North Dakota looks at plastics as the Bakken booms

October 12, 2019 6:00 am Leave a comment

As pump jacks pull more and more oil out of shale rock buried deep below the western part of North Dakota, an increasing amount of natural gas travels up through the wells with few obvious destinations.

Tagged with: fracking natural gas

Frack-sand company sues Wisconsin DNR over permit denial

June 6, 2019 2:48 pm Leave a comment

An Atlanta-based fracking company is taking the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to court over its decision to deny a permit to build a $75 million sand-processing plant in Monroe County.

Tagged with: frac sand fracking Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

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.

Tagged with: frac sand mining fracking

Hi-Crush to pause plant production at Whitehall frac-sand mine

September 26, 2018 4:49 pm Leave a comment

Hi-Crush Partners, which operates one of the largest frac-sand mines in Wisconsin, has paused production at a plant in Whitehall, citing weak demand for its product.

Tagged with: frac sand mining fracking Hi-Crush Partners

DNR: Wisconsin frack-sand-sludge spill nontoxic

June 5, 2018 2:01 pm Leave a comment

Wisconsin officials say early tests have found no harmful chemicals after a spill near a frack sand mine sent millions of gallons of sludge into waterways.

Tagged with: frac sand mining fracking Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Frack sand sludge spill reaches Mississippi River

May 25, 2018 1:29 pm Leave a comment

sludge from the Hi-Crush mine in Whitehall, Wis. is seen in the Trempealeau River near Dodge, Wis. A contractor's bulldozer slid into a pond earlier this week, leading to an hours-long rescue at the Hi-Crush mine. Rescuers emptied the pond to free the man, requiring them to release 10 million gallons (37.8 million liters) of water and mud into the Trempealeau River tributary. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is studying the sludge. (Peter Thomson/La Crosse Tribune via AP)

Wisconsin officials were testing for environmental and health hazards Thursday after an accident at a frack sand mine sent millions of gallons of sludge into waterways, tinting them orange as the thick plume traveled downstream into the Mississippi River.

Tagged with: fracking Mississippi River

Officials investigate spill following mine rescue (UPDATE)

May 23, 2018 3:04 pm Leave a comment

Wisconsin officials are working to determine the environmental impact of releasing millions of gallons of sludge from a settling pond to rescue a trapped sand mine worker.

Tagged with: DNR fracking

Report: Sand production rebounding across state

February 5, 2018 9:54 am Leave a comment

New data from the U.S. Geological Survey show the country's production of industrial sand increased more than 36 percent in 2017 as Wisconsin again led the nation.

Tagged with: DNR frac sand mining fracking