Illinois may soon approve the mining of fracking sand near a beloved state park.
"Susan and Merlin Calhoun's rural Illinois land is full of the same bluffs, canyons, waterfalls, bald eagles and barred owls that entice more than 2 million visitors to the adjacent Starved Rock State Park every year. ...
The 425-million-year-old rock formations here contain some of the nation's highest quality frac sand, an essential ingredient in the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, process. With the proliferation of fracking -- which may soon involve Illinois as well -- the mining industry has taken notice. One company is an EPA permit away from harvesting the commodity from a 200-acre site right outside the park, not far from the Calhoun's LaSalle County home."
Lynne Peeples reports for the Huffington Post December 12, 2012.
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