Mount Frac: a 40,000-ton symbol of Winona's sand debate

Winona now has six businesses that mine, process, or transport frac sand. Backers of the industry say the economic benefits are far-reaching. Detractors have trouble seeing those benefits through the dust, truck traffic, and noise they say are hurting the city's quality of life.

Author:
BMTN Staff
Updated:
Mar 8, 2018
Original:
Feb 19, 2012

Winona now has six businesses that mine, process, or transport frac sand. Backers of the industry say the economic benefits are far-reaching. Detractors have trouble seeing those benefits through the dust, truck traffic, and noise they say are hurting the city's quality of life.

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Surveillance footage captured the incident.

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Police were later able to locate the driver.

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The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

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The single-vehicle crash happened shortly after midnight.

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The person was seen on MnDOT cameras tending to their vehicle prior to the crash.

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The suspects are seen on MnDOT cameras attempting to flee law enforcement.

About 30 people blocked the entrance to a loading terminal where semitrucks deliver frac sand to rail cars. The disruption comes on the heels of a similar protest last Thursday, the Winona Daily News reports.

No more frac sand mining in Winona County.

Winona Daily News reports the city is considering a set of restrictions for current and future facilities that handle frac sand within the city. The planning commission is proposing specific hours of operation; expectations of sand piles and designated truck routes.

Several silica sand mining projects are planned or proposed in Winona County. But some residents want to slow things down to let the county consider stricter regulations to guard against environmental and health risks.

Wisconsin regulators are seeking civil penalties against Minnesota-based mine operators for two large sand spills, a first taste of the kind of environmental risks that accompany the gold rush of frac-sand mining underway in both states.

County commissioners in Winona are among the latest officials in southeast Minnesota to hit the pause button on frac sand mining while they study possible environmental and public health effects.

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