Ken Schmitt of the Town of Howard’s house rumbles three to four times a week as a result of the frac sand mining, he said.

Schmitt, a long-time critic of Wisconsin’s growing frac sand mining industry, has seen the effects of sand mining on western Wisconsin firsthand in recent years.

Over the past few years he’s seen his property value drop, had friends who have developed asthma, seen families divided and neighbors pitted against one another, he said.

Although Schmitt said the effects of the mine a half mile away from his house have been minor in the short term, he said he believes the mines will have a greater effect in the long run.

“One mine here and there is not the end of the world, but it’s going to be the number and the size and scale of them that’s going to be the problem,” Schmitt said.

According to Schmitt, his house is probably too far away from the mine to affect his breathing, but he said he has seen instances where the air quality outside of his house was altered.

Last March, Schmitt saw fugitive dust, a byproduct of the mines that floats in the air, settle on his freshly painted barn with snowfall. The paint job was fresh, but the roof appears old and rusted from the dust and his solar panels had two or three inches of dust on them that came down with the snow, he said.

Although sand frac mining has caused a rift in some relationships, Schmitt said it has helped build relationships with some of his neighbors. His involvement in the anti-frac mining group Loyalty to Our Land gave him the chance to get to know an older neighbor who he wouldn’t have known well otherwise, he said.

He recounted meeting an elderly man who has since died of brain cancer, saying the group allowed him to get to “know him a whole lot better … than [he] ever would have otherwise.”

Last October, Schmitt presented a petition signed by more than 1100 people statewide to the Wisconsin National Resources Board. Individuals who oppose sand frac mining had reached out to the Midwest Environmental Advocates, who then decided to appeal to the Department of Natural Resources to begin a strategic analysis of the industry.

Moving forward, the DNR plans to begin conducting research on the health effects of frac sand mining shortly, after they are able to get a scope for what to study from citizens in affected communities.

DNR moves forward with strategic analysis of frac sand mining industry

In the meantime, Schmitt and other critics are holding forums with representatives from the department to discuss the study’s scope. Schmitt said it was important to act quickly, as Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal includes measures to limit the DNR’s authority.

“It will be very important that companies come out to these meetings,” Schmitt said. “I think the hearings will give people a better chance to voice their concerns. With proposed changes to the DNR and the national resources board, after this study is complete I don’t know if this will be possible anymore.”