Near Eau Claire (WQOW) - An all-day discussion about sand drew a big crowd on Thursday.
The Wisconsin Towns Association and Wisconsin Farmers Union co-sponsored a conference on frac sand mining. More than 200 people packed 29 Pines near Eau Claire to learn how they can deal with an industry that's growing very quickly in our area. Currently, Wisconsin has about 60 mining operations of various sizes that are involved in the extraction of frac sand. There are about 32 processing facilities that are operating or under construction.
The crowd at 29 Pines included town board members, county supervisors and other residents who heard from legal and environmental experts. They were given an education about how the Town of Howard has handled the interest in frac sand mining. The town has a mining agreement with EOG which addresses things like hours of operation. In that agreement, EOG also guarantees fair market value for those who sell their home near the mine. Presenters told the audience that studies indicate an automatic 30% drop off in value for properties within 1/4 mile of a mine.
State Senator Terry Moulton says he believes the state should limit its involvement. He is encouraging local governments to draft ordinances and agreements that are tailored to their needs. He also talked about the need to be fair to businesses and residents as this industry continues to develop. "Air monitoring is a good thing. Well monitoring is a good thing. That is a tricky part... to balance the economic development versus the protection of natural resources and our citizenry," said Sen. Moulton (R) 23rd District.
Air monitoring is a big concern. Scott McCurdy presented at Thursday's conference. He spent many years in oil and gas and mining exploration. He's now an environmental consultant. He's urging the DNR to set standards for silica dust that comes from mines. "There is some level of hazard associated with it. Why there is no desire for some type of regulation to manage that particular concern," McCurdy continued, "I don't know if there's a real issue. I don't know if people who are a half mile away from a mine or a processing plant are going to be affected, but hindsight is 20/20 and if you cause someone else harm because of your actions, how is that being responsible?"
Another presenter indicated more than once that the top tier companies in the industry want to be good neighbors, that they want local governments to do what they can to protect citizens. He pointed to the developer's agreement between EOG and the Town of Howard as an example.
A second conference on frac sand mining has been scheduled for January 12th at the Plaza in Eau Claire.
