Mines

This is a page that contains links to documents describing the mines in Buffalo County.

Annexations

All Energy Rail Transfer Station on Flurry Property (Buffalo City and Cochrane being approached).

  • Click HERE for an audio recording of the June 12, 2018 Cochrane Village “listening session” with representatives of All Energy and BNSF Railroad.
  • Click HERE for an audio recording of the June 12, 2018 Buffalo City “listening session” with representatives of All Energy and BNSF Railroad.
  • UPDATE: Proposal was denied by Cochrane town board.

Mines under discussion at the BOA

None!  Woohoo!

Proposed mines that have been denied by the Board of Adjustments

Lindstrom Mine, Breezy Point Properties (denied January 12th, 2016)

  • Click HERE for a copy of the CUP application – June, 2014
  • Click HERE for a copy of the Reclamation Plan – August, 2015
  • Click HERE for our petition to deny the Reclamation plan – August 2015
  • Click HERE to view the Reclamation permit issued by the county – October 2015
  • Click HERE to view the Traffic and Pavement Analysis study – November 2015

Badger Bluff Sands, LLC (denied April 14th, 2014)

  • Click HERE to show the blog post where we’re tracking this application
  • Click HERE to view the application, submitted on 7/22/13
  • Click HERE to view the Hours of Operation addendum, submitted 7/23/13
  • Click HERE to view the BBS additions, submitted late March 2014 (Zip file)

River Valley Sands — W199 Pieper Valley Road, Fountain City, WI (denied April 7th, 2014)

  • Click HERE to view the application, submitted on 4/29/13
  • Click HERE to see the “Adjacent Property Owners Notices” submitted with the application
  • Click HERE to see the 6/18/13 decision of the Town Board, advising the County to deny the application

Starkey Dry Plant and Rail Loading (denied July 24th, 2012)

  • Click HERE to see the scanned version of the file as of April 2nd.
  • Click HERE for a slightly more complete version, including the application form

Seven Sands – for mining on Seven Sands, LLC properties and a wash plant on the Bork Property on County Road U in Sections 25, 26, and 35, T. 22 N., R.11 W., and Sections 29 and 30, T. 22 N., R. 10 W.  Total of about 1700 acres.  (Denied, Sept 26th, 2012)(Certiorari Review filed November 19th by Seven Sands applicants)(Certiorari Review placed on hold on May 7th, 2013 by Seven Sands so they can reapply).

  • Click HERE to see the scanned version of this application.
  • Click HERE to see the motion to deny submitted by Nettie and John Rosenow on July 2nd (note: this is a very large file and will take a while to download)
  • Click HERE to download a scanned copy of the lawsuit filed by Seven Sands applicants appealing the decision of the BOA
  • Click HERE to download a copy of a letter from Seven Sands requesting that their appeal be placed on “pending” status — as they are planning to submit new applications with substantive changes.

 

BOA-Approved mines

R & J Rolling Acres — S983, Highway 88 (Denied once, resubmitted and heard again on April 19th 2012, heard again on June 14th 2012, deferred for results from DOT highway review, heard again on June 27th 2012,  approved July 5th 2012, Certiorari Review filed August 6th 2012, Circuit Court upheld the BOA decision on August 1st 2013, the Court of Appeals upheld the BOA decision in 2014 and the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to hear the case in 2015.

  • UPDATE: Spring 2016 – Glacier Sands has abandoned the mine, Ron Bloom has leveled the berm they threw up for the mine and has planted the field.  I think they’re done.

 

  • Latest version of their application — click HERE for the application document (scanned, as of April 2nd, thanks Gary)
  • Glacier Sands advertisement in the March 15, 2012 Cochrane-Fountain City Recorder. Click HERE to view the advertisement.
  • Audio file of the public hearing held in Gilmanton — the last part of the file is basically empty, the recorder was left on while the BOA went to the site.  Click HERE for this 45mb file.
  • Audio file of the final-decision meeting held in Gilmanton — this was the meeting where the application was denied.  Click HERE for this 11mb file.
  • Two short YouTube clips from the March 8, 2012 Public Hearing in Gilmanton for the R & J Rolling Acres Conditional Use Permit. Click HERE for the clip showing the crowd before the meeting is called to order. Click HERE for part of the presentation by a WDOT engineer about Hwy 88.
  • Click HERE for  a YouTube audio of a presentation by Brian Iverson, the developer of the proposed R & J mine. He is talking to the Town of Knapp in Dunn County last December.
  • Audio file of the on-site meeting (2-Feb-2012) of the BOA — click HERE for 24 mByte MP3 file
  • Application for a Conditional Use Permit, dated 1/13/12, with comments — Click HERE for 2.3 mByte pdf
  • Click HERE for the first public meeting notice on the Board of Adjustment meeting to consider this application.
  • Maps of the proposed mine — click HERE for 500k PDF
  • Click HERE for Gary LeMasters open records request for the R&J Rolling Acres CUP permit application
  • Click HERE to see the web site of another company connected with Brian Iverson of Glacier Sands, LLC.  He is the developer on the Rolling Acres mine.
  • Click HERE to see the Certiorari Review filed by Mike O’Connor on August 6th, 2012
  • Click HERE to see the District Court decision on August 1st, 2013
  • Click HERE to see the Court of Appeals filing on September 12th, 2013

Steve and Beth Segerstrom (revisions to permit to permit wet-processing plant, high-capacity well and formalizing the number of trucks/day)

  • UPDATE:  Spring 2016 – sand-mining operations never launched.  Permits have been converted to limestone quarrying in conjunction with an existing neighboring gravel mine.
  • April 2014 — Reclamation plan additions to accommodate the new wash-plant plans.  Click HERE for the revised plan, HERE for Figure 1 Site Location Map, HERE for Figure 2 Site Plan View and HERE for Figure 3 Site Detail.
  • April 2014 — Click HERE to read the blog post we’re using to track this latest application.
  • January 2014 — Application for CUP to add high-capacity well and wash plant to the operation.  Click HERE for the file.
  • May 2013 — Frac Sand Frisbee blog post — “Is Buffalo County Sand Any Good?” — features the failure of Segerstrom’s dry processing plant failure to clean the sand to be marketable.  Click HERE for the post.
  • February 2013 — a diagram from Land Resources office showing approved mines and haul routes listing Segerstrom as approved for 100 loads a day.  Click HERE to view the file
  • January 2013 — Frac Sand Frisbee blog post — pictures of the Segerstrom Mine — showing how they’ve torn the whole front of the bluff off — so much for “no trees will be taken down.”  Click HERE to see the post.
  • January 2012 — Minutes of BOA meeting where Condition #7 (prohibiting blasting) was removed.  Click HERE to view the file.
  • September 2011 — Reclamation Costs and Bond (in which Segerstrom again claims that no trees will be taken down on the site).  Click HERE for the file.
  • September 2011 — Reclamation Plan.  A good source of site-maps (plow through the boilerplate, the maps are at the end). Click HERE for the file.
  • July 2011 — Original decision of the Zoning Board of Adjustment granting conditional use permit.  Click HERE for this 500k PDF file.
  • July 2011 — Minutes of the BOA meeting where the original permit was issued (source of the 100 trucks/day estimate and Segerstrom claiming not to take trees down).  Click HERE for the file.
  • The Zoning Department responses to the seven factors that must be considered in a Conditional Use Permit — for the Segerstrom and the Barth permits. Click HERE for the PDF version.
  • The conditions placed on the permits for Barth and Segerstrom — Click HERE for the PDF version.
  • Aerial photo of the mine site — click HERE

Kendall Klevgard — S788, Highway 88 — (Revisions to add haul routes through Mondovi east and west on Highway 10, and extend the permit from 5 to 20 years)

UPDATE: Spring 2016 — Sand mining operation never launched.

2014 request for modification:

  • May/June 2014: Permit was modified to add two more haul routes (north on 88 to Mondovi, turning east or west on US Highway 10).  Klevgard also requested extending the length of the permit from 5 to 20 years — that request was denied by the BOA.  Documentation:
    • Click HERE to read the application
    • Click HERE to read a justification for the application
    • Click HERE to read the 2011 DOT driveway permit
    • Click HERE to read the Town of Gilmanton’s statement that a sharp curve problem described during the 2011 permitting process has been resolved to the Town’s satisfaction
    • Click HERE for the minutes of the 2011 meeting in which the final conditions were negotiated and the mine was approved.

Reclamation Plan:

  • February 2014: Click HERE for the reclamation plan that was approved just days before the 2-year deadline for “start of operations”

Original permitting:

  • November 30, 2011: Click HERE for the original permit application
  • February 2, 2012: Click HERE for a 20 minute (16 mByte) audio recording of the site visit — the meeting where the application was approved.  The approval vote happens around 17 minutes 30 seconds in.
  • February 2, 2012: Click HERE for the minutes of the meeting in which the final conditions were negotiated and the mine was approved.
  • February 2, 2012: Conditions include the following:
    25) Summer (May 1st – October 31st) haul hours are 6:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday; Winter (November 1st – April 30th), haul hours are 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, Saturday 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. However, there will be no hauling of product on the weekends April 1st – October 31st. Change in specified haul route (Appendix A) may constitute a change in hours of operation. At such time, applicant must pay application fee and issue will be brought up at regularly scheduled Board of Adjustment hearing.
    26) Number of trucks is limited to 125 loads out per day (80000lb gross vehicle weight)

Larson, Stanton, Johnson — S405 Highway 37 Hagness Road — 998 acres, 300 loads/day (150 to the north, 150 to the south) 5am to 8pm Monday-Friday. Click HERE to see the scanned version of the application as of April 2nd

  • UPDATE: Spring 2016 — Permit cancelled due to non-payment of fees.

Gregory Weber — S929 County Road BB, Independence, WI (heard on April 19th in Gilmanton) — approved June 14th

  • Preliminary version of their application — click HERE for the application document (scanned, as of April 2nd, thanks Gary)

Ryan Barth

  • UPDATE:  Spring 2016 — Operations have been halted for the last two years due to market conditions.
  • Decision of the Zoning Board of Adjustment granting conditional use permit.  Click HERE for this 500k PDF file.
  • The Zoning Department responses to the seven factors that must be considered in a Conditional Use Permit — for the Segerstrom and the Barth permits. Click HERE for the PDF version.
  • The conditions placed on the permits for Barth and Segerstrom — Click HERE for the PDF version.

Steve Stamm – S39 Deer Run Road, Mondovi, WI 54755

  • Decision of the Zoning Board of Adjustment granding conditional use permit.  Click HERE for the Word file containing the minutes and conditions — Jan 12, 2012
  • Haul hours — 24×7 365 days a year
  • Loads — 95 a day

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 Click HERE for a story from WisconsinWatch.org that features a great statewide spreadsheet and map of where mines are located and who operates them (a little out of date — but still great)