen gubernatorial bid: