By ERIC ZINGLER | Kendall
My April 16 letter to the County Line presented an argument for a sand and gravel export tax to spur local economic development. This tax would be classified as a “fair share” tax. As the article explained, tens of millions of tons of sand are exported from our state every year worth billions of dollars, but there is no tax that would give taxpayers compensation for the loss of their natural resource.
The proposed Mathy Quarry off Logan Road is expected to export tons of gravel with no return to local taxpayers. In the past, sand and gravel were mined for local use, so the natural resource stayed in the area in the form of roadbeds and benefited all by providing a better transportation system. Today that is all changed. One of the most egregious examples of this new era of sand and gravel mining in Wisconsin is the Wall Street Journal’s gushing report of a Texas sand speculator making $1.4 billion on a $93 million investment, (http://www.wsj.com/articles/smallfirmstrikesitrichwithfrackingsand1410801465).
This something for nothing has to stop on both a local and state level. Whether our state lawmakers are independent, Republican or Democrat, getting a fair share for their constituents is a fundamental duty incurred by being elected. It is time we asked for our fair share.
Smart communities are not waiting and have already negotiated a tax.
“Under the terms of Unimin’s development contract, the company owes Greenfield 15 cents on the first million tons of sand it ships out of Tunnel City and 10 cents after that. In 2014, the mine’s first year of operation, Unimin paid out $222,019 to the community … A tax increment financing district around Chippewa Falls’ EOG Resources Inc. sand processing plant was valued last year at $68 million, generating approximately $1.5 million in revenue annually, according to City Planner Jayson Smith.” (http://midwestenergynews.com/2015/06/03/wisconsintownsworryfracsandboomwilldryup/).
Where is our deal with Mathy? It’s time we got one.
We already have a blueprint in legislation for a uniform sand and gravel tax: Wisconsin State Legislature Statute: 70.375 (net proceeds tax on mining of metallic minerals — https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/70/375). It should be an easy task to create legislation using this statue to cover exported sand and gravel and provide the means for local economic development as well as funding for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
Big Sand Politicians may push back, saying it would mean a loss of jobs. However, Big Sand is already paying at Tunnel City and Chippewa Falls. This tax would simply make it more uniform and fair, covering all communities affected by sand and gravel exporting, including our own.
It is also fair to the industry. Why should metallic mines be taxed and Big Sand get a free ride? Additionally, and ironically, technology is increasing demand.
“Despite lower oil prices, frac sand production remains strong because newer drilling techniques require more sand. The USGS report says a typical fracking well used 900 tons of sand seven years ago, but that had grown to 4,100 to 5,000 tons last year.” (http://www.jsonline.com/business/wisconsinsfracsandindustryboomsb99509220z1305394131.html).
We also need to demand clear and unbiased information on how to address mining in our local communities. There is a term called “shift the risk,” which means dumping a problem on someone else. Both elected officials and state agencies shift the risk to local communities when they abdicate responsibility to aid local government by brushing off mining issues, saying, “It’s a local affair.” I personally support the principle of “subsidiarity” government at the local level, but get real, what local small town government has the means to craft local mining ordinances that proactively deals with fair share taxation, preservation of local tourist attractions like the Elroy Sparta State Trail and air quality standards for preventing silicosis from “fugitive dust” blowing off piles of frac sand, trucks and trains?
“Wisconsin citizens petitioned the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in 2011 to adopt and enforce an air quality standard of 3 micrograms of silica per cubic meter of air, the standard adopted by California. The DNR denied the petition, even though the DNR itself had conducted a study that documented the health risks of silica dust and concluded that it meets the definition of a carcinogenic hazardous air pollutant” (http://www.psr.org/chapters/wisconsin/assets/pdfs/fracsandmininghealth.pdf).
Who is running this state? Bureaucrats or the citizens they represent? Local officials and community leaders can’t make informed decisions to preserve the integrity of our area and safeguard our health and wellbeing without good information. We need to demand our state elected officials take action to get us the information we need for informed decisions.
However, there is one decision that is obvious in regard to the Mathy Quarry and the Elroy Sparta State Trail. If Mathy prevails, he said a tunnel culvert like the one north of Norwalk on Highway 71 was the safest way to deal with trucks passing over the trail on Logan Road. The safest way is the only way. While there are lots of roads crossing the trail, a gravel truck traversing in a forested area is “out of context.” The lawsuit will say, “You should have known people would act unpredictably.”
Send this article to your local officials and state representative this week. Let’s get some proactive dialogue going that gets our fair revenue share and relieves concern that some kid could get hurt at a gravel truck crossing on our state trail.
