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This interactive map shows the location of operating industrial frac sand mines and their haul routes, as well as newly permitted mines. Mouse over the individual map features to see additional information about that feature.
Operator B has two mines that supply sand to a processing plant in Chippewa Falls. One is
located at 5312 CTH B in Howard (B-1 mine). Due to conditions set by the town, sand cannot be
extracted, blasted or hauled from the mine site between May 1 and October 15. The acreage for
this mine is 185 acres. A second mine, located at 20th Street in Cooks Valley (B-2 mine), was
developed in part due to the imposed restrictions on the B-1 mine. Mining can take place year
round at the Cooks Valley location. The acreage for this mine is 234 acres. The two mines share a
haul route for approximately 11 miles.
The haul route for the B-2 mine, which is located farthest from the processing plant,
begins at the mine entrance on 20th Street and continues on 135th Avenue then to STH 40, CTH
B, USH 53, and CTH S, which is 17.7 miles one-way. The Town of Cooks Valley negotiated,
with the assistance of the county commissioner, a road upgrade and right of way permit. The
permit covers the town roads starting at the mine entrance on 20th Street to 135th Avenue to
its intersection with STH 40, a distance of 3.3 miles. Operator B agreed to bear all costs of
rebuilding the road to WisDOT FDM standards needed for sand hauling. No amounts were
specified in the permit. The town also negotiated a town road maintenance agreement where the
operator agreed to cover all exceptional maintenance –work above normal public maintenance
such as increased snow plowing or more frequent pavement repairs that may be required for
commercial trucks.
The 11-mile one-way haul route for the B-1 mine starts on CTH B near 55th St. and then
follows the same B-2 mine route, that is CTH B to USH 53 to CTH S. The RUMA however,
includes a section of CTH B running west of the mine entrance, to the intersection of CTH B and
STH 40. The RUMA called for three equal payments to reflect a phased reconstruction of 7.45
miles at a total cost of $2,888,089. Four segments were identified:
1) STH 40 to S&S Mine entrance (1.5 miles),
2) Mine entrance to 90th Street (3.5 miles)
3) CTH B from 90th to 110th Street (2.25 miles)
4) CTH B 110th to USH 53 (.2 miles).
Segment 3, CTH B from 90th Street to 110th although identified here, had already been
redesigned in 2010, and was already scheduled for construction in 2011. Cost estimates for
Segments 1, 2, and 4 were based on the Segment 3 project that was paid for by federal aid and
county funds. The cost per mile for the Segment 3 project was $548,671. Estimates were derived
by multiplying the per mile costs by the length of segments 1, 2, and 4 for a total of
$2,853,089.22. An additional $35,000 was budgeted for a cattle crossing.
Initial payment occurred at the execution of the agreement and subsequent payments will
be due at the beginning of each construction phase. The operator will be responsible if costs
exceed estimates. Likewise, if payments exceed actual costs, the county will refund monies to the
operator.
In terms of impacts, the haul route for the B-2 mine impacts 3.3 miles of town roads, 4.5
miles of state roads, which include USH 53, and 9.9 miles of county roads. The B-1 mine when it
is operating hauls over 2.5 miles of state roads and 8.5 miles of county roads.
Operator C has been permitted to operate three mines in Chippewa County however; only one
is in production at this time. This mine is located near 4430 186th Avenue in Cooks Valley (225
acres) and according to the reclamation permit, has a wash plant. A processing plant has been
permitted in the Town of Bloomer near the intersection of STH 64/CTH SS but construction has
not started. Access to the proposed processing plant may be along 85th Street, which may need to
be upgraded. Operator C’s haul route begins at 186th Avenue to CTH DD to STH 64 for a total of
8.4 miles. Like other haul routes, town (1.6 miles), county (2.2 miles), and state roads (4.5 miles),
comprise the haul route. Therefore, two road use agreements were negotiated at the town and
county level.
The town RUMA covered 1.6 miles from the mine entrance to CTH DD. The particulars
in regard to funding a construction and setting up a maintenance account were practically
identical to the County RUMA except that improvement to 186th Avenue would require a 5.5
inch hot-mix asphalt (HMA) overlay.
The county RUMA acknowledged that the county would be reimbursed for
improvements and required Operator C to fund a construction account in the amount of $500,000.
The county would improve CTH DD from 186th Avenue to STH 64, a length of 2.2 miles by
adding approximately a 3.5 inch HMA overlay, shouldering and other incidentals. The work was
to be completed within 60 days of the agreement execution. Remaining funds from this work
would be used to design, construct and make initial geometric improvements to the intersection
of CTH DD and 186th Avenue with actual construction scheduled for 2012. If costs exceed
$500,000 the operator would be billed for the difference. If the costs come in under budget, the
remaining funds would transfer to a county maintenance account reserved solely for this haul
route. The account would be funded through a monthly payment of 5 cents per ton of sand hauled
from the mine. Operator is required to submit production records for the prior month’s production
with each monthly payment to confirm payment amount. The operator would be allowed to
suspend payment once the account balance reached $500,000 and restart payment when the
balance fell below $100,000.
Because the processing plant has not been constructed, the sand is trucked more than 80
miles one-way to the operator’s processing plant in Woodbury, Minnesota mostly over state roads
and the interstate. Given the required traveling distance, it is particularly important for Operator
C to have the purest sand possible prior to leaving the mine. Operator C has two other mines
that were recently permitted in May 2012. One mine, 160 acres, is located on 186th Avenue
and shares the negotiated haul route. The other mine, which is a 1,224-acre site, will have direct
access to STH 64. Each location will have a wash plant but construction has not begun on either
site. Should the remaining sand mines and the processing plant become operational, STH 64 will
become a heavy truck corridor.
Operator D’s mine entrance is located on CTH A near the intersection with CTH DD and
its processing plant is in the village of New Auburn on the Progressive Railroad line. The 15-mile
haul route includes CTH A to STH 40 to USH 53 to CTH M to CTH SS to CTH Q.
The February 2012 agreement identified 2.97 miles on CTH A that needed to be
upgraded. Estimates were based on the rehabilitation work done on CTH B in 2011. A unit cost
of $599,209 per mile was used as a baseline estimate. A 9.5-inch of hot-mix asphalt (HMA)
overlay was also required to accommodate truck traffic for twenty years. The estimated cost
of the HMA was $721,659. (The AET report reported overlay depths for 10 years.) In addition
geometric improvements at the mine entrance ($250,761) and to the processing plant entrance on
CTH Q ($199,825) were included. A total estimate of $3,7999,843 also included costs such as
safety edge and an inflation factor of 5 percent.
In the RUMA, the operator agreed to pay $3,800,000 million upfront. If the costs were
to exceed the estimates, the operator would pay the difference. The RUMA also stipulated
that unused funds would transfer to a maintenance account that would cover all exceptional
maintenance costs. A $35,000 annual payment would initially fund the maintenance account.
Payments would be suspended when the account reaches a balance of $500,000 and resume again
when the balance falls under $100,000. If, for some reason, other roads are used by mistake or
with the consent of the county, the operator would be responsible for road damage and the county
would use maintenance account funds to pay for exceptional maintenance.
The parties also agreed that the operator would pay for grade crossing improvements at
CTH Q near CTH SS in addition to the above listed amounts. The mine size is 176 acres. In terms
of impacts, the haul route consists of 8.4 miles of state roads and 6.6 miles of county roads.
The Operator A mine is located within the town of Auburn on CTH DD near STH 64. According
to the road use agreement dated May 2011, Operator A would reimburse the county $311,510 in
a single payment to reconstruct the 0.2 miles of CTH DD between the mine entrance and STH
64. The operator owns a processing plant on the Barron County side of New Auburn along the
Progressive Railroad line. The haul route from the mine to the plant is CTH DD to STH 64 to
USH 53 to CTH M and then over local streets in New Auburn for an approximate distance of
10.9 miles. The haul route includes 9.9 miles of state roads, 0.8 miles of county roads, and 0.2
miles of village roads.
Further maintenance is not expected on CTH DD as it has been built for a 30-year
lifespan. Parties however agreed that the county could invoice the operator for exceptional
maintenance. CTH M is a short section of urban county road located within the Village. It is in
relatively good condition, however agreements with both Operators A and D who share this route,
were left open for future discussions for upkeep or improvements. It is most likely that these
operators will need to share in the expense for the future upkeep/improvement on this section of
roadway. Operator A's mine, which has a wet plant, was initially permitted for 135 acres. The
permit was recently expanded to include 334 more acres for a total of 469 acres.
The forty-three acre mine was permitted at 19249 17th Street, Bloomer in August of 2012.
Activities at the site will include excavation, screening, crushing, stockpiling and loading. Trucks
will be used to transport raw sand to an offsite processing facility. It is projected that 70 percent
of mineable sand will become product and 30 percent of the mineable sand will be reject material
that is returned to the mine site for use in reclamation.
A developer’s mining agreement was negotiated between the Town of Auburn and
Operator E. The developer’s agreement contained RUMA stipulations. A road use agreement was
not negotiated with the county as the indicated haul route includes only town and state roads.
According to the agreement, sand will be hauled over Town of Auburn roads for 1.8
miles. The route would begin at 17th Street to 195 Street to 22nd Street to STH 64. In the
developer’s mining agreement, Operator E will video tape the truck route to serve as a baseline
for needed repairs, and for the condition the road must be in at the end of the agreement (10
years). The operator will determine an escrow amount based on the cost of road repair per mile
times the total number of miles of town roads. To determine the cost of road repair, the town
board will obtain bids from at least three contractors within 60 days the agreement becomes
effective. The bids will be based on an estimate of the cost per mile for a replacing a class B
town road of 20 feet in width, with broader reinforced corners, 12 inches of base materials, and
4 inches of asphalt. The bids will not include the cost of reconfiguring the road or expanding the
road surface beyond 20 feet. Bids will be averaged to determine the cost of road repair.
Any remaining funds after repair will fund an escrow account on a monthly basis at a
rate of $0.20 cents per ton of sand hauled. Payment can be suspended when the escrow account
reaches the escrow amount. This operator will be required to maintain records of haul miles
for each truck each day and submit records and payment on a monthly basis. The town may
adjust the escrow rate to reflect costs of road construction. The operator will be responsible for
additional payments if the escrow account balance is insufficient.
The agreement also satisfies financial responsibilities required under the town’s Mine
and Weight Limit Ordinance. As of September 2012, this operator was reviewing different
business models to determine where processing would occur and where sand would be loaded to
the rail network.
Parcel Size: 1,041 square miles
2011 Population/Density: 62,610/ 60 persons per square mile
Demographics: Predominately white
23.6% under 18Top Employers (250-999 employees): TTM Advanced Circuits, Inc., Chippewa Falls Public School, St. Joseph's Hospital, Department of Corrections, Chippewa Valley Music Festivals, Inc., County of Chippewa, Wal-Mart, Precision Pipeline, LLC, Mason Companies, Inc., Bloomer Memorial Medical Center, Inc., Cray, Inc.
7.5% 18 to 24
6.5% 25 to 29
12.3% 30 to 39
14.8% 40 to 49
15% 50 to 59
10.1 60 to 69
10% 70 and older