This western Wisconsin community is in the midst of a land rush — call it a sand rush — fueled by exploding nationwide demand for fine silica sand used in hydraulic fracturing of oil and natural gas. At least 16 frac sand mines and processing facilities are operating, and an additional 25 sites are proposed, in a diagonal swath stretching across 15 Wisconsin counties from Burnett to Columbia, the Center has found.
Category: Environment
Posted inEnvironment, WisWatch Blog
Toxic tourism (our favorite kind): Bloomington, Indiana
Last week, I took off from the tumult of Madison for a few days to talk to undergraduate journalism students at Indiana University. But the best part was my unofficial Toxic Tour of Bloomington, led by Steve Higgs, the IU lecturer who brought me out there.
Posted inEnvironment, Health & Welfare
Wisconsin refinery using dangerous chemical, despite safer alternatives
A Wisconsin oil refinery that has been cited for numerous serious safety problems continues to use a dangerous chemical that a union and advocacy groups say puts workers and nearby residents at unnecessary risk. A collaborative investigation with the Center for Public Integrity and ABC News.
Posted inEnvironment, Justice & Safety
Deer, coyotes and turkeys, oh my!
Just as Doug Drost was landing at the Shell Lake airport, his wife, Karen Drost, saw something hurtling out of the darkness toward their Cessna 210. Something big. “Deer, deer, deer!” she screamed. That hit on the northwestern Wisconsin runway — which caused $12,000 in damage — is a story that plays out over and over in this increasingly deer-ridden country.
Posted inEconomy, Environment, Government
How a polluter gets stimulus money — and avoids environmental review
A state program helped Didion Milling win $5.6 million in stimulus funding to expand its Cambria milling and ethanol plant, which has a history of environmental violations.
Posted inEconomy, Environment, Government
Audio slideshow: Citizens against Didion
Neighbors of Didion Milling’s Cambria plant talk about why they have fought the company for years. Main story How a polluter gets stimulus money — and avoids environmental review Nov. 29, 2010 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 […]
Posted inEnvironment, Government, Health & Welfare
Toxic Legacy: Gas customers may have to eat some costs for plant cleanups
Whoever is deemed responsible for the century-old toxic waste in Ashland, community residents — and others in Wisconsin — will pay for millions in cleanup costs.
Posted inEnvironment
Audio slideshow: Toxic Legacy
The Kabasas, whose home is surrounded by a Superfund site with century-old pollution, are divided on whether to worry about it.
Posted inEnvironment, Government, Health & Welfare
Toxic legacy: Century-old tar plumes under Lake Superior stir health fears — and a cleanup could be years away
Millions of gallons of contaminated groundwater and thousands of gallons of gooey black coal tar lie underneath Ashland’s downtown waterfront. It is by far the thorniest cleanup of an old manufactured gas plant in Wisconsin — both because of the difficulty in cleaning it up, and in finding someone to pay for it.
Posted inEnvironment, WisWatch Blog
Wisconsin water woes
National health rankings report that large numbers of people in Wisconsin are exposed to contaminated drinking water.
Posted inEnvironment, WisWatch Blog
Wisconsin InfoLink: The Herbarium
Learn to identify Wisconsin plants with the Wisconsin State Herbarium’s online resources.
Posted inEnvironment
DNR continues to miss own goals for managing CWD
The latest population figures of deer with chronic wasting disease are nearly 160 percent over target.