Frac Sand Companies to Pay $80K For St. Croix River Spill

Two Minnesota-based frac sand companies will pay $80,000 for a spill in Burnett County that polluted wetlands, a stream and the federally protected St. Croix River. Interstate Energy Partners and Tiller Corporation were fined for allowing muddy water to escape from their facility in far northwestern Wisconsin.

Read the story at Wisconsin Public Radio.

St. Croix River city faces decision on old mine site

On the bluffs above the St. Croix River, near the first Swedish settlement in Minnesota, a battle of wills is raging over efforts to excavate more than 1 million tons of sand and gravel from an old mine.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Industrial sand mining causing regulators to scramble

Finance & Commerce newspaper ran a subscription-only article June 18th about the growing interest in frac sand mining regulation by legislators. The concern is that current environmental permitting laws and regulators are not equipped to handle the rush for frac sand, particularly in southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

In the recent legislative session, two legislators proposed amendments to the omnibus environment bill. Rep. Andrew Falk, DFL-Murdock, proposed adding the condition that frac sand companies pay a fee into an account that counties could use to cover reclamation costs. Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, proposed increasing the aggregate tax to pay the cost of public infrastructure improvements needed as a result of frac sand mining. Neither amendment got very far in the 2012 session.

Finally, the article described how the state departments of Health and Transportation, as well as the MPCA are reviewing their processes and permits to see if they're sufficient enough for the fast-growing frac sand mining.

ARM is monitoring this issue very closely and we'll keep you informed when there are new developments, particularly regarding state regulations.  - Fred Corrigan

Sand sediment spills into St. Croix River

A spill at a sand mining facility in Wisconsin has dumped an unknown amount of sand and other sediment into the St. Croix River and wetlands near the Minnesota border, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources confirmed Thursday. The sand-laden water may have harmed aquatic life, but DNR officials said it's too soon to know the extent of the damage. They plan to conduct a full investigation with the assistance of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. National Park Service, and Burnett County Conservation officials.

Read more at Minnesota Public Radio.