Conference draws 50 frac sand protesters

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Frac sand map

Click the image to open our July 2012 map of Wisconsin sand deposits and frac sand mining and processing operations.

Previous stories on this topic

Frac sand boom creates thousands of jobs Aug. 19, 2012
Wisconsin frac sand sites double July 22, 2012
Are frac sand miners failing to check for rare butterfly? Jan. 31, 2012

MINNEAPOLIS — More than 50 people gathered Monday to protest frac sand mining outside a conference on the silica sand resources of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

“This is total destruction,” said Kathleen Bibus of Red Wing, Minn. “We know the chemicals they use will contaminate the groundwater. We know the dust causes silicosis.”

Bibus lives near a proposed mine site. But her concerns about the health, safety, and environmental impacts of the sudden boom in new industrial sand mining facilities are shared by many across the Upper Midwest. Sand mines are popping up across the region to meet an increased demand for the sand used in hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas.

A newly formed industry association, the Wisconsin Industrial Sand Association, hopes to assure residents that sand mining can be done safely and responsibly. But president Rich Budinger acknowledges that sand miners haven’t done enough to answer community questions.

“I wish we were doing this two years ago. I think a big part of the problem is the misinformation,” Budinger said in an interview after the protest.

Budinger said the four founding companies — Fairmount Minerals, Badger Mining Corp, U.S. Silica, and Unimin — have all been producing industrial sand safely for decades. For other companies to join the association, they have to agree to a code of conduct that prioritizes environmental sustainability and safety.

“The growth of our industry has created a lot of questions in Wisconsin,” Budinger said. “We formed to promote the proper management of our industry and provide a fact-based discussion.”

In recent weeks, residents of Buffalo County convinced a county board to reject two frac sand facility proposals from Menomonie-based Glacier Sands LLC, one for a processing plant and loading facility 1,200 feet from the Cochrane-Fountain City School.

Craig Brooks and Shirley Evans drove from Buffalo County to join the protest, carrying signs that celebrated those recent victories.

“People came from all over to speak out against the proposal. lt was amazing,” Evans said. “This all started a year ago in July, but no trucks have rolled yet.”

Brooks said he hopes that the rejection of the processing plant and loading facility will disrupt plans for three other Glacier Sands mines in the county.

“We’ve got some momentum, but we’re worried about keeping it going,” Brooks said, adding that he expected that Glacier Sands would revise its proposal and reapply.

Many in Buffalo County protested the frac sand permit applications because of the increased traffic it would cause and the potential health effects of sand dust exposure. Long-term exposure to fine silica dust can cause an irreversible lung disease known as silicosis.

The health risk is one of the many concerns Budinger and other sand producers are hoping to dispel.

The sand drying process can produce dust, but Budinger said that facilities are built with dust-collection equipment and regularly assess workplace air quality. All the WISA members, he said, must have silicosis prevention plans.

“If we are managing dust within our operations to protect our employees, keeping levels well below the requirements, then we are protecting our neighbors as well,” Budinger said.

But protesters weren’t convinced by the industry assurances they’ve heard so far. Many, like Mary Kaye Perrin of Winona, Minn., are concerned that frac sand mining will hurt tourism and damage the land they love.

“For me, once a bluff is gone, it’s gone. It’s not a thing that you can bring back,” Perrin said.

The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.