Engineers to inspect 3 state dams for waste ash

DAVID SHAFFER, Star Tribune

Three Minnesota dikes that hold vast amounts of coal waste
ash will be inspected by state engineers in light of the
disastrous ash sludge spill last month in Tennessee, State
Dam Engineer Jason Boyle said.
The dikes, which are 18 to 50 feet high and classified as
dams, are at three large coal-fired power plants near
Becker, Cohasset and Hoyt Lakes. The dikes enclose ponds
filled with wet ash left over from burning coal and
containing lead, mercury and other compounds.
State regulators and the dams' owners, Xcel Energy and
Minnesota Power, said the dikes and ponds have not caused
environmental problems. And the Minnesota dikes are made of
stronger earth fill -- not ash.
In Tennessee, a dike built of dredged ash that had been
soaked by rain failed Dec. 22 at a Tennessee Valley
Authority power plant 40 miles west of Knoxville. The breach
sent sludge into a river, coated roads, damaged riverfront
homes and left traces of heavy metals in the water.
Officials warned people to avoid contact with the ash, and
for children and pets to stay away from the area.
The disaster highlights the concerns over disposal of coal
ash, which has been a worry in Minnesota because of the risk
of groundwater contamination. The Tennessee ash slide also
is reminiscent of a July 1993 mishap on Minnesota's
North Shore, in which a rain-soaked coal ash heap crashed
down the hillside.
"Any time we get hear of a dam failure, it gets our
attention," Boyle, the state dam engineer, said Friday
of the Tennessee ash slide.
For two of the three Minnesota ash dikes, Boyle said, he
could find no records of inspections by state engineers
despite a rule that calls for checks at least every eight
years. He didn't know why they hadn't been checked.

Boyle said he believes the dikes, which were built of sand
and clay like other earthen dams, and have protective
liners, are well-designed and well-maintained, and are
closely monitored by the utilities that own them. But he
said engineers will reconsider whether the dikes should be
classified as "significant hazard" structures, a
rating of their potential to cause damage if they fail.
Xcel Energy is the owner of the highest Minnesota ash dike,
at its Sherco generating plant near Becker. The plant has a
40-acre ash pond surrounded by a 50-foot-high dike off the
Mississippi River. It's 45 miles northwest of the Twin
Cities, which use the river for drinking water. Boyle said
the dike was inspected by the state in the past year.
Terry Coss, Xcel's environmental director, said he
doesn't believe that a catastrophic accident could occur
at the Sherco dike -- and even if it did, the structure is
hundreds of yards from the river, so any spillage would stay
on the land in between. In Tennessee, "the wall of
their surface impoundment was basically on the riverbank, so
when they had their release there was no place for the
material to go but the river," he added.
Another big difference is that in Minnesota, fly ash
material is not used in dike construction, said Brandon
Smith, an engineer for the state Pollution Control Agency
who oversees Sherco's waste disposal permit.
Fly ash is known to become unstable when saturated with
water. It happened 15 years ago on the North Shore of Lake
Superior, when a 27-acre ash heap at a former LTV Steel
power plant turned into uncontrollable sludge after heavy
rain. About half of the heap crashed down the hillside,
covering part of Hwy. 61 near Taconite Harbor and knocking
out an electric substation. Some reached the lake, and the
land cleanup cost the company $11 million, said Jeff
Stollenwerk of the Pollution Control Agency.
The other dikes to be inspected by state engineers are at
two Minnesota Power stations: Laskin Energy Center in Hoyt
Lakes and Boswell Energy Center in Cohasset. The company
said it had no concerns about its dikes, which also are made
of earth fill.
"We have been handling coal ash for 30-plus years ...
and we are proud of our track record," said Amy
Rutledge, a company spokesman.

Boyle, the dam engineer, said the inspections will occur
later this year. Dams generally are inspected from late
spring until the first snowfall, he said. Separately, the
ash ponds have been inspected by the Pollution Control
Agency in the past year, said Stollenwerk, who heads the
agency's industrial permitting unit.
Each year, coal power plants in Minnesota produce enough
waste ash to fill 61,000 of the largest dump trucks on the
road. Not all of it goes into diked ponds. Some is used to
make cement. Ash also is disposed at seven landfills in the
state, including one near the A.S. King power plant in
Washington County. That is almost filled up.
When Xcel Energy, the King plant's owner, sought
permission to build a new landfill in nearby West Lakeland
Township, the Legislature responded by placing a moratorium
on new industrial landfills. Xcel's proposed ash
landfill, like others built in the state over the past 15
years, would have a synthetic liner and other systems to
protect groundwater.
But that is no comfort to John McPherson, who has served 41
years on the township board.
"We are worried about groundwater," he said.
"They talk about their liners and stuff. What happens
if it breaks?"
State pollution control officials now are reviewing
landfill regulations. Rep. Julie Bunn, DFL-Lake Elmo, who
pushed for moratorium last year, said a report from a
government committee is expected soon.
David Shaffer • 612-673-7090

DNR releases off-road plan for Cloquet Valley State Forest

By JOHN MYERS, Duluth News Tribune

DULUTH - The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources today announced its final rules on where off-highway vehicles can ride in the Cloquet Valley State Forest near Duluth. The plan will allow OHVs on all routes unless they are posted closed, the agency's so-called managed designation.

The decision is a victory for OHV enthusiasts who wanted continued open access to the forest. But it's a blow to many residents and environmental groups who wanted tighter controls on ATVs and other off-roaders.

Members of the Friends of the Cloquet Valley State Forest had hoped for a DNR plan that would have required specific trails to be marked as open before they could be used by ATVs and other OHVs, the DNR's so-called limited designation. DNR officials said they picked the managed plan because the agency controls only about 15 percent of the land within the forest and that it matched the rules expected to be adopted by St. Louis County, which manages 85 percent of the land within the forest boundaries.

The debate spurred heated public hearings and hundreds of letters to the DNR.

"We've worked closely with St. Louis County to create a plan that provides consistent, careful management of resources while still allowing important recreational access," said DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten in a statement. "Consistency is critical to public understanding, compliance and enforcement of the new route designations."

Bob Krepps, St. Louis County land commissioner, said the county hasn't yet made any official classification for the tax-forfeited county lands that are within the state forest but likely now will adopt the DNR plan.

"We've worked closely with the state and have a coordinated effort and, unless the county board votes otherwise, we will adopt the state's managed classification for the county lands in that area," Krepps said.

Krepps defended the classification as a balance between those who oppose ATVs and those that want to ride anywhere.

"Before now, we really had no control over where they [OHVs] rode. This brings us to a point on a line. I'm not sure if it's a halfway point or where the user groups want it, but it's a point to work from," Krepps said. "It may take adjustments down the road. But it brings us toward some management of this use, which right now is a free-for-all."

The new plan will take effect on or before the end of 2009. But Krepps said it will be difficult to develop mapping and management plans and then pay for enforcement of the new rules considering state and county budget shortfalls.

The DNR Tuesday said the plan will:

- Allow continued use of motor vehicles on some 350 miles of designated state and county forest roads and on more than 400 miles of nondesignated access routes (open to all motor uses) located within managed portions of the forest.

-Close approximately 188 miles of current trails that the agency feels are environmentally unsustainable for OHVs.

-Reclassify nearly 19,000 acres as closed to off-highway vehicles and develop those areas for walking hunters and other non-motorized forest users not using motorized vehicles.

-Protect the Cloquet River through various means including closing routes that have lead to illegal river crossings.

-Designate about 30 miles of hunter walking and ski trails within the state forest -Designate about seven miles of OHV trails outside of the forest on scattered state lands in St. Louis County, but will not include new OHV trials inside the state forest.

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Yes they do. I remember when Holsten went up and met with a county commissioner. If my memory serves me it was the county commissioner who later got so blasted at the bar that he mistakenly drove away in someone else's car. Shortly the meeting after a good DNR resource manager who was doing nothing more than following the DNR's own written mission statement was transferred. Of course Holsten denied that anything of the sort happened. For all the back patting about how Minnesotan's value our natural resources the reality is that those are empty words.
posted by fishhead on Jan 1, 09 at 9:37 am |
2 of 2 people liked this comment.

License fees, trail fees, state and federal gasoline taxes, dealer costs and sales tax, and we pay as much income tax as anyone else. It's not too much to ask for some consideration for places to ride. In our area, N central MN, most use an ATV or snowmobile for hunting, fishing, basic transportation (mailbox 1.5 miles away) or checking on snowbound neighbors. And we don't have to worry if the snowplow doesn't come for a couple of days.
posted by worldcitizen on Jan 1, 09 at 9:49 am |
Follow the stink if you REALLY want to know what's going on in St. Paul

Let's see the DNR has put a anemic policy in place. Let's follow the stink. Holsten controls the DNR, that's a no-brainer. Holsten owes several politicians his over paid hide. On that list in Rep. Tom Hackbarth that prays at the ATV altar 5 times a day. Anyone knows when a politician is such a stanch supporter of anything contributions are involved. ATV companies seem to have a lot of money. HMMMMM? Possible connection?
posted by mnguardian01 on Jan 1, 09 at 1:52 pm |
1 of 1 people liked this comment.

Insiders have told me that there's lots of money funneled into the caucus' as a way of getting around campaign contribution laws. No one seems to know how much. Hackbarth, Dill, Dille, Skoe, Bakk, Saxhaug, Penas, Koering, Sailor and the list goes on. Notice how many DFL'ers are involved in selling our forests to the highest bidders.
posted by fish60 on Jan 2, 09 at 10:11 am |
1 of 1 people liked this comment.
Empty words

“Our mission is to work with citizens to conserve and manage the state's natural resources, to provide outdoor recreation opportunities, and to provide for commercial uses of natural resources in a way that creates a sustainable quality of life.” MN DNR Mission Statement
posted by fish60 on Jan 2, 09 at 12:32 pm |

DNR asks for advice -- but does it listen?

A recent decision by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to allow large "platform" docks in public waters fronting Minnesota lake cabins has brought on a lot more than a chorus of concern that room-size docks would change the aesthetics and biology of shore lands.

It has aggravated what appears to be an ever-growing divide between the DNR and those volunteer advisory groups who feel their advice is ignored. It's also added heat to simmering discontent among agency staff over decision-making that some feel has become too politicized.

"There is genuine concern among professional staff that Minnesota is not managing its natural resources and ecosystems in a sustainable manner, and that problems are accelerating," said Paul Stolen of the DNR regional office in Bemidji.

Stolen is president of the Minnesota Association of Conservation Professionals (MACP). The group will have its annual meeting Friday in Little Falls, where it will consider ways to address what Stolen said is growing staff frustration.

"Political considerations have led to silencing of, or interference with, information provided by [DNR] professionals," reads a draft MACP resolution that will be discussed Friday.

The MACP will also hear from a representative of the controversial group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility on ways to gain leverage in decision-making and whistleblower protection.

Can't please everyone
DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten said these kinds of complaints aren't new. "There were expressions of this kind of before I came to DNR five years ago," said Holsten. "You can't make everyone happy."

He noted that when making its decisions, the agency must consider the science of resource management along with statutory mandated considerations.

But Jerry Maertens, a DNR wildlife specialist for 35 years before retiring two years ago, said business concerns often take priority. "The platform docks issue is another example of how the DNR makes decisions based on how an industry or business is affected rather than on principles of resources protection," said Maertens of Bemidji.

At least three members of a docks advisory committee are upset.

"Why even ask people to invest time and energy into serving on a committee only to ignore their most substantial and carefully crafted recommendations?" they wrote in a Feb. 4 letter to Holsten. The signers were Henry VanOffelen with the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Dann Siems with the Beltrami County Soil and Water conservation District in Bemidji, and Merilee Meyers with the Beltrami County Lakes and Rivers Association.

The 19-member advisory group said the DNR should develop regulations to address the docks issue, which promises to produce the level of tension that accompanied the noisy arrival of personal watercraft in Minnesota's lake country three decades ago.

Instead, Holsten issued a five-year permit to allow dock platforms up to 170 square feet (or larger in "special cases"), a move critics say will allow the installation of so many large docks that control efforts will be blunted.

Regional Manager Mike Carroll said the DNR will develop docks regulations as it prepares long-awaited lakeshore-protection rules, and he added: "We are a diverse department, and while our first responsibility is resource conservation and protection, we have to balance economic and social interests."

Other advice ignored
The large-docks issue isn't the only one that has drawn fire from advocacy groups and DNR staffers.

Earlier this year, Holsten decided to allow "limited" access by all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) into the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest southwest of Bemidji despite an outpouring of public support to close the forest to the machines.

Maertens said 93 percent of the 1,678 people who spoke at DNR field meetings on the issue favored closing the forest to the ATVs, a position he said was also favored by three of five resource managers inside the DNR.

"ATV drivers ignore signs, drive around gates, drive into the [Mississippi] River, rip around and do the damage including erosion," said Matt Norton, an attorney with St. Paul-based Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. Norton said his group is considering legal action to overturn the decision that, he said, largely ignored public comment.

Larry Gates with the Kellogg Conservation Association near Wabasha said the ATV issue is disruptive in other DNR regions. Gates spent 34 years with the DNR where he helped coordinate advisory groups throughout southeastern Minnesota; he said he remains in regular contact with DNR employees.

The DNR has increasingly sided with ATV groups and opened more trails to off-road machines despite widespread damage they cause, he said. He said enforcement is lax, something underscored by a report by a legislative auditor's report in 2003.

Gates said that over the last two years the DNR and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) have also "frustrated" efforts by another advisory group regarding a proposed ethanol plant in Eyota, Minn. (This group is an informal advisory group. See correction below.)

In addition, David Zentner of Duluth, a longtime Izaak Walton League activist, said that an advisory group on waterfowl management recommended four years ago that Minnesota continue to be "very conservative" in allowing increased bag limits of ducks because of habitat pressures in the Mississippi Flyway. Zentner said that Holsten "on his own" recently increased bag limits against the advice of the advisory group.

Disregarding advice from state-appointed groups isn't limited to the DNR and MPCA. The Commerce Department recently sent a report on climate change to the Legislature that largely ignored or rewrote recommendations from a 55-member advisory committee appointed in May by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and staffed by a national consultant paid for in part with $40,000 in state funds.

Correction

MinnPost incorrectly reported in a March 6 post that an advisory group had been created to review a proposed ethanol plant in Eyota, Minn. The group referred to in the post was an informal organization that included citizens and other groups interested in the issue and was not appointed by the Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency or the governor.