Lee Bergquist

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Department of Natural Resources has given tentative approval to construct an industrial sand plant in western Wisconsin — a project that would cause the biggest loss of wetlands by a single sand development in almost a decade.

Meteor Timber, the largest private landowner in the state, is proposing to build a multimillion dollar sand drying plant and rail spur along I-94 in Monroe County and a sand mine in neighboring Jackson County.

On Wednesday, the DNR notified the company of the preliminary approval and set a public hearing in Tomah on April 18, in part to "help gauge the possible environmental impacts."

The project will also require the approval of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Jeffrey M. Olson, a section chief for the Corps in northwestern Wisconsin, said the agency was reviewing the plans. "We want to make sure that the least environmentally damaging option is selected," he said.

Olson said it could take several months before the agency finishes its review.

The Corps met with a representative of Republican Sen. Ron Johnson's office, and representatives from the DNR and Meteor Timber in person or by phone on Wednesday.

"Our office facilitated the meeting to help a potential Wisconsin job creator navigate the federal government," said Ben Voelkel, a Johnson spokesman.

He said that the senator's office has not "weighed in on the approval process."

Sand mining swept across western Wisconsin in the past half-decade. It provides for a type of sand used for hydraulic fracturing — a method of oil drilling that relies on sand and water pressure to extract oil from hard-to-reach deposits.

As the industry has grown, sand projects have spurred large investments, but also have prompted criticism in some quarters about impacts to air and water quality. The mines, processing plants and rail spurs together have required 60 wetlands permits and destroyed 26 acres of wetlands.

Meteor Timber says it plans to invest $65 million in the area and create 100 jobs. The plant and railroad spur would cover about 132 acres of a 752-acre site.

The spur would destroy 16.6 acres of pristine forested wetlands — the most of any sand project since 2008.

State law requires developers to avoid disturbing wetlands when possible because of their benefits for flood control, habitat and improving water quality.

Officials from Meteor Timber say the loss of forested wetlands is impossible to avoid. Last week, they announced plans for a second conservation easement of 178 acres to add to 465 acres of easements already planned for the site.

Evan Zeppos, a spokesman for Meteor Timber, said the company's plans to add more acres for protection were not prompted by a DNR directive. But he acknowledged the subject had been discussed in meetings.

Meteor Timber says the loss of wetlands is more than offset by the project's environmental benefits.

The 643 acres to be protected will mean an expansion of wetland habitat for the threatened Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake and the construction of passages under the rail spur for large animals and smaller passages for reptiles.

The company also will eliminate two cranberry bogs, reducing the impact of fertilizer in the watershed. It also would restore a creek and introduce native trout.

But Sarah Geers, an attorney with Midwest Environmental Advocates, said that the company's efforts do not make up for the loss of a pristine hardwood swamp, with its ecological functions that are difficult to duplicate.

"It almost seems as if they are trying to buy themselves out of this," she said.

Meteor is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Timberland Investment Resources.

Timberland purchased 49,535 acres of Wisconsin forest land from Plum Creek Timber in 2014.