Fracking and Sand Mining Dig Up Smoldering Crisis

Fracking, the controversial method of removing natural gas from once-unreachable places, is digging up trouble -- and making money -- in Wisconsin. In what some describe as a gold rush, shovels are digging a special sand in Chippewa Falls and a few other places. At least one company involved claims to be doing all the right things environmentally. Many others aren't so sure.

The soft sandstone has grains of ideal size, shape, strength and purity to be combined with water and chemicals and then shot deep into the ground to unlock rich gas and oil reserves, largely in the Northeast.
"U.S. frac sand producers sold or used more than 6.5 million metric tons of sand worth $319 million in 2009, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The tonnage likely will have doubled when 2010 data is released, said Thomas Dolley, a USGS mineral commodity specialist who follows the silica mining industry."  (http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/business/9852633-420/natural-gas-oil-boom-spurs-sand-mining-in-midwest.html)

Some in the area are saying stop or at least slow down. The petro industry scoffs. "John Felmy, chief economist with the American Petroleum Institute, said opponents of hydraulic fracturing are 'fundamentally misguided' and the environmental fears are unwarranted. The surge in sand mining has extended the domestic energy boom to portions of the country that don't produce much fuel, bringing jobs and economic development, he said."

Fracking has brought documented cases of polluted groundwater that has tainted people's wells, according to many of those "fundamentally misguided" people. Some say the oil companies have no way to treat chemical-laden water. It's a highly charged issue in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, where politicians are receiving large political donations, landowners are receiving generous fees, and petro companies are making gobs of money.

Meanwhile, back in the Wisconsin sand mines: "Activists say frac sand isn't ordinary sand. They fear fine silica dust from the mines and plants will make people sick, spoil the landscape and contaminate ground water. Fresh, fine silica dust is a well-documented health risk blamed for lung diseases such as silicosis, cancer and autoimmune diseases, but most published research is about workplace dangers, said David F. Goldsmith, an expert on silica hazards and professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University."

Texas and California have set silica standards.  Wisconsin has not. Houston-based EOG Resources claims it has worked to address local concerns about dust, safety and the environment at its mines and sand processing plant in Chippewa Falls. The main mine is surrounded by berms with vegetation, company spokeswoman K Leonard said. Most of the plant's equipment is enclosed and the conveyor, storage, and filtration systems are designed to reduce dust. The plant monitors air quality and the company will monitor groundwater at its three mine sites in Wisconsin.

"'We look forward to being a good steward of the Chippewa Falls environment and a good community partner with the citizens of Wisconsin,'" Leonard wrote in an email."

Nevertheless, "Some counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin have responded to health and environmental concerns by passing mining moratoriums to buy time for more study. Others are debating whether to hit the brakes on further mine development."

Leonard claims the sand plant, just now starting up, will employ 40 or 50 full-time people, mining contractors now employ 25 people, and the trucking company that delivers the sand has added 70 jobs.

EOG and others involved in this controversial business need to be out talking -- mostly listening -- to affected communities. Peter Sandman (not silica sand man) in the mid '80s defined risk as hazard plus outrage. He developed outrage factors that include trust, control, voluntariness, dread, benefit, and familiarity (http://www.psandman.com/index-OM.htm).  EOG should familiarize itself with  Sandman, then contact a firm like the Institute for Crisis Management to help create an action plan aimed at reducing outrage. Those fracking companies (No, that's not a dirty-word typo) should do the same -- more than TV spots, political donations, and money in landowners' pockets. Otherwise, these lucrative operations could be headed for a crisis.