Sand Mining in Western Wisconsin Overview

Introduction

Frack sand is silica sand or quartz (SiO2) which is mined and use for the petroleum business to obtain petroleum.  Fracking actually stands for hydraulic fracturing which is relatively new technique used in the oil and gas industry. Hydraulic fracturing is used to extract natural gas and crude oil from rock formations around the world, and here in Wisconsin is lucky enough to have some of the best sand to use for this process.  The location of the sand mines found in Wisconsin can be seen in figure 1 below along with a general location of the sand formations found in the state (Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, 2012).

Figure 1. Frac sand mines and location of sandstone formations. 

The sand found in Wisconsin is desirable because of its size, shape, and sorting.  These are the characteristics used to look and determine the type of sand a unit contains.  In Wisconsin the formations used for frac sand are the Wonewoc, Jordan, Mt. Simon, and the St. Peter sandstone formations.  The largest concentration of these mines are found in the middle west part of the state.  The sand is formed from shallow marine systems which is where it gets its characteristic rounding and homogeneous grain size. This sand "belt" can be seen in red in figure 2.

Figure 2 Geologic map Showing Sandstone location (red), USGS

Problems

There are a few different issues that are associated with frac sand mining in Western Wisconsin which includes  two types of air emissions. First off, the pollutants that are emitted during the mining and handling of the sand.  The next air emissions pollutant includes removal/excavation, blasting, crushing, processing, and transportation of the sand. Therefore, there are permits and regulations that need to be obtained from the state, and city government that allow the mine to continue. Since there have been concerns regarding environmental problems as sand mines.  Mine siting is regulated at the local zoning level.  Mine reclamation plans that are required by NR 135 have to be created before the mine starts its business. The DNR provides assistance to the local authorities for these plans which help to create a sustainable area.

Roles of GIS 

This semester I will be using my skills in GIS and transferring them to figuring out problems and ways to solve them in the frac sand industry. I will be using my skills to analyze the data that involve environmental hazards. Western Wisconsin is going to be my area of interest for analyzing the environmental risks associated with frac sand mining.

Sources:

King, P. (2015, June 3). Wisconsin towns worry frac sand boom will dry up. EnergyWire. Retrieved February 22, 2016.

http://midwestenergynews.com/2015/06/03/wisconsin-towns-worry-frac-sand-boom-will-dry-up/

USGS. (2012). Frac sand in WI. Retrieved February 22, 2016.

http://wcwrpc.org/frac-sand-factsheet.pdf

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WDNR. 2012. Silica sand mining in Wisconsin. Retrieved February 22, 2016.

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Mines/documents/SilicaSandMiningFinal.pdf