Judge won’t reinstate frac-sand permit in Monroe County

September 21, 2020 4:13 pm Leave a comment

A judge refused Monday to reinstate a wetlands permit for a $75 million frac sand operation in Monroe County.

Tagged with: frac sand frac sand mining Gov. Scott Walker Gov. Tony Evers Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Supreme Court upholds Winona County’s ban on silica sand mining

March 11, 2020 11:35 am Leave a comment

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Winona County's ban on the mining and processing of silica sand, which is used in the oil and gas industry for hydraulic fracturing.

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Wilderness Resort theater, Local 139 protests rank as most-read stories

December 24, 2019 9:23 am Leave a comment

A “fat cat” inflatable figure stands at a work site in West Allis in March 2018. Local 139 of the International Union Operating Engineers has been using this figure and similar ones this past year to protest the equipment rental company Sunbelt Rentals’ refusal to negotiate with workers who wanted to unionize.

In a whirlwind year of notable events, it can be difficult to remember what made headlines 12 days ago, let alone 12 months ago.

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DNR investigating western Wisconsin spill at frac-sand mine

August 7, 2019 10:53 am Leave a comment

The state Department of Natural Resources is investigating a spill at a Jackson County frac-sand mine.

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Frac-sand producer files for bankruptcy, says it owes Wisconsin contractors $13M

July 18, 2019 3:14 pm Leave a comment

$Frac sand destined for the oil and gas fields piles up at the EOG Resources Inc. processing plant in Chippewa Falls. Largely overlooked in the national debate over fracking is the emerging fight in the U.S. heartland over mining frac sand, which has grains of ideal size, shape, strength and purity. Mining companies say the work provides good jobs in rural areas, but some residents fear the increase in mining could harm human health and the environment. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)$

The frac-sand company Emerge Energy Services says it owes at least $13 million to Wisconsin contractors in a bankruptcy case filed this week, on the heels of falling demand for the company's products.

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Wisconsin frac-sand mines sit dormant as competition grows

June 24, 2019 2:53 pm Leave a comment

$A truck dumps a load of silica sand Feb. 13, 2012, at Modern Transport Rail loading terminal in Winona, Minn. Minnesota is expected to release a draft set of model standards Friday to help communities struggling to regulate the boom in mining for silica sand, which oil and gas drillers use for hydraulic fracturing. (AP file photo by Andrew Link/The Winona Daily News)$

Wisconsin's frac-sand industry is grappling with several idled mines amid increased competition from companies in Texas and Oklahoma.

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Wisconsin landowners sue frac-sand mines over health effects

May 3, 2019 11:06 am Leave a comment

Forty landowners in western Wisconsin are suing two frac-sand mines that they say are inundating their homes with dust, polluting their wells with sediment and driving down property values.

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DNR Secretary refuses to reinstate permit for sand plant

May 2, 2019 12:16 pm Leave a comment

The state Department of Natural Resources' secretary has decided not to reinstate a permit for a $75 million sand-processing plant in Monroe County.

Tagged with: frac sand mining Preston Cole Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Wisconsin Supreme Court rejects annexation of sand mine

April 17, 2019 10:57 am Leave a comment

$A conveyor pours crushed sand into a stockpile before it is washed and sorted by grain class size June 20 at the Preferred Sands mine in Blair. The number of such frac sand facilities has more than doubled since 2011. (Lukas Keapproth/Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism)$

The state Supreme Court has rejected the city of Whitehall's attempt to annex land for a sand mine.

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Wisconsin frac sand under pressure from rival products

October 16, 2018 10:43 am Leave a comment

Sand is dropped off a conveyor onto a pile at the Superior Silica Sands sand mine on Tuesday, March 28, 2017, in Kosse, Texas. Demand for sand is surging as oil and gas production in the Permian Basin is booming again. Not only is the need for more sand on the rise with the increase in oil and gas production in west Texas, but much more sand is being pumped into each well now with the emerging thesis that more sand equals more oil extracted. ( Brett Coomer /Houston Chronicle via AP)

Competing with lower-cost mines in Texas, the frac-sand-mining company Hi-Crush recently announced it would be idling part of its plant on Highway Q in Whitehall.

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