[MRM]

Mike, one of my firm's specialties is representing frac sand producers. The Upper Mississippi Valley is sitting on bedrock that is essentially one huge piece of frac sand. It's huge business up here.

We spend considerable time working with the environmental engineers to collect the best available data on the health risks of frac sand mining, transportation and use and then presenting the evidence to the governmental bodies and public as part of the permitting process.

I would like to think we have a ballanced view because our firm's position is that we will not damage our credibility by taking on a project that is not completely environmentally sound. Our clients demand that because if their facilities aren't surounded by a population now, they soon will be as the raw land around them is developed. Our clients plan on living with their neighbors for decades as they grow and prosper with the surounding neighborhood. It does them no good to get a permit now and have an ongoing fight over environmental issues. And I think it is fair to say that none of our projects have become a problem after they've been completed. Most of the neighbors forgt they're even there because they're well shielded from view and have almost no impact on the surounding area.

I'd be happy to share our experience and perspective with you. We'll also probably want to order some copies of your book for our clients and prospective clients. I could write up a case study for you or something like that if you think it would be helpful.

Something you might want to explore is the history of industrial sand mining and use. Sand has been mined for industrial uses since the begining of time. The mining process and actually the uses of sand hasn't changed much in two thousand years. The fracing technology has gotten better, and the costs ahve come down to the point that it's economically viable, but there has been sand mining for thousands of years and fracing for more than a hundred. There's nothing new under the sun.