The Sand Sentinel Program is aimed at creating an easier way for people to collect and file reports on suspected permit violations by frac sand mining companies.

Video introducing this program:

Links shared in this video:

• DRN Air Permit Search: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/AirPermits/Search.html
• Wisconsin Public Health Department Search: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/lh-depts/counties.htm
• Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association local contacts: http://wisconsinlandwater.org/files/pdf/WILandWaterDirectory.pdf

  Background

  Due to its use in fracking, the frac sand mining industry has been plaguing communities in western Wisconsin for many years. In September 2018, a number of people from around the Midwest who are fighting frac sand mining issues hosted check-in meetings on how things were going, sharing notes on some projects to date and ideas on pathways forward people were seeing that were new, or could use some more attention (see notes here and here). The Sentinel Program, originally conceived of by @Pat was highlighted as an opportunity.

Goals

The goals of this project are to make frac sand mining industry violations easier for people to spot and understand, and to increase accountability and transparency in reporting.

People who are involved

• Pat Popple (@pat) for originating the project idea and mentoring,
• Lemmy Kamau (@kamau19) for his work researching Wisconsin Policies related to frac sand mining,
• Dwight Swenson (@dswenson) for sharing reporting and affidavit materials,
• Avery Van Gaard for her work on the Suspected Violations Information Form
• The Midwest Environmental Advocates for their review and materials on: REPORTING CONCERNS AND POTENTIAL VIOLATIONS TO THE WDNR
• Participants at the Project Outreach event in Arcadia April 13th, 2019,
• Professor Crispin Pierce (@crispinpierce) and his research team including Orion Allgaier (@OrionAllgaier), Connor Barns (@Cbarnes9), for their feedback on reporting monitoring notes,
• And to others who contributed ideas, information, and editing, including Heather Anderson (@Wicca), Cheryl Miller, Mary Kenosian (@marlokeno), Forest Jahnke, Glory Adams (@gloryaec), Sheila Danielson, and more.

Activites we've done in our project

So far on this project, we have:

• Collected materials people have used in the past in filing suspected violations,
• Hosted a fellowship to sift through Wisconsin specific policies that could create observable permit violations,
• Compiled a list of violations that could be observable by people,
• Collected resources on where materials can be reported to,
• Compiled a draft reporting form with information on what could be collected to support people's observations,
• Collaborated with partners and residents around Wisconsin and other parts of the country, and
• Created draft reporting form folder materials published below.

Next steps:

• Finalize the draft reporting form materials,
• Create an introduction to the folder,
• Create draft training materials for sharing on how to use the folder and do reporting.
• Pilot an in-person training.

Sentinel Materials

Below is draft materials for the Sentinal Program. Each document or page can be printed. (There is also a google docs version of this material available on this page)

1) Frac Sand Mining Pollution Incident Report Form and Guide

2) Observable air quality violations related to frac sand mining

3) Observable water quality violations related to frac sand mining

4) Observable transportation violations related to frac sand mining

5) Local reporting on frac sand mining issues

Get involved or get updates

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