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SD sand not suitable for oil field fracking in ND
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A state study that took more than a year to complete has concluded that sand from western South Dakota is not suitable for use in the oil and gas industry.
• South Dakota's Department of Environment and Natural Resources studied whether sand found mainly in the Black Hills was suitable for hydraulic fracturing. The method known as fracking involves pumping water, sand and chemicals underground to break up shale rock and allow oil to flow.
• Fracking is used extensively in the booming western North Dakota oil fields, and officials wanted to know whether western South Dakota might benefit. The 16-month study found that the sand did not meet specifications recommended by the American Petroleum Institute.
• Deficiencies found in the 256 samples that were studied included not being comprised of greater than 99 percent quartz, being too coarse or too finely grained, having grains that are not the correct shape or having grains that are tightly cemented together.
• "DENR undertook this study at the request of the 2012 Legislative Oil and Gas Summer Study Committee that was looking for ways to benefit from the North Dakota oil boom," Department Secretary Steve Pirner said in a statement Thursday. "While the study did not produce the desired results, DENR's geologists gained a better understanding of sand resources in western South Dakota and that may prove useful in the future."
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AP News in Brief
AP IMPACT: Gov't safety agency missed trends that could have led to quicker recall of GM cars
• DETROIT (AP) -- For years, the U.S. government's auto safety watchdog sent form letters to worried owners of the Chevrolet Cobalt and other General Motors small cars, saying it didn't have enough information about problems with unexpected stalling to establish a trend or open an investigation.
• The data tell a different story.
• An Associated Press review of complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that over a nine-year period, 164 drivers reported that their (Continued on page 26)
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