Post 1: Sand Mining in Wisconsin

Introduction:

The purpose of this exercise was to enhance my skills at downloading data from different internet sources, importing data into ArcGIS, joining data, projecting data from multiple data sources into one coordinate system, and designing a geodatabase to store the data.

This exercise will provide an overview of sand mining in Wisconsin and give background into a multiple-step project for which the class will build a suitability and risk model for sand mining in Western Wisconsin.

Background:

What is frac sand mining, and where is it in Wisconsin?

Frac sand mining is the mining of quartz sand of specific size and shape to be used in "hydrofracking". Hydrofracking is a process used to extract oil underground in which frac sand is suspended in fluid and pumped down at high pressure into a formation containing oil. Fracking fluid pumped at high pressures creates fractures in the rock formations and the sand holds open the fractures. This allows oil to escape from the fracture and be pumped back to the surface (Figure 1). Frac sand mining has been used by the United States' oil and gas industry for 75 years. Recent developments in fracking include the use of horizontal drilling, which allows drillers to access natural gas resources that were previously unreachable. (Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, 2012).

Frac sand is mostly found in Western and Central Wisconsin. This is because these areas contain easily accessible deposits of high quality frac sand. The largest number frac sand mines per county occur in Trempealeau and Chippewa Counties (Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, 2012; Figure 2)

Figure 1: The figure shows the process of hydrofracking (bottom left), a frac sand mining site (upper right), and frac sand under a microscope (bottom right).

Figure 2: The map show the locations of frac snad mines and pocessing plants active or in development in Wisconsin in 2011. Most frac sand mines are on the western side of the state. Note that there is a strong concentration of  frac sand mines in Trempealeau County.

Environmental concerns about frac sand mining:

One environmental concern associated with frac sand mining in Western Wisconsin is its impact on air quality. Air quality concerns include increased particulate levels in areas near frac sand mines and air pollution emitted from machinery used at frac sand mines (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 2012).

Another issue with frac sand mining involves protection of water. Some people are concerned about the amount of groundwater frac sand mines use to clean their sand with. Additionally, heavy rain can lead to sediment spills at frac sand mining sites. For example, a holding pond was breached at a frac sand mine in Barron County, WI, due to heavy rains. Spills can pollute nearby areas, but the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has stated that frac sand mines have developed and implemented better technology that has cut down on the number of spills (Wisconsin Public Radio, 2015).

A common concern about frac sand mining is that increased semi truck traffic on roads near frac sand mines could deteriorate the roads. Studies conducted by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Wisconsin Department of Transportation have concluded the additional stress due to semi truck traffic on roads near frac sand mines is minimal. This is because local governments usually work with sand companies to make sure sand companies pay for any damages to roads on sand hauling routes. Additionally, the frac sand industry is moving away from transporting sand by truck and using railroad more because it is much cheaper. This further reduces the sand industry's impact on local roads (Burnett, 2015).

Other concerns about frac sand mining include damage to fisheries, dust inhalation by workers and people nearby, and noise pollution (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 2012).

GIS and frac sand mining

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a tool used for storing, analyzing, and mapping geographic data. Geographic data is used in all kinds of workplaces, including environmental consulting, healthcare consulting, business planning, and more.

GIS will be used in this exercise as the first part of a multiple-step project for which the class will build a suitability and risk model for sand mining in Western Wisconsin. Using geographic models will help make better informed decisions on where to establish, or prevent the establishment, of new frac sand mines in Western Wisconsin.

Methods:

Data was collected from a variety of federal government agencies and the Trempealeau County data website. Collected data was imported into a geodatabase in ArcCatalog, and the data was then used in ArcMap 10.3.1 to create maps of relevant data. See "Post 3: Data Gathering", for a more detailed explanation of the methods for this exercise.

Results:

Data for Trempealeau County (Figure 3) was collected from multiple sources (see blog 3), and included the following information: landcover (Figure 4), elevation (Figure 5), and cropland type (Figure 6). The maps all included railroad locations because railroads are important to have near frac sand mines for transporting sand to consumers. The datasets will be used in the on-going class project in which our class will build a suitability and risk model for sand mining in Western Wisconsin.

Figure 3: The locator map shows Trempealeau County is located on the western side of Wisconsin.

Figure 4: Landcover for Trempealeau County in 2011.

Figure 5: Elevation values for Trempealeau County.

Figure 6: Cropland in Trempealeau County.

Reference List:

Burnett, H. S. (2015, October, 9). "States, Localities Handling Road Issues Related to Frac Sand Mining". Heartland. Retrieved from: http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2015/10/09/states-localities-handling-road-issues-related-frac-sand-mining

Kremer, R. (2015, September, 23). "DNR Investigatin Frac Sand Spill In Barron County". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved from: http://www.wpr.org/dnr-investigating-frac-sand-spill-barron-county

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. (2012, January). "Silica Sand Mining in Wisconsin". Retrieved from: http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Mines/documents/SilicaSandMiningFinal.pdf

Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey. (2012). "Frac Sand in Wisconsin". Retrieved from: http://wcwrpc.org/frac-sand-factsheet.pdf