INDEPENDENCE, WI -- Local zoning regulators targeted the wrong mining company when they ordered a frac-sand mine shut down last week.
Superior Silica Sands, the Texas based company that received the the stop-work order issued by Trempealeau County officials, has not started mining operations yet at the Guza Pit. The company doesn't plan to begin mining there until 2015, and has applied for a permit from the City of Independence.
Regulators found evidence that contaminated waste water, used in sand washing operations, had flowed into an unlined pond at the site in violation of the zoning regulations.
The company that currently holds a permit to mine at the Guza Pit, Cameron Rail Site, would be the appropriate party to receive any non-compliance orders from Trempealeau County.
Superior Silica Sands, LLC is part of Emerge Energy Services, which already operates other frac-sand mines in western Wisconsin. The company has erected signage at the Guza Pit site, and has been staging equipment for a dry sand mine, but is not extracting sand there, according to Robert Lane, Vice President of Emerge Energy.
The misdirected stop-work order against Superior Silica Sands sparked newspaper headlines and television stories throughout the region, including coverage from KARE.
The flurry of media attention also led the Independence City Council to cancel a planned discussion of the mining permit that had been scheduled for Oct 9. The city council voted August 19 to annex the Guza Pit, located four miles south of the city's existing border.
If the permit is approved the City of Independence will take over primary environmental regulation of the mine, and in exchange will receive a royalty from Superior Silica Sands of 15 cents per ton of finished sand.
Trempealeau County is home to more than a dozen frac-sand operations, which have sprung up to feed the demand for the specialized sand used in domestic oil and gas production. More mining companies are looking to expand because the county's one-year moratorium on new mines expired in August.
John Schulz, a member of the Trempealeau County Board of Supervisors, told KARE that the frac-sand industry will continue to advance in Wisconsin and that makes it all the more important that local citizens have more opportunities to be informed and ask questions about proposed mines.
"It's clear companies are moving in the direction of annexation, because cities have less experience when it comes to environmental regulations," Schultz, who serves on the county's Land Use and Environment Committee, said.
Local resident Dave Blaschko, who erected a "No More Mines" sign on a building he owns in downtown Independence, said he believes the city is moving ahead too quickly with annexations of rural land for the Guza Pit and other proposed mines in Trempealeau County. He said he believes more stringent environmental reviews and regulations are warranted.
Several other Independence residents expressed opinions for and against the city's maneuvers to partner with the mining companies, but none wanted to be quoted on the record or appear in an on-camera interview.
Some cited the positive impact of high paying jobs and new tax revenue for the city. Others complained of the visual impact of the mines and fears of health impacts from potential water and air pollution.
The county's health study panel analyzed potential health risks of non-metallic industrial sand mining for the past year, and published a detailed report in September.
The panel concluded that it will be critical to monitor ground water, surface water and air quality because the long-term effects of frac-sand mining aren't known yet. The study also recommended that local cities require mining operators to be accountable to local citizens.
Two rural townships objected to the city's annexation of the rural land, and asked the Wisconsin Dept. of Administration to review it. State regulators issued an opinion Monday that the townships have the right to bring legal action against the City of Independence because the new territory isn't contiguous to the city's existing boundaries.
