City council backs silica sand air monitoring, will wait on state's rules

The city of Winona officially supports the idea of monitoring frac sand in the air at the city’s sand facilities. The City Council on Monday approved a resolution that urges the state to come up with laws to regulate the silica sand industry — emphasizing that it supports the idea of requiring air monitors at the fence line of each frac sand operation.

Read more in the Winona Daily News.

Wisconsin's frac sand creating new conflicts

Wisconsin's boom in production of sand used for hydraulic fracturing has fueled a large increase in rail traffic moving the commodity to other states, causing conflicts and raising safety concerns.

Read more in the Appleton Post Crescent.

Lawmakers (Wisc.) soften sand mine bill to win support as session wanes

Legislation to rewrite regulations for sand mines has been scaled back by its sponsors after complaints that an earlier draft stripped local communities of too much of their enforcement authority.

Read more in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Letter: Unimin will stand by its agreement

Recently there has been a lot of discussion in Madison, throughout the state, and in the press about the so-called "Frac Sand Mining Bill" (SB 349) and its effect on local governmental and municipal control.

Read more in the Lacrosse Tribune.

Frac sand: The magic mineral

Rural Wisconsin is a mix of woods and water, farmscapes and small towns - a landscape that is central to why so many choose to live here. Frac sand mining is changing the face of this landscape physically, economically, politically and permanently.

Read more in the Hudson Star-Observer.

Sand mining done right is an important part of Wisconsin's economy

Sand mining's long Wisconsin history dates back more than a century - mining is even represented on our state symbol and our state flag. Today, sand mining is responsible for thousands of Wisconsin jobs, hundreds of millions of dollars in statewide economic impact and significant tax revenues for local government.

Read more in Winona Daily News.

Broad Minnesota industrial sand mining study requested

Minnesota's top environmental officials are being asked to conduct a broad study on frac sand mining. Frac sand is silica sand used to make glass and abrasives, and more recently, to force oil and gas out of the earth. . . . Several Minnesota counties have imposed moratoriums, and the state Environmental Quality Board is considering whether to do a generic study of the potential health, environmental, and socioeconomic effects of frac sand mining. A comprehensive study could take several years, and it's unclear how the study would be paid for.

Read more at Minnesota Public Radio.