The latest in Wisconsin frac sand. See our in-depth stories since 2011 on our frac sand project page.
The hydraulic fracturing boom in Texas has produced “a startling and incongruous mix of cascading wealth and crushing hardship.” The New York Times June 29
Maryland-based U.S. Silica, which owns a sand mine in Sparta, has received approval for a second new frac sand mine and plant in Fairchild. The new facility will produce an estimated three million tons annually. Wall Street Journal June 30
Oklahomans are “rattled” by an increase in earthquakes that scientists at the United States Geological Survey said recently may be linked to the disposal of fracking wastewater by injecting it into the ground. Al Jazeera America July 2
The Center explored health risks from frac sand in 2013 after residents began expressing concern over the lack of research and regulation surrounding mines in Wisconsin. Preliminary results of a new ambient air monitor in Winona, Minn., are now in, and officials at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency say initial findings give little reason to worry about frac sand in the air there.
La Crosse Tribune July 4
The European Commission formed a new committee to determine if fracking should be allowed in Europe. Houston Chronicle July 8
A Winona cargo and freight company is seeking permission from the city to add 60 more barges of frac sand annually to help meet demand during busy months. Winona Daily News July 9
A fire at Pattison Sand Mine, an underground mine just over the Wisconsin border in Clayton County, Iowa, filled the surrounding area with heavy smoke after piping materials used in the slurry operation apparently ignited. KWWL July 10
Freight train movement in north and northwestern Wisconsin has increased to meet the rising demand for frac sand, but with this increase has come new concerns from residents and a response from the railroad commissioner: “they’re not going anywhere.” Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism July 13
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.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
Republish this article
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
- Credit should be given, in this format: “By Dee J. Hall, Wisconsin Watch”
- If published online, you must include the links and link to wisconsinwatch.org
- If you share the story on social media, please mention @wisconsinwatch (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram)
- Don’t sell the story — it may not be marketed as an individual product.
- Don’t sell ads against the story. But you can publish it with pre-sold ads.
- Your website must include a prominent way to contact you.
- Additional elements that are packaged with our story must be labeled.
- Users can republish our photos, illustrations, graphics and multimedia elements ONLY with stories with which they originally appeared. You may not separate multimedia elements for standalone use.
- If we send you a request to change or remove Wisconsin Watch content from your site, you must agree to do so immediately.
For questions regarding republishing rules please contact Andy Hall, executive director, at ahall@wisconsinwatch.org
