Cookie Control

This site uses cookies to store information on your computer.

Some cookies on this site are essential, and the site won't work as expected without them. These cookies are set when you submit a form, login or interact with the site by doing something that goes beyond clicking on simple links.

We also use some non-essential cookies to anonymously track visitors or enhance your experience of the site. If you're not happy with this, we won't set these cookies but some nice features of the site may be unavailable.

By using our site you accept the terms of our Privacy Policy.

(One cookie will be set to store your preference)
(Ticking this sets a cookie to hide this popup if you then hit close. This will not store any personal information)

Residents Want Answers from Wisc. Officicals on Frac Sand Plants

"NEW AUBURN, Wisc. --  Frances Sayles is cleaning her counters and vacuuming her home more often in an attempt to keep a never-ending stream of sand at bay. But it is not just the cleaning that concerns her. She also worries about her health."



"'It bothers me because I have asthma and I have trouble breathing at night, especially,' said Sayles, a retired certified nursing assistant. 'I’m a very healthy person other than that.'  

Sayles lives with her husband, Dean, in the village of New Auburn. There are two frac sand processing plants on the edges of the village, which straddles Barron and Chippewa counties.

The state has at least 115 permitted or operational frac sand mines and processing plants, according to a tally by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. The state’s sand is in demand for use in the process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking."

Alison Dirr reports for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism October 6, 2013.