400,000 gallons frac sand mine sludge spews into Class II trout stream in Wisconsin; Regulator knee high boots caked in yellowish muck, waits 3 days to take samples. Intentional waste management via dumping?

Frac Sand Sentinel #288 8-9-2019

“The delay in spill reporting by WP and the delay in water testing by DNR create questions that need answering. Both of these delays are completely inappropriate and presumably contrary to law.  The pump capacity was 1500 GPM (90,000 gallons per hour), which means a minimum of 4.4 hours of time to spill 400,000 gallons, based upon the maximum capacity of the pump. That’s a long time to be asleep at the wheel. And then to wait 6 or 10 or 12 hours to report the spill, followed by the DNR waiting 3 days to test the water. That’s really outrageous!” 

Anonymous

Frac Sand Sentinel #286 8-4-2019

Citizen Discoveries and Reporting Conditions are Critical to Protecting our Waterways in Wisconsin!

On Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019, a concerned citizen discovered a serious and massive spill from a wastewater pond into Curran Coulee Creek in the Town of Curran located in Jackson Co. The spill reportedly originated at the Wisconsin Proppants site that occurred following a blasting event yesterday (3 p.m.).

The potential spill violation was reported to a DNR Conservation Warden who investigated and took samples of the water. Sampling should explain what forms of pollutants are flowing through the surface waters of the county. The massive spill looks like yellow mustard. At the mine site source, numerous WP employees were scrambling to contain this spill (their knee-high boots were covered with a yellowish cake/muck).

The Curran Coulee Creek empties into the Trempealeau River and so it is also contaminated with the wastewater produced at the mine. The extent of the damages is unknown at this time.

Watch for more local news on the issue.

CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE: CCC-WIS.COM and for additional information, click here for panoramic aerial views of frac sand mines, processing plants, and trans-load facilities. FracTracker.org is also an excellent source of information

https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/environment/dnr-investigating-jackson-county-mine-spill-unknown-material-discolored-trempealeau/article_c78219b2-f345-5d50-b3d9-445340f02736.html

www.news8000.com/news/wisconsin-dnr-investigating-spill-from-sand-mine-in-jackson-co/1105982930

www.wpr.org/dnr-investigating-frac-sand-mine-spill-jackson-county

www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wisconsin/articles/2019-08-07/dnr-investigating-western-wisconsin-frac-sand-mine-spill

www.nbc15.com/content/news/DNR-investigating-western-Wisconsin-frac-sand-mine-spill-525472781.html

www.startribune.com/dnr-investigating-western-wisconsin-frac-sand-mine-spill/525390912/

DNR: Faulty pump spilled 400,000 gallons of mine waste into Trempealeau River tributary by Chris Hubbuch, August 8, 2019, Wisconsin State Journal

A malfunctioning pump at a Jackson County frac sand mine spewed about 400,000 gallons of mine waste into a tributary of the Trempealeau River over the weekend, the Department of Natural Resources said.

The spill began sometime between 8 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday at the Wisconsin Proppants Hixton mine in the town of Curran, about 12 miles northwest of Black River Falls, according to DNR hydrogeologist Matt Thompson, who is overseeing the cleanup.

Thompson said the pump, designed to recirculate water used to wash sand, began pumping a slurry of mud from the settling pond into a shallow ditch connecting two basins.

Sludge built up in the channel, allowing the material to flow over the sides and downhill into an on-site wetland and Curran Coulee Creek, a class III trout stream, and eventually into the Trempealeau River.

According to a DNR report, a mine employee checked the pump at 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. but did not notice the accumulating sludge.

Acting on an anonymous complaint of mud in the Trempealeau River, a DNR conservation warden visited the site at about 12:45 p.m. Saturday and found mine workers attempting to pump water back into the processing plant, according to the report.

The mine operator, WP Operations, reported the spill to the DNR at 5:55 p.m. Saturday, Thompson said.

The DNR took water samples from the creek Tuesday, which were sent to the state Laboratory of Hygiene for testing. Lab results are expected early next week.

Mine wastewater can contain high concentrations of toxic metals as well as chemicals known as polyacrylamides used in the washing process.

Thompson said there have been no documented fish or wildlife kills, although one neighbor photographed a frog coated in muck on Saturday.

A frog is coated in sludge near a Jackson County mine where a faulty pump spilled about 400,000 gallons of wastewater Saturday into a Trempealeau River tributary. MARK SEDELBAUER

WP Operations is using vacuum trucks to remove the sludge, though Thompson said the DNR is evaluating whether additional measures will be needed.

WP Operations, a division of Turn-Key Processing Solutions, operates the 670-acre mine, which is owned by oilfield service provider Schlumberger.

Town Chairman Dwight Swenson, who lives about a half-mile from the mine and reported the spill around noon Saturday, said he’s disappointed with the DNR’s response, noting that water samples weren’t taken until Tuesday, a day after heavy rains hit the area.

“It seems like they’re several days late and many dollars short on this investigation,” Swenson said.

“They seem to be insulating the corporation and not enough information for the citizens.”

It is the second mine spill to affect the Mississippi River tributary since May 2018, when about 10 million gallons of sludge was released from a Trempealeau County mine after workers at Hi-Crush Whitehall drained a settling pond to rescue a miner whose bulldozer slid into the processing water.

The DNR continues to monitor the environmental impact of that event, which resulted in elevated levels of heavy metals and other contaminants on neighboring farmland and into a Trempealeau River tributary. An orange plume of sediment made its way to the Mississippi River, where it was visible more than 12 miles downstream, according to the DNR.

The DNR did not levy any fines against Hi-Crush for that event.

DNR investigating western Wisconsin fracking sand mine spill by AP in WTMJ, Aug 07, 2019

The state Department of Natural Resources is investigating a spill at a Jackson County frac sand mine.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports the spill occurred Saturday at the 670-acre Wisconsin Proppants Hixton mine in the town of Curran northwest of Black River Falls.

DNR spokesman Andrew Savagian says it’s unclear what sort of material was released or how much. Investigators took water samples Tuesday and planned to return to the site Wednesday.

This entry was posted in Global Frac News. Bookmark the permalink.