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Howard Town Board denies EOG Resources request to amend sand mining agreement

By LeAnn R. Ralph

TOWN OF HOWARD — Members of the Howard Town Board have denied a request from EOG Resources to amend the sand mining agreement.

Dave Bokor, the plant manager for EOG Resources, told the Howard Town Board at the June 6 meeting that the company was asking for two amendments to the nonmetallic mining agreement.

The agreement covers what is commonly known as the S&S frac sand mine on land owned by Robert Schindler and Jeff Sikora not far from the Howard Town Hall.

Chippewa County Land Conservation and Forest Management lists the S&S mine as 185 acres.

John Behling, an attorney with the law firm of Weld, Riley, Prenn and Ricci out of Eau Claire, pointed out this is the first time EOG Resources has asked for an amendment to the mining agreement.

Under the existing agreement, EOG Resources can transport sand between October 15 and April 30. The mine also is, per the agreement, limited to 600,000 tons of sand per year.

The town board did not know what to expect from EOG Resources when the company started mining frac sand, and EOG Resources would like to find some flexibility in the agreement, Behling told the town board.

Water testing

Dennis Dvoracek, town board supervisor, noted the mining agreement required EOG Resources to test water in surrounding wells but the company had not done any water testing.

Water testing on a tri-annual basis was scheduled to begin in 2017, and the water sampling was in the process of being completed a few weeks ago, Bokor replied.

Dvoracek said he had been under the impression the water sampling would be done during the winter.

25 years

The agreement with the Town of Howard granted a 25-year mining permit to EOG Resources and allows the company to mine frac sand 24 hours per day, seven days per week, during the October to April time period, said Tom Zwiefelhofer, town board supervisor.

“The neighbors want to have their summers,” he said.

The reason for limiting the transport period from October to April was to allow residents in the Town of Howard to be outside during the summer without having to listen to mining operations. In the summer, town residents want to have their windows open, spend time outside in their yards and gardens and have family get-togethers, Dvoracek said.

What would be the advantage to residents in the Town of Howard to change the agreement? he asked.

Changing the agreement would mean different hours of operation, Bokor said.

The existing agreement is a “win-win” and has worked well, Behling said.

The company “would like some flexibility,” he reiterated.

“Why is the current agreement not working?” Zwiefelhofer asked.

The company wants to remove more material from the site, Behling said.

If the transport period were changed, there would be trucks from the Dennis Schindler mine in the Town of Cooks Valley and from S&S mine in Howard, Zwiefelhofer said.

The two mines would not be operating simultaneously, Bokor said.

“The neighbors want it to stay the same,” Zwiefelhofer said.

Dvoracek said he was happy with the existing agreement, although he would be happy without the sand mine, too.

Ron Koshoshek, Howard’s mining consultant, wondered how many years of sand were left at the S&S mine.

At 600,000 tons per year, the sand would be mined out of the S&S mine in 15 to 20 years, Bokor said.

The sand mine in the Town of Howard started operating in 2011.

Is EOG Resources planning an expansion? Koshoshek asked.

Bokor indicated that the company was not planning to increase mining activities.

Koshoshek wondered how many years would be left for mining frac sand if the number of tons was increased.

“It’s not us saying it’s not working. We want the corporate flexibility,” Behling said.

If the town board approves an amendment to the mining agreement that doubles the number of tons, “there would be eight years left on the mine,” Zwiefelhofer said.

There is no assumption that EOG would be mining at the S&S mine continually, Behling said.

“It’s working, but we want the ability to mine more,” he said.

24/7 M-F

EOG Resources would like the ability to run year round, 24/7 Monday through Friday, Behling said.

Town of Howard resident Ken Schmitt said the mining operations sometimes can be heard at his farm in the winter with the house windows closed. If mining were allowed during the summer, Schmitt said he and his family would be listening to mining activity all of the time because their house does not have air conditioning, so they keep the windows open.

Edward Dachel, who lives across the road from the S&S mine, wondered about increased blasting with different mining hours.

“My house shakes as it is,” he said.

Behling asked what the town board would like “in exchange” for allowing more hours and more tons of sand.

EOG Resources does not use town roads for hauling sand, “so there’s nothing to negotiate,” Dvoracek said.

The haul route for the sand mine uses county and state highways.

The hours of operation could be changed or reduced as part of negotiations, Behling said.

Since the discussion seemed to have come to an end with no indication from the town board that they were willing to change the mining agreement, Behling and Bokor said they appreciated the time the board had allowed them to present their case and then packed up and left the meeting.

Later on in the meeting, Vernon Schindler, town chair, entertained a motion to keep the EOG Resources agreement “as is” with no modification.

The motion was approved on a roll call vote, with Schindler, Dvoracek and Zwiefelhofer all voting “yes.”