Many of the man made operations in the world require the use
of fossil fuels. Historically those fuels have been relatively easy to obtain directly
either through mining or drilling operations. As we continue to move forward in
the life of the Earth we are using up those resources that are easily
obtainable. As a result companies have advanced their techniques in obtaining
the much sought after resources. One of these advanced procedures involves the
process of hydraulic fracturing. This process involves drilling into layers of
shale rock formations which are buried deep in the Earth. These shale deposits
house large quantities of fossil fuels; however, do to the nature of the shale
the fuels are essentially trapped within them. In order to release the fuels, a
mixture of chemicals and sand is pumped into the well at very high pressure which
breaks up (fractures) the shale layers. The chemicals are then pumped out of
the well and the sand remains in the fissures created basically holding the
fractures in the shale open. Now the fuels can be pumped out. There is at least
one essential piece of this puzzle that is mined right here in Wisconsin, the
sand.
The mining of sand in
Wisconsin is not a new process, however historically it has been done on a much
smaller scale than it is being done today and the sand was used more for manufacturing
processes. Today, our sand is of particular interest to the energy industry for
several reasons. The sand we have in Wisconsin has several properties that make
it ideal for fracing including: it is readily available at or near the soil surface which
reduces the cost to mine it, it has a high percentage of quartz which gives it
a high amount of compressive strength. Finally, unlike many sand deposits the grains are
more rounded rather than angular which reduces consolidation of the particles and
allows the passage of the fuels through the sand. The rounding of the sand grains is due to the areas glacial history.
The process of removing the sand from the ground usually involves
the removal of any vegetation and surface soils in an area and the construction
of a large open pit mine. In some instances companies are able to remove an
entire hill containing sand deposits. The sand is then transported to a
facility where it is washed, sorted and loaded onto rail cars. This transportation
can be as short as across the mine site or several miles across the state. Much
of the land the mining is being done on was owned by private citizens, the
large energy companies will buy the property from them in order to mine the
sand.
Much of the sand mining in Wisconsin is occurring through a
part of the state which has been called the sand belt. This is a sizable area
that stretches from west-central Wisconsin (and into Minnesota) through the
central portion of the state. This area has the highest concentration of
available sand in the state. This area is unique due do to glacial processes
which have removed much of the overburden exposing the underlying sand
formations.
All mines are subject to certain regulations; however sand
mining is considered non-metallic and as such has much less constrictive
regulations. Registration of the mine with the state as a non-metallic mine is
part of the process. Mines in the state must also have a plan in place for reclamation
after the mining operations have been completed. They must also carry the necessary
permits concerning air and water. Water permitting includes both surface water
and ground water as high amounts of water are used during the sand washing
process. Furthermore the mines have to compete with public opposition, many of
the processes will affect those people living in the surrounding communities.
Much concern has been raised with issue of air quality around
the mine and the effects silica dust can have on the health of local
individuals and those that live along the transportation routes. There have
also been concerns with ground water and noise pollution. Many of these issues
are constantly in argument because nobody really knows; there has not been
enough time to do good research into these cause effect relationships. Another concern
that many people have is the effect the traffic has on the road system. Many of
the roads were designed for personal vehicle traffic, farm traffic and
occasional heavy truck traffic. With the creation of a mine the roads may see a
dramatic increase in not only the number of vehicles traveling on the road but
many of those vehicles are carrying a large amount of weight. Depending on the
number of axels under a vehicle a typical semi can weigh up to 40 tons.
With the aid of a geographic information system (GIS) we
will address the last of these issues by examining the proximity of the mines
to the wash plants and rail loading stations. We will determine the distance
traveled by the trucks over what routes and try to assess what damage might
occur as the result of the increased weight and traffic on the local roads. Our
effort will be concentrated in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin and the
surrounding area.
CITATIONS:
-University
of Wisconsin Extension, Wisconsin
Geological and Natural History Survey Factsheet 05,
2012.
-http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Mines/Deposit.html, Last revised: Thursday July 12 2012
-http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/mines/silica.html, Last revised: Tuesday January 22 2013
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