Frac Sand Mining in Wisconsin: An Overview of the Project

Sand mining has occurred in Western and central Wisconsin for over a century now.  Typically the sand has been used for purposes such as making glass or water filtration.  However, recently, a technique called hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking (Figure 1), has been developed to extract crude oil and natural gas from rock formations.  This has drastically increased the demand for silica sand, otherwise known as frac sand (Figure 2) and has led to the demand for more mines in the frac sand rich regions of central and western Wisconsin.

Nine out of ten natural gas wells in the United States use the process known as hydraulic
fracturing (ProPublica).  Water, sand, and other chemicals are pumped into the ground in order to help
break open the rock and hold it open to allow gas to escape.
http://www.propublica.org/special/hydraulic-fracturing-national
(Figure 1)

Frac sand is a quartz sand required to be close to a specific grain size and shape.
It is pumped into rock formations during the hydraulic fracturing process in order to hold open
fissures created by pressure and allow the natural gas to escape up into the well.
http://flexfracsand.com/proppant-sand-products.html#
(Figure 2)

Frac sand mining is a very contentious topic in Wisconsin.  There are many who consider it to be a great boon to the economy.  They point to the fact that frac sand mining can create a vast amount of new jobs.  An example of this is how it is predicted in Wood County that after eight years, frac sand mining will create over 900 new jobs according to EMSI.  However, there are the environmental impacts to consider.  Frac sand mines are seen by some to have a huge impact on the mining area, although this does vary by location.  According to the Wisconsin DNR constructing and operating frac sand mining sites near surface water bodies can have an adverse effect on the water and the wildlife that call the water home.  However, regulations are in place by the DNR to help prevent occurrences of mining near water bodies.

The increase in the demand of frac sand to perform hydraulic fracturing and the opening of new mines in Wisconsin has led to much controversy.  This controversy mostly concerns the economic benefits of frac sand mining against the possible negative environmental impacts.  Due to this, the topic of frac sand mines will be further explored during the GIS II class, and the future labs and posts will all concern this contentious issue.  The suitability and risk of mining in western Wisconsin will be the main focus of the class project.  Some of the steps that have already began are the downloading of necessary data and geocoding the addresses of known mines throughout Wisconsin.  At the end of the project, the goal is to have a complete suitability model of areas where mining may hurt or help in western Wisconsin, specifically in Trempeleau County, WI.

Sources:

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

http://www.propublica.org/special/hydraulic-fracturing-national

http://flexfracsand.com/proppant-sand-products.html#

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

http://wisconsinsand.org/assets/downloads/Econ-Impact-in-Wood-County.pdf