Opponents of sand mining aren’t on solid ground
Many in Atascosa County don’t want it, but Texas law offers few options
LEMING — Atascosa County, site of the bloodiest fight in Texas history, is also known for gentle rolling hills and loamy sand, good for growing peanuts and running cattle. Now a company is targeting those thick sand deposits for another purpose: mining it for the oil and gas industry.
Pennsylvania-based Preferred Sands wants to create a mine and plant that could process 300 tons to 400 tons of sand per hour through a Texas company it set up in the fall, Sand Mining of Texas, according to its permit application. The proposal comes as relatively higher oil prices send oil and gas companies back to back to shale fields, where they use
“The laws in the state of Texas are not on our side.” Russell Wilson, leader of local opposition to sand mining operation
sand in hydraulic fracturing operations. The sand, mixed in fracking fluids, props open rock fissures to allow oil and gas to escape.
But the proposed sand mine has set off howls of protest in this rural community south of San Antonio.
“The laws in the state of Texas are not on our side,” said Russell Wilson, who lives across from the proposed facility and heads the local opposition group. “They benefit a company in Pennsylvania. It’s basically a rubber-stamp permit.”
This mine would be just north of the 400-mile-long Eagle Ford Shale field, but the site may have historical significance. Archival records indicate that the remains of 1,300 rebels killed in the Battle of Medina litter the area, although no one has proved the precise location of the battle, fought in 1813 in an early bid for Mexican independence from Spain.
Atascosa County Judge Robert Hurley said elected officials are opposed to the sand mine, Battle of Medina or not.
“I’ve already told the sand mine people we don’t want them,” Hurley said.
But under Texas law, it doesn’t seem they can do much to stop it. The county, however, won’t offer tax breaks to the mine. It is also making it harder for the company to send trucks down the narrow gravel road, too bumpy in some sections to drive faster than about 15 mph. Hurley said he is concerned that people who live near the 300-acre mine property will no longer be able to enjoy their property. Many families have been there for generations.
Preferred Sands also has mines in Nebraska, Arizona and Wisconsin. The company, which declined an interview request, said in a statement that it would follow the guidelines and regulations of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Neighbors say the company has indicated — though they’ve not been able to get anything in writing — that it would take steps such as line ponds to protect aquifers and use down-lighting to help keep the skies dark in the rural area. The mine site, once a peanut farm, is now a hay field.
Jessica Hardy lives next to the site and grew up in the area.
“To me, I’m collateral damage,” she said.