Frac sand mining has surged in Wisconsin in recent years, growing from a handful of sites to more than 110 permitted facilities. This project page is home to all of our coverage, including maps, charts, and other resources.

Competing studies are under way to assess air pollution from Wisconsin’s frac sand industry, and the author of one said current state law isn’t protecting people well enough. A separate study, meanwhile, will examine the impact of frac sand mines on water.

Nearly a fifth of Wisconsin’s 70 active frac sand mines and processing plants were cited for environmental violations last year, as the industry continued to expand at a rapid clip.

A brief run-down of the permits required to open a frac sand mine or processing plant.

The rapid growth in Wisconsin’s frac sand industry is slowing, thanks to lower prices and increased supply. The sand is still in demand, but people who expected that they could get rich quick on the state’s sandy soils may be disappointed.

In this three-part series, the Center’s Lukas Keapproth and Mario Koran explore how three Wisconsin counties are coping with their population changes — and potential statewide solutions to rural population loss.

In Iron County, which lost one of every seven residents from 2000 to 2010, residents say a controversial taconite mine may be the only way to reverse devastating population loss. Part one of three in the Center’s Rural Slide series.

More than 50 people gathered Monday to protest frac sand mining outside a conference on the silica sand resources of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Concerns about the health, safety, and environmental impacts of the sudden boom in new industrial sand mining facilities are shared by many across the Upper Midwest.