Like the ghost towns left behind after the California gold rush fizzled, many of the frac sand mines dotting western Wisconsin sat dormant a year ago.

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The boom in demand for Wisconsin’s sand used for hydraulic fracturing has prompted conflicts and safety concerns along with an increase in rail traffic moving the commodity to other states.

Tagged with: frac frac sand fracking Jeff Plale Union Pacific Wisconsin Industrial Sand Association WisDOT

Controversies over the fracking process may be inevitable, a former administrator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged recently, but Wisconsin can protect its place as the leading supplier of sand for the nation's fracking boom as long as the state has strong regulations, maintains maximum transparency and responds quickly to neighbors' concerns.

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A Madison-based company will pay $80,000 in forfeitures and court costs for violating Wisconsin air pollution laws at a hydraulic fracturing and sand processing facility in Marshfield.

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Minnesota plans 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.

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In this small city in northwestern Wisconsin, the mayor and two council members are facing recall elections over their handling of a proposed frack sand mine that would be built a half-mile south of a school.

Tagged with: DNR frac frac sand mining League of Wisconsin Municipalities Tom Tiffany Wisconsin Counties Association

Two Republican state lawmakers are sponsoring a bill to restrict the ability of local communities to regulate Wisconsin’s booming frack sand industry.

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U.S. Silica is considering opening a frac sand mining operation that would be Eau Claire County's largest.

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A western Wisconsin county that has issued more frac sand mining permits than any other county in the state and in neighboring Minnesota has decided to take a hiatus on new projects while it addresses health and environmental concerns.

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Short-term demand for frac sand in western Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota has fallen because there's more available than the industry currently needs.

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