Fracking Sand Mines - The Next Fight?

Northern Wisconsin sand mining boom includes new jobs, new problems

A controversial natural gas mining technique called "fracking" is creating a boom in Wisconsin sand mines with more than 20 new mines proposed, including some as large as 500 acres or more. While the mines bring jobs, they also bring dust, traffic and other problems the state Department of Natural Resources and local governments aren't prepared to deal with, residents and government officials said at a recent conference on "frac sands."

"The state is woefully unprepared for this," said state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma. "We're regulating sand mines like we regulate gravel pits. There is a big difference between a one-acre gravel pit and a 900-acre sand mine."

While sand companies and others tout the economic benefits of the mines, the boom has left some families and the rural towns in which they live dealing with changed landscapes, blowing silica dust, around-the-clock noise and glaring lights, heavy truck traffic and water pollution.
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"The view from our house is gorgeous," Gregar said. "All wooded with rolling hills. And it's perfectly quiet. In the summer evening when you sit outside, you can hear the neighbors a mile away. Now it's all going to be gone."

Of course, what's bad for some is going to prove a benefit to others.

The burgeoning industry has brought more jobs and an economic boost to Wisconsin, according to Jay Alston, the chief executive officer of Hi-Crush Proppants, one of the nation's major sand mining companies and a big player in the industry in Wisconsin.

Alston said the company's Wyeville mining operation near Tomah employs 43 workers and wages average $18 an hour. He estimated the boost to the local economy from wage earners alone at the mine to be more than $100,000 a year. Most mining operations in the state are similar, he added, with the number of workers probably averaging near 30 per mine.

How many jobs is a good view worth?  Remember, we're only down about 5 million jobs in the US since 2008.

The "environmental" NGOs are already girding their loins to stop the mining of sand for fracking, all part of their scheme to kill fracking, and force the US to adopt "renewable" energy, despite it's manifestly awful economics and in many cases dubious environmental benefits