“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men, or greedy interests, skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.”
Theodore Roosevelt

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Frac Sand Sentinel #33



Issue: #33                                                                               DATE: May 30, 2014
OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY ALONG WITH FRAC SAND MINING INCREASES IN SCOPE!
Attention Dunn and Chippewa Co. Citizens:
There will be a meeting in Colfax at The Grapevine Senior Center, 121 South Main Street, on Monday, June 2nd at 7:00 p.m.  The proposed 2000 acre mine, wet plant and rail transfer site in the Town of Howard in Chippewa County on the border with the Town of Colfax in Dunn COUNTY will be the topic of discussion.  The purpose of the meeting is to share ideas and strategies.  We are hoping to have people from Cooks Valley and the town of Howard and anyone else living in Dunn and Chippewa Counties attend.  This will be a large frac sand mining operation and many will be impacted by the associated issues. Please pass on the information to anyone who might be interested.   Source of information: Willem Gebben, Colfax, WI  715.962.3660
 Ted Auch, Fractracker

AIR QUALITY HEARINGS
IMPORTANT! Please write, please attend hearings!

1.The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Air Quality Division will hold an AIR QUALITY Hearing for Hi Crush Sand:  
On Monday, June 23, 2014 at 1 pm
Trempealeau County Governmental Center
Tremplo Room (L15)
36245 Main Street
Whitehall, WI 54773
ALL RESIDENTS OF TREMPEALEAU COUNTY ARE URGED TO ATTEND! DOCUMENTS REGARDING THE PERMIT ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE OR FROM THE DNR. ASK FOR MONITORING AT THE MEETING OR VIA MAIL. (SEE THE ATTTACHED NOTICE!)

 2.The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Air Quality Division has received a request for an Air Quality Permit for Superior Silica Sands in Barron County. No hearing date has been set because no one has requested a hearing. Barron County residents must request a hearing! (SEE ATTACHMENT) Interested persons wishing to submit written comments on the application or DNR’s review of it or wishing to request a public hearing should do so within 30 days of publication of this notice. Posting and Public Comment Deadline dates can also be found on “Air permit public notices” web page located at http://dnr.wi.gov/cias/am/amexternal/public_notices.aspx.
Comments or request for hearing should be sent to: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, West Central Region Air Program, La Crosse Area Office, 3550 Mormon Coulee Road, La Crosse, WI 54601. Attn.: Michael Ross.
If a hearing is requested, the requester shall indicate their interest in the permit and the reasons why a hearing is warranted. Information on the public commenting and hearing process is available at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/AirPermits/Process.html.
It is imperative that air quality hearings be requested and people be heard not only to discuss the permit but to also request air quality monitoring and citizen protection.

3. The Department of Natural Resources Air Quality Division will has received a request for an Air Quality Permit for INDIANHEAD PLATING FOR THE ADDITION OF 7 CHROME PLATING TANKS. (SEE ATTACHMENT)
Interested persons wishing to submit written comments on the application or DNR’s review of it or wishing to request a public hearing should do so within 30 days of publication of this notice. Posting and Public Comment Deadline dates can also be found on “Air permit public notices” web page located at http://dnr.wi.gov/cias/am/amexternal/public_notices.aspx. Comments or request for hearing should be sent to:
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, West Central Region Air Program, LaCrosse Area Office, 3550 Mormon Coulee Road, LaCrosse, WI 54601. Attn.: Michael Ross.
If a hearing is requested, the requester shall indicate their interest in the permit and the reasons why a hearing is warranted. Information on the public commenting and hearing process is available at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/AirPermits/Process.html.

OIL TRAINS AFFECTING MANY STATES
THE ARTICLES BELOW PROVIDE IMPORTANT INFORMATION
You will find the information below pretty shocking. It shows the linkages between the tar sands, Bakken Crude Oil, and oil from the East to West Coast via rails, terminals, etc.   It is not complete but we have discovered more terminals along the way for both CP and BNSF.   Many of you are connected to hydraulic fracturing, frac sand mining, processing facilities, terminals, rails etc. Overlay this activity with the pipeline activity and you will realize there would be few people not impacted by the dirty oil industry in some way.  (Guy Wolf)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           
28 May 2014
Contact:

New Report Outlines the Rise of Crude-by-Rail in North America
First Major Analysis of Booming Bomb Train Industry

Today Oil Change International released the first major exposé of the burgeoning crude-by-rail industry in North America, detailing where crude trains are being loaded and unloaded, how many oil trains are crossing the North American continent, and what companies are involved.

Runaway Train: The Reckless Expansion of Crude By Rail in North America is the first in a series, exposing North America’s booming crude-by-rail industry. It is published in conjunction with the launch of a unique interactive online map of crude-by-rail terminals and potential routes in North America

The report and map can be found at www.priceofoil.org/rail

“This analysis shows just how out of control the oil industry is in North America today. Regulators are unable to keep up with the industry’s expansion-at-any-cost mentality, and public safety is playing second fiddle to industry profits,” said Lorne Stockman, Research Director of Oil Change International and author of the report.

“This is what the All of the Above Energy Strategy looks like – a runaway train headed straight for North American communities,” Stockman said.

The report shows that there are currently over 230 crude-by-rail terminals in Canada and the United States either in operation, expanding, under construction or planned.

Today, one million barrels of crude oil per day is loaded and unloaded on the North American rail network, meaning roughly 135 trains of 100 cars each are moving dangerous crude oil each day through the continent. But if used at full capacity, existing loading and unloading terminals could handle 3.5 times more crude-by-rail traffic and by 2016 that capacity could grow to over 5 times current levels.

“Communities are already waking up to the dangers of oil trains barreling through their backyards, with spills, explosions and derailments happening all too often. This report and online tool will help provide the critical information that’s been sorely missing in order to shine a light on what’s really going on, and to help stop the runaway train of crude-by-rail in its tracks before more damage is done,” Stockman said.

The  oil industry is simultaneously pushing both new pipelines and increased crude-by-rail on the North American public and recent pipeline spills and train accidents show that the neither is safe. Spills from both transport methods are on the rise.

This report comes ahead of a nation-wide week of action planned for July 6 – 13 in opposition to oil by rail organized by Oil Change International, ForestEthics, 350.org, the Sierra Club, residents of Lac-Mégantic, and a number of other organizations. See more at www.stopoiltrains.org

Future reports in this series by Oil Change International will look at the economics of crude-by-rail, safety, and climate change issues. Please see www.priceofoil.org/rail for the map and links to reports and data.

###
Lorne Stockman
Research Director
Oil Change International
714 G Street SE, Suite 202
Washington, DC 20003
P: 1 540 679 1097
W: priceofoil.org -- 
refineryreport.org/
FB: /priceofoil
T: @priceofoil -- @LorneStockman



WORKER DEATHS
On Workers Memorial Day, a new post on The Pump Handle about the second worker fatality of 2014 for Canada's oil sands company, Suncor:
http://scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/2014/04/28/second-2014-worker-fatality-at-suncor-alberta-oil-sands-facility-highlights-alarming-industry-death-rate/

The industry, according to records available through Alberta Occupational Health and Safety, suggest the provinces oil and gas extraction industry – which Alberta's energy agency says provides 1 in 16 of the province's jobs – has an alarmingly high rate of occupational fatalities -- on average over the past five years, about a third of those incidents on record with Alberta OHS.  Alberta is where most of Canada's oil reserves are located and where oil sands extraction was pioneered.
Please feel free to share and repost, and thanks as always for reading ~  Lizzie


Elizabeth Grossman
office & cell: 503-704-5637
Twitter: lizzieg1
skype: lizzie.grossman

We don’t always hear about worker deaths; and certainly we have no way of knowing of citizen health issues of those living and working around mines, processing plants, and trans-load facilities, but it is atrocious to know that particulates are frequently being reported by citizens at their residences both in the City and the rural areas at distances from the facilities. We ask for transparency in reporting all deaths related to the mining industry!
.
***************
Good news concerning the Joslyn Mine in Alberta, Canada
“Joslyn is facing the same challenge that most of the industry worldwide is in the sense that the costs are continuing to inflate when the oil price and specifically the netbacks from the oil sands are remaining stable at best,” he said. That is squeezing margins and “cannot be sustainable in the long-term.”

Total SA suspends $11B Joslyn oil sands mine in Alberta, lays off up to 150 staff                     http://www.windsorstar.com/business/fp/Total+suspends+Joslyn+sands+mine+Alberta+lays+staff/9889319/story.html

******************
New York Fracking Opponents call for a moratorium of 3-5 years!

Have your property values decreased? See the attached for assistance in working through assessment values with local/county/state officials!

Welcome to the Frac Sand Sentinel, a newsletter highlighting resource links, news media accounts, blog posts, correspondence, observations and opinions gathered regarding local actions on, and impacts of, the developing frac sand mining and processing industries.

The content of this newsletter is for informational purposes only. The editor of the Frac Sand Times does not accept any responsibility or liability for the use or misuse of the content of this newsletter or reliance by any persons on the newsletters contents.

You are receiving this newsletter because you have expressed an interest in this information. We don't sell or loan your e-mail address to anyone. You can subscribe for, or unsubscribe from, the newsletter at any time by emailing the sender at sunnyday5@charter.net, noting your request.


CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE: WWW.CCC-WIS.COM for additional information. 

No comments:

Post a Comment